Comments on: DIY Seeder, Make Your Own Vacuum Seeder For Easy Seed Planting http://wlkr.org Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:47:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Glenn Welker http://wlkr.org/projects/make-your-own-vacuum-seeder-for-easy-seed-planting/comment-page-1/#comment-45090 Glenn Welker Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:42:11 +0000 http://wlkr.org/?page_id=1002#comment-45090 I appreciate your comments. I too have looked multiple times at the grow-mor seed wands. Incredibly expensive for what amounts to pvc with tubes attached. Since I am a home gardener, I have been looking at smaller tools because I often plant several varieties of seed in a single cell flat. Elliot Coleman has referenced plans for a vacuum seeder in one of his books, I believe The Organic Grower but I have been unable to locate it. He also suggests that he has tried pumps for inflating rafts or inflatable beds. My experience has been that they are very loud, but maybe one of the manual ones would provide enough vacuum. I also have thought about your last comments. My idea is to run the lines/tips through a flexible membrane. I might need to illustrate this but I'll try to explain through words. Picture a handle with a flexible square of material , maybe rubber at the end of the handle. The handle could house the main vacuum line. The lines could then split into multiple lines attaching to needles that run through the flexible membrane. By attaching a mechanism to the center of the membrance, you could raise the center which in turn would pull the points toward the center. Then by pushing the membrance down, the tips would flex out. If this doesn't make sense, I will try to make a prototype. Have a great growing season. I appreciate your comments.

I too have looked multiple times at the grow-mor seed wands. Incredibly expensive for what amounts to pvc with tubes attached. Since I am a home gardener, I have been looking at smaller tools because I often plant several varieties of seed in a single cell flat.

Elliot Coleman has referenced plans for a vacuum seeder in one of his books, I believe The Organic Grower but I have been unable to locate it. He also suggests that he has tried pumps for inflating rafts or inflatable beds. My experience has been that they are very loud, but maybe one of the manual ones would provide enough vacuum.

I also have thought about your last comments. My idea is to run the lines/tips through a flexible membrane. I might need to illustrate this but I’ll try to explain through words. Picture a handle with a flexible square of material , maybe rubber at the end of the handle. The handle could house the main vacuum line. The lines could then split into multiple lines attaching to needles that run through the flexible membrane. By attaching a mechanism to the center of the membrance, you could raise the center which in turn would pull the points toward the center. Then by pushing the membrance down, the tips would flex out.

If this doesn’t make sense, I will try to make a prototype.

Have a great growing season.

]]> By: Benjamin http://wlkr.org/projects/make-your-own-vacuum-seeder-for-easy-seed-planting/comment-page-1/#comment-45020 Benjamin Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:51:35 +0000 http://wlkr.org/?page_id=1002#comment-45020 Hi Glenn Thanks for this, it's the first DIY vacuum seeder I've seen on the net. Can I suggest that you include the keywords "DIY" and "needle seeder" in here because that is what I have been searching with. Or put this onto the Instructables website. I work at Agresearch, a New Zealand government research organisation and our group studies and breeds white clover. I want to make a needle/ vacuum seeder like this to speed up sowing of larger trials so I'm looking at making multiple-tip seeders like this. I have a small vacuum pump that works well with single seeds using a plastic disposable pipette tip as the tip (using what is at hand). Last week I made a manifold that puts 96 of these tips together in a 8X12 grid (the same spacing as a 96 well microplate that we might use to store seeds and grow seedlings) but the vacuum pump is not strong enough to pick up seeds with this (only works if I let the vacuum build up and then I only have a few seconds of suction and it holds more than one seed on some of the tips). I'll have to check for leaks or use a bigger vacuum pump. I'm planning to make some that are just a row of tips for seeding trays, something like this: http://www.gro-morent.com/wandseeder.htm One idea is to use garden watering/ sprinkler system components (those black tubing ones which you can screw risers into) to make this and attach it to my current vacuum pump. It would be useful to have a flexible seed wand that can bend the tips together into one spot to pick up the seeds from a packet and then bend out to spread them out to sow the seeds into trays. I'm still thinking about that one! Anyway, thanks for putting this up Benjamin Hi Glenn
Thanks for this, it’s the first DIY vacuum seeder I’ve seen on the net. Can I suggest that you include the keywords “DIY” and “needle seeder” in here because that is what I have been searching with. Or put this onto the Instructables website.
I work at Agresearch, a New Zealand government research organisation and our group studies and breeds white clover. I want to make a needle/ vacuum seeder like this to speed up sowing of larger trials so I’m looking at making multiple-tip seeders like this. I have a small vacuum pump that works well with single seeds using a plastic disposable pipette tip as the tip (using what is at hand). Last week I made a manifold that puts 96 of these tips together in a 8X12 grid (the same spacing as a 96 well microplate that we might use to store seeds and grow seedlings) but the vacuum pump is not strong enough to pick up seeds with this (only works if I let the vacuum build up and then I only have a few seconds of suction and it holds more than one seed on some of the tips). I’ll have to check for leaks or use a bigger vacuum pump. I’m planning to make some that are just a row of tips for seeding trays, something like this: http://www.gro-morent.com/wandseeder.htm One idea is to use garden watering/ sprinkler system components (those black tubing ones which you can screw risers into) to make this and attach it to my current vacuum pump.
It would be useful to have a flexible seed wand that can bend the tips together into one spot to pick up the seeds from a packet and then bend out to spread them out to sow the seeds into trays. I’m still thinking about that one!
Anyway, thanks for putting this up
Benjamin

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