Vacuum Seeder
We don’t plant all *that* many seeds, but it’s enough to make any sort of efficiencies appealing. Even a few trays of 162 cells each can get pretty tedious. So we did a little research and ended up making a vacuum seeder to speed things up.
The seeder consists of a PVC tube with small nozzles that line up with the cells in the trays. The tube is connected to a small vacuum that came with an inflatable swimming pool (ah, the advantages of having young kids!). With the vacuum on, each nozzle picks up one seed from a small trough:
Once each nozzle is loaded with a seed, they are aligned over a cell, and the vacuum is broken by moving a finger off a hole at one end of the PVC tube. The seeds drop into the cell, and it’s back to the trough for another row. The tube pictured here is set up to do 9 cells at one time.
It takes a little getting used to the motion, but it does indeed speed things up considerably. If it’s not obvious by now, suffice it to say, we like tools!
catherine mix said,
February 28, 2010 at 10:35 pm
this is a SUPER tool…can I buy such a tool from you? PLEASE!?!?!?!?
mike said,
March 24, 2010 at 7:32 am
I got the idea for this seeder from someone else, so I wouldn’t feel right selling it. But I can provide a few suggestions. I’ll start by saying that I’m not 100% convinced this seeder is the fastest way to go. Getting the seeds stuck to the nozzles is a little tricky. You have to have enough seed to fill the “fill tray” completely. And sometimes static will cause the seeds to remain stuck to the nozzles even after you’ve stopped the vacuum.
That being said, when it does work, it’s great.
So here are some ideas:
First, you’ll need a vacuum of some sort. I used one from a kids’ inflatable swimming pool we happened to have. A shop vac might work, but it would probably be pretty loud.
Second, the seeder itself consists of 1″ PVC pipe. You can get a 24″ length of it at the hardware store for a couple of dollars. Get a slip-on end cap to close off one end, and a ball valve for the other end to adjust the airflow. If the hose from the vacuum fits into or over the ball valve, then that’s all you need. If it doesn’t, you may have to experiment to find something to connect the hose to the pipe.
I got the nozzles for free from this company: http://www.biopointescientific.com/. Click the link to get their free sample. It contains a variety of sizes.
Cut the PVC pipe a bit longer than the tray you’re seeding into. Drill holes along the length to match up with the cell spacing in the tray. Place the nozzles into these holes. You’ll probably have to experiment with the hole size to get the nozzles to fit snuggly. You might also have to cut the tip of the nozzles to fit the seed size.
On the end of the pipe opposite the cap, drill a 1/4″ hole. You’ll put your thumb over this hole to direct the vacuum through the nozzles. You’ll uncover this hole to stop the suction through the nozzles and drop the seeds into the cells. Make sure the hole is on the opposite side of the nozzles (it’s easier to use that way).
Finally, slip the ball valve over the open end of the pipe (the one with the thumb hole), and connect the vacuum hose to it. That’s it.