We are into our 32nd season of growing. A lot has changed in the industry and for me personally when it comes to planting seeds.
The first 2 years I seeded into open flats just scattering the seeds by hand. This is quick and easy but it can be hard for the transplanters and the seedlings to be pulled apart and transferred to the next size container.
To reduce the shock to the plant’s system it was decided in the industry that it would be best to seed the seeds individually into trays with tiny cells called plug trays.
My first seeder to accomplish this job was a vacuum box attached to a vacuum cleaner that had little holes with the spacing of the plug tray. This was a fiddly and time consuming process but it mostly worked.
Next came someone’s used automatic seeder which mostly worked but I was known to have serious fits of frustration when something broke and it would be a week or 2 to get the parts. I have a tight timetable I follow for seeding and losing 2 weeks is serious business.
Finally I got my then brand new Niagara Seeder made right here in Ontario. I loved it when I first got it and I still love it now. It is fancy enough but not too fancy. I rarely have repair issues and they are always dealt with promptly. It’s ways of operating is simple enough that Brian or Alex can usually sort out what the problem is when something goes awry.
The latest development is that Brian and Alex have developed a separate seeder for seeding greens. The most wonderful thing about it so far is that Brian and Alex have seeded all the greens since they came up with it.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wolXhbclQA&feature=youtu.be