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Pair Of Planters Speeds Up Planting
“It’s embarrassingly simple,” says Jeremy Bontrager of his 2-row walk-behind planter. For less than $225, he combined two 1-row garden planters that greatly reduce the time to plant 3 acres of wildlife plots.
    “I can plant an acre in about an hour and a half,” he says.
    Bontrager initially purchased one EarthWay® garden seeder. He liked it, but figured a 2-row planter would be twice as fast to plant sorghum and corn on his small Kendallville, Ind., farm.
    He purchased a second garden seeder and removed the bolts in the axles of both seeders. He replaced the bolts with long all-thread rods that connected the seeders and secured them with jam nuts. The rod extends beyond the wheels so he can vary the planting width from 20 to 30 in.
    “I married the two handles with a scrap of extruded aluminum bolted to the handles to keep it even,” he says.
    A wooden platform between the planters holds a tub of seed so he can refill planters as needed. The extra weight is also helpful to operate the ground-driven seeders.
    The planters need well-tilled soil to work well, he says, noting his twin unit is easier to use than the single seeder was. He points out that it would work great for people who plant large gardens. Each planter can be set up to plant different kinds of seeds.
    “It took less than an hour to make the conversion, and it’s a good universal planter,” Bontrager says. “It’s lightweight, so when you’re done with it you can hang it from a rafter where it’s out of the way.”
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeremy Bontrager, 9582 E. 300 N., Kendallville, Ind. 46755 (ph 260 349-1479).


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2013 - Volume #37, Issue #4