Introduction

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This is part three of our four-part series comparing the top-used direct seeders on the market! In the previous article of this series, we provided an in-depth review of the Four-Row Pinpoint Seeder. The next step up in quality and performance is the Six-Row Seeder! Like the Four-Row, the Six-Row Seeder specializes in singulating medium to small seeds for densely sown crops like baby salad mixes and carrots.

However, instead of requiring three passes to create 12 evenly spaced rows on a 30&#; bed like the Four-Point, the Six-Row Seeder gets the job done in just two passes.

The Conception of the Six-Row Seeder

The Six-Row Seeder was developed in partnership with Eliot Coleman, a well-known pioneering organic farmer and author who has spent over 50 years researching and developing sustainable agriculture practices. Eliot Coleman was a big fan of the Four-Row Pinpoint Seeder and used it for many years. However, he wanted to improve it. He liked the 2¼-inch between-row spacing but wanted six rows instead of four. He had the idea to include small cage rollers, one in front and one behind the hoppers. The front cage roller would tamp the soil, while the rear roller would fill in the furrows and level the bed.

After working with engineers at Johnny&#;s Selected Seeds in Maine, his design became a reality. In addition to adding the two roller cages and six seed hoppers, they also engineered three different drive pulleys, with a drive belt to allow for three different in-row seed spacing options: 1&#;, 2&#;, or 4&#;.

Not only that, but they also included a seed depth adjustment into the front roller design, allowing it to be set with a screw knob. They also included a clear seed hopper lid, protecting seeds from water in the event of rain, or dripping condensation in greenhouses. 

Upgrades From the Four-Row to the Six-Row Seeder

In review, these are the upgraded features that set apart Eliot Coleman&#;s Six-Row Seeder from the Four-Row Pinpoint Seeder:

• Six rows instead of four, allowing 12 rows to be seeded in just two passes on a 30&#; bed
• A roller cage on the front to tamp the soil, and a roller cage on the back to fill in the furrows and level the bed
• Three different drive pulleys, with a drive belt to allow for three different in-row seed spacing options: 1&#;, 2&#;, or 4&#;
• A clear acrylic seed hopper lid, protecting seeds from water in the event of rain, or dripping condensation in the greenhouse

How to Use the Six-Row Seeder

Bed Preparation

The careful bed preparation requirements for the Six-Row Seeder are the same as they are for the Four-Row. The soil must be a smooth consistency, typically requiring some kind of mechanized preparation by either a tiller, power harrow or a drill-powered tilther. It must be free from any rocks, previous crop residue, or any other debris. The soil should also be level, as any irregularities will cause uneven contact with the 15&#; wide cage rollers and six mini plows on the underside of the seeder. 

The moisture level in the soil also plays an important role in the performance of the Six-Row Seeder. A dry and powdery soil can make it challenging to get enough traction for the cage rollers to rotate, which power the pulleys and cause the seed to drop consistently. Too much moisture can gum up in the plows and block the seed from dropping the way it&#;s supposed to. 

For really dry soil, it&#;s recommended to lightly irrigate prior to operating the precision seeder. A pass with the 30&#; Seed Roller (made by Johnny&#;s) to tamp the soil can also increase the traction and performance of the Six-Row Seeder. While it does have its own mini cage rollers, they don&#;t do quite the same job as the full-size 30&#; cage roller from Johnny&#;s, which also allows you to add weights for more efficient tamping and leveling of the soil.

Seed Sizes

The Six-Row Seeder offers four hole sizes on the seed shaft to accommodate medium to small seeds.

• Hole A

  • Hole length: 3.5mm

  • Hole Width: 3.5mm

  • Hole Depth: 1mm

  • Number of Holes on Shaft: 6

  • Recommended Crops: Arugula, Claytonia

• Hole B

  • Hole length: 6mm

  • Hole Width: 5mm

  • Hole Depth: 2mm

  • Number of Holes on Shaft: 6

  • Recommended Crops: Carrot (raw), Hakurei Salad Turnip, Lettuce, Mustard

• Hole C

  • Hole length: 8mm

  • Hole Width: 6mm

  • Hole Depth: 3mm

  • Number of Holes on Shaft: 6

  • Recommended Crops: Brassicas, Bunching Onions, Tokyo Bakana

• Hole D

  • Hole length: 10mm

  • Hole Width: 8mm

  • Hole Depth: 4mm

  • Number of Holes on Shaft: 6

  • Recommended Crops: Radish, Spinach

Johnny&#;s also makes an Extended Seed Shaft for the Six-Row Seeder. It offers two smaller hole sizes, and two larger hole sizes, allowing for an extended range of seeds that this seeder can accommodate. 

Seeding

When preparing for seeding, slide the seed shaft into the seeder body to where the desired hole size for your seed is centered under each of the six hoppers. There is a set screw that can be tightened to hold the shaft in position, with machined notches for each hole size option. This is a nice feature that the Four-Row Pinpoint Seeder doesn&#;t have. 

Next, fill each of the six seed hoppers with equal amounts of seed, and then install the lid.

Push the seeder slowly over your prepared bed, with the outer edge of the cage rollers following the outer edge of the bed. On the return pass, repeat the process for an evenly spaced 12 rows on a 30&#; bed. 

Adjusting the Six-Row Seeder

Seeding Depth

There are two black knobs on either side of the frame that allows for adjusting the position of the front roller cage. Loosening the knobs allows you to rotate the arms on the side of the roller cage, to raise or lower it. Lowering the roller cage brings up the mini plows for shallower seeding, whereas raising the roller cage (to where the front and rear cage are at the same level) allows the seeder to sit flush with the soil level, putting the mini plows at their maximum depth. 

Seed Brushes

Very similar to the Four-Row, the Six-Row Seeder has adjustable seed brushes designed to move away excess seed from the seed hole as it&#;s rotated and directed to the drop point. As with other seeders, raising the brush will accommodate larger or odd-sized seeds, or allow for more seeds to pass through if denser plantings are desired. 

In-Row Spacing

Adjustable in-row spacing is another significant upgrade from the Four-Row to the Six-Row Seeder. Where the Four-Row was fixed at 1&#; in-row spacing, the Six-Row is equipped with a pulley system to offer a much wider range of options. 

The pulley system has a small, medium, and large diameter pulley mounted on one end of the axle on the rear wheel/cage roller, and then another set of three pulleys mounted to the seed shaft on the front. They are connected with a simple black rubber drive band. Here are the different configurations to achieve the different in-row spacings:

• 4&#; In-Row Spacing

  • Front: small diameter pulley

  • Rear: large diameter pulley

• 2&#; In-Row Spacing

  • Front: medium diameter pulley

  • Rear: medium diameter pulley

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• 1&#; In-Row Spacing

  • Front: large diameter pulley

  • Rear: small diameter pulley

Between-Row Spacing

The between-row spacing on the Six-Row Seeder is fixed at 2.5&#;. This is very similar to the Four-Row Seeder which is fixed at 2.25&#;. Like the Four-Row, you have the option to leave some hoppers empty to increase the space between rows. For example, filling just the first, third, and sixth hoppers would achieve 5&#; between row spacing.

Six-Row Seeder, Second Edition

Based on customer feedback and extensive field trials, Johnny&#;s Seeds recently developed a second edition Six-Row Seeder with some new and improved features! The 2.0 version includes the following upgrades:

1. Powder-coated steel frame
2. Tabs on the rear drive wheel for improved traction
3. Open wheel ends for easily cleaning out the cages
4. Seed funnel for collecting unused seed
5. Adjustable offset handle

Powder-Coated Steel Frame

The powder-coated frame adds a nice aesthetic and adds an extra layer of protection from the elements for many years of use.

Tabs On Drive Wheel

Extra traction on the drive wheel (the rear cage roller) is definitely a nice addition. If the soil is on the loose side and you aren&#;t applying enough pressure on the drive wheel, it is often prone to not consistently spinning, which stalls the seed from dropping. The tabs or &#;teeth&#; that have been added should help solve that.

Open Wheel Ends

With the previous model having closed ends on the cage rollers, compost, and other soil debris would often get trapped inside, causing an annoying rattling while operating the seeder. Open ends allow the grower to pour out material that may get occasionally trapped in the roller cages.

Seed Funnel

A seed funnel for removing the excess seed from the hoppers after seeding is also another really nice addition. In the original model, one would have to turn the seeder on its side or upside down over a large enough container to catch the seed. This would often result in clumps of soil stuck to the seeder also falling out with the seed, requiring sifting. 

Adjustable Offset Handle

The adjustable offset handle allows a grower to comfortably walk in a pathway beside the bed without leaning in or hyperextending their back while operating the Six-Row Seeder.

Conclusion

The Six-Row Seeder is essentially an upgraded/more evolved iteration of the Four-Row Pinpoint Seeder. The Four-Row retails for $279, while the Six-Row sells for $650. Do the upgraded features warrant over twice the price? If this is your farm&#;s go-to seeder for daily operations, then I would say they do. 

With that said, it&#;s important to note that even with the added features, they still both require the same degree of extensive soil and bed preparation and the recommended additional step of tamping the bed with another large and awkward tool, the Seed Roller. They also both require optimal moisture levels in the soil for best performance.

What if there was a direct seeder that didn&#;t require this extensive bed preparation, and could operate smoothly even in soil that would ordinarily be deemed too dry, or too wet? What if&#;

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Read the Growers Notes

Relevant Links

Jang JP_5 Seeder vs. Six-Row Seeder | The Four-Row Pinpoint Seeder | The Jang Seeder vs. The Earthway Seeder

Garden Seeder Buying Guide

  *only for brands currently available in the USA

What is a Garden Seeder?

It is a tool used to put individual seeds into the soil, while standing upright. There are two types of garden seeders. A push planter has wheels and is pushed down the garden row. While a jab planter is a tall device that you carry to each planting hole.

Both types of seeders control the planting depth, and the number of seeds put into each hole. The seed spacing is adjusted when setting up a push planter, and typically ranges from 1 to 20 inches. With a jab planter, the spacing is controlled manually by the user.

Comparison of Push Garden Seeders from Earthway, Hoss, and Jang

In order to provide a fair comparison, we researched the 3 most popular garden seeders. We are presenting a comparison of the basic features, and the retail price for each brand's basic unit. Although all three are quite different, the bulleted list of comparison statistics for each provides a matched and common basis for evaluating them.

For each description below, the brand name is linked to the site we got the pricing and data from.

Earthway Precision Seeder

This is the brand of garden seed row planter that has been around the longest, and is most widely known. It has an aluminum frame and handles. The wheels, hopper, and seed plates are plastic. Each seed plate is a disc with scoops molded into it. They rotate vertically, like a Ferris Wheel, and scoop up seeds from bottom of the hopper and drop them into a window behind the seed plate further up the hopper's side wall.

It is generally well liked by those with small gardens, and those planting medium or large seeds (corn, peas, beans, etc). But it does have some issues that can cause those with big gardens or commercial operations to explore other options. Those issues and struggles are mostly with the small seeds. One issues is skipping seeds, either because the scoop did not pick one up, or it bounced out when the light seeder hit a bump, or it got stuck behind the seed plate (from the plates being a little warped or bowed). It is also very difficult to make custom seed plates for this unit, which commercial growers often do need.

But even with those issues, it is still a good seeder. Here are the basic comparison stats:

1. Construction = Aluminum + Plastic
2. Row marker = comes with unit
3. Total # seed plates available = 12
4. Seed size range = small to large
5. Seed spacing range = 1&#; to 12&#;
6. Spacing method = # holes in plate
7. Opener type = Shoe plow
8. Base cost, with 6 seed plates = $167

Hoss Garden Seeder

The next step up in strength, ability, and cost are the Hoss models. They have a steel frame, wood handles, and a plastic hopper and seed plates. Their seed plates are round discs of different thicknesses, with holes drilled in them. They rotate horizontally (flat), like a record player, in the bottom of the hopper. Since they are rotating flat, it is much easier for both large and small seeds to get into, and stay in the holes until ready to drop straight down the tube.

It has been well liked both by home gardeners and those with larger commercial operations. Improved handling of small seeds, and the simplicity of making custom seed plates, has been important to the larger growers. One complaint they have had is that the seed hopper is not very large and needs refilling more often than the other brands.

This seeder is very strongly built with a one-piece steel frame and two large 15 inch steel wheels. It does have a disc coulter type furrow opener which pushes the soil down and apart for the seeds to drop into. The furrow is then closed or covered with a drag chain. Here are the basic comparison stats:

1. Construction = Steel, Plastic, and Wood
2. Row marker = optional
3. Total # seed plates available = 13
4. Seed size range = small to large
5. Seed spacing range = 1.2&#; to 19&#;
6. Spacing method = # holes in plate
7. Opener type = Disc coulter
8. Base cost, with 6 seed plates = $389

Jang JP-1 Push Seeder

The Jang seeder is considered to be the premium one for planting small seeds in a wide variety of spacings. They have a steel frame and handle, and plastic wheels, hopper, and seed rollers. Their seed plates are actually rollers (cylinders) with pockets or divots molded in. They rotate in the very bottom of a funnel shaped hopper, which makes it easy for small seeds to enter the pockets. As the roller rotates, seeds are carried around to the bottom where they drop down the tube.

Although this is a great garden seed planter for certain commercial growers, it does have a few drawbacks to be aware of. First, it is not meant for large seed &#; they have a whole different model called the TD-1 for big seeds. And there may be problems with some medium seeds like peas and corn jamming the rollers. Second, it is a little complex to set up for the spacing you want. There will be a combination of roller + front sprocket + rear sprocket for most any spacing, but you need to figure them out and install them. And third, it is not easy to make custom rollers, a drill press with a depth stop would be needed.

But for planting small seeds commercially, it is the best. The big advantages in planting single seeds at precise spacings are seed cost savings, labor cost savings in not having to thin, and easier weeding between the consistent gaps.

Here are the basic comparison stats:

1. Construction = Steel + Plastic
2. Row marker = optional
3. Total # seed plates available = 58
4. Seed size range = small to medium
5. Seed spacing range = 0.5&#; to 20&#;
6. Spacing method = roller + sprocket combinations
7. Opener type = Shoe plow
8. Seed roller cost = $23
9. Base cost, with 6 seed plates = $640

Seed to Soil Contact: All three seeders above do have a rear wheel that acts as a closing wheel. The purpose of a closing wheel (or compactor wheel) is to compress the soil over and around the seeds. By compressing the soil, good seed-to-soil contact is achieved, which improves germination speed and consistency. The jab planters below use the operator's foot to push soil into each hole and compress that soil around the seed.

Comparison of Jab Planters from Stand-n-Plant, EasyDigging, and Johnny's

Getting seeds tucked down into the soil while standing up is a tricky operation. People have been inventing tools to do this for a few centuries. These tools have names like Jab Planter, Manual Seeder, or Corn Planter. They do require loose soil that is not covered with a thick layer of mulch. These garden seeder planters are most useful for bigger plantings of medium to large seeds like corn, peas, beans, or peanuts. Some will not work with tiny seeds like spinach or broccoli.

Although these manual seeders are more common on small family farms in Asia and Africa, there are a few available in the US. Below are the three most popular standing garden seed planters that are available here.   The brand name for each model is a link to the page the information and photo came from.

Stand-n-Plant Jab Seeders

This is nice simple design that comes in two heights for short and tall people. The tip or beak is pressed into the ground, then you manually drop a seed into the pipe. Once the seed is in, you squeeze the top grip to open the beak and release the seed. While the beak is still open, you lift the tool out of the soil. A quick action with your foot pushes a little soil into the hole to cover the seed, and on you go to the next spot.

Because the seed is dropped by your fingers, this seeder will work with tiny seeds. They do also make a large-bore version for dropping transplants through.

Here are the basic comparison stats:

1. Construction = all Plastic
2. Seed size range = small to large
3. Seed Control = by hand
4. Depth Control = none
5. Height = 44" or 50"
6. Base cost = $72

Automatic Seed Planter

This is the tool that thousands of small farms in Asia use for planting beans, peas, and other medium to large sized seeds.

There are two models: the Single hopper unit only plants seeds, while the Dual hopper unit also side-dresses with fertilizer.

The dual unit has two hoppers; one for the seeds, and the other for granular fertilizer. The fertilizer is used to "side dress" which means to add a small amount of fertilizer a few inches away from the seed. As the plant grows, the roots reach over to the fertilizer.

The action to use either unit it is very simple and fast. Set the foot pad against the ground, press down on the handles to sink the beaks into the soil, then let the springs raise it back up to the starting position. Pick it up, kick some dirt into the holes, and move forward to the next spot.

Here are the basic comparison stats:

1. Construction = Plastic and Steel
2. Seed size range = medium to large
3. Seed Control = roller (like Jang)
4. Depth Control = 1.5" to 3"
5. Height = 33"
6. Base cost: Single = $59, Dual =$73

Easy-Plant

This manual planter uses a rocking or tilting motion to open the tip (the beak). To use it, you push it into the soil at a slight angle, then drop a seed down the chute by hand. Then you rock it forward so the foot out front presses against the soil and opens the beak. As you keep moving forward the beak is levered up and out of the soil.   (image credits to Johnny's and to The Martha Blog.)

This garden seeder does work through plastic film mulch, probably because the beak is so big that it tears a large enough hole in the film for the plant to grow up through. It is advertised as being for larger seeds (corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers, and sunflowers) but it seems that by being careful about when you drop the seed that you could do small seeds with it also.

Here are the basic comparison stats:

1. Construction = Wood and Steel
2. Seed size range = small? to large
3. Seed Control = by hand
4. Depth Control = adjustable foot
5. Height = 34"
6. Base cost = $124

What is the best Garden Seeder?

It depends on the size of your garden. See the recommendations in the table below.

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Garden Size Push Seeder Jab Planter Very Small none Stand-n-Plant Small Earthway Stand-n-Plant Medium Hoss Stand-n-Plant Large Hoss Automatic Commercial Jang Automatic