The Ultimate Buyer's Guide for Purchasing Nursery tray making machine

Seeders are machines that help nurseries and horticulturists sow seeds.They help distribute the seeds properly and consistantly on soil or trays. These machines are much more accurate compared to planting by hand. Large scale nurseries and gardens will need seeder machines to help them to improve quality of plants, save time, and energy resulting in reduced costs.

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This simple guide helps you learn and understand how a seeder works, what types of seeders exist, and give ideas on which seeder is best for your nursery.

Types of Seeders:

There are many types of seeders with their own specialties. Every garden or nursery may own one or more of these types. Here are the common types:

1. Belt seeder – This type makes circular holes which has uniform spacing and intervals to accommodate the seeds. Coated seeds improve the consistency of placing seeds. The vacuum seeder has better spacing compared to this seeder.
2. Vacuum Seeder - Coated seeds are not recommended for this type of seeder. The vacuum type is more accurate than the belt type in terms of spacing. It can cater for a wide range of seeds but is not very good at singulating.
3. Pneumatic Seeder – The seed is blown into the soil in tubes. This is recommended for large types of seeds.
4. Plate Seeder- Seeds are dropped into a notch in the plate and are transferred to the drop point. The plate type seeder will have a difficult time singulating round-shaped seeds. Seeds are prone to scatter due to the distance of the drop from the hopper to the soil.
5. Spoon Seeder- Seeds are scooped up by small spoons and carried to the “drop shoot”. The spoon makes a turn and then drops the seed. The spacing will depend on the number of spoons and the fit/clearances of gears. Different kinds of spoons are available for different kinds of seed sizes.
6. Grooved Cylinder Seeder- Round seeds or coated seeds that are made round by coating are required by this seeder. The seeds will fall from a tube to a slot at the top of a case into a cylinder. The cylinder will turn slowly to the bottom of the case where the seeds will drop from a diagonal slot. This is best used for small seeds.

Nurseries use different kinds of seeders depending on the seeds they need to sow. Different types of seeders have been designed in the market place to suit specific applications but sometimes, diffent seeds call for different machines.  That is why the seeders mentioned below are made with a combination of machine designs and parts that work as a whole. This tends to makes them more efficient for a variety of seeds than purpose built equipment.. 

The common types of these “combined” machines are the bar seeders and the drum seeders. Such seeders are made of different parts so that the seeder can do the work from planting to watering in the one production line. The end products are trays of seeds waiting to be transferred to the hot houses for germination.

The Bar Seeder

How Does the Bar Seeder Work?

A bar seeder is a seeder that moves trays containing soil along a transport belt. The transport belt transfers the trays from one machine part to another.The dibbling unit then creates holes in the soil and then places the seeds in the holes created. (The action of creating such holes is called dibbling or dibble.)

After placing the seeds in the holes, the vermiculite dispenser then covers the holes with Vermiculite and perlite (Vermiculite and perlite are materials used to help with the moisture retention and soil aeration). 

Finally, the watering unitwaters the seeds and the seeds (on the trays) are then ready for transfer to the green house. 

Here are the main parts of a Bar Seeder:

1. Dibbling Unit

It is a device that dibbles the cells of a tray. It creates uniform holes or dibblesbefore seeding.

2. Drum for Vermiculite (Vermiculite Dispenser)

After the seeds are sown, the dispenser dispenses vermiculite. The use of vermiculite is ideal for the germination of seeds due to its water holding abilities.

3. Watering Unit

The watering bar waters the seeds with the exact amount needed. It is precise and accurate compared to manual watering.  

The Drum Seeder

The drum seeder is a machine that creates a hole on the soil otherwise called as “dibbling”.

It then places the seed in the hole and then covers it with vermiculite, perlite, sand, peat, water, and stacks.

The drums are changeable where you can make it plant various types of seeds into various types of trays.

There are 3 types of Drums in Drum Seeders:

1. Single drum sowing head

This type has an electronic speed control on the transport conveyor belt. The sowing drums are allowed many seeds per hole without having to change the drum. (A transport conveyor belt is responsible for transferring the tray to other parts of the seeder. It is designed like a belt with pulleys. It moves in a continuous loop.)

2. Double drum sowing heads 

This type of drum allows seeds to be arranged in astaggered cell pattern. (A staggered cell pattern is a kind of arrangement or order. Cells are the spaces in the tray where the soil and seeds are placed.)

3. Triple drum sowingheads

This type of drum allows three different types of seed for sowing. This is recommended for sowing flowers with different colors.

The Importance of These Seeders

Both seeders are very important because they can save time and energy.

Why Should Nurseries Use Seeders?

• Because there will be no excess seeds. Money is saved by buying seeds that are only needed to be sown. By using seeders, seeds are not wasted compared to manual planting where seeds are prone to be wasted due to miscalculation and other factors.
• Because seeders help nurseries achieve uniformity due to the right spacing the seeder gives. This leads to better growth and survival of the seeds and plants.

How Should Nurseries Choose The Right Seeders To Use?

certain factors

1. Cost

   – How much are you willing to spend for a seeder machine? Will you save more money by purchasing one?

2. Seeding speed

   – how fast can the seeder sow seeds?

3. Flexibility

   – can the seeder sow different kinds of seeds or do they only sow one kind?

4. Production

   – Do you need to sow large quantities? Or is manual labour enough?

Which Seeder Should You Choose?

Choosing seeders will depend on

If you want to use a seeder for sowing seeds of the same kind in one sitting, then the best bet would be the bar seeder. However, if you want to plant a variety of seeds in one sitting, then use a drum seeder.

Depending on what is needed, one may get a type of seeder (as mentioned in the Types of Seeders) which suits the needs of the nursery.

Conclusion

Sowing of seeds were difficult and tiring but thanks to the invention of seeders, success in sowing seeds is easier to achieve. Seeders are definitely a must have for horticulturists, gardens, greenhouses and the like.

Sometimes I have a hard time being flexible.

I’ve been like that for as long as I can remember… If we had something on the calendar growing up, it was gonna happen. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. And if it didn’t? Well, I pretty much had a meltdown.

I’ve grown out of the meltdown part (although my husband might try to argue that point…), but dang it– if I put something on the calendar, you can bet I’ll go to the ends of the earth to make sure it happens.

Let’s just say it’s a blessing and a curse.

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ANYWAY.

This does tie into today’s post, I promise.

So I had “plant tomato and pepper seeds” written on my calendar for the ‘project of the day’ last Saturday. I cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast, got the kids occupied with a project, and headed to the basement to dig out my big box o’ seed stuff.

That’s when I discovered I had a grand total of 8 little coconut coir pellets left. And approximately 2 cups of potting soil. This was a problem.

Way to go, Jill. Way to go. 

A quick visit to Amazon got 200 of the little pellets (affiliate link) on their way to my house via USPS, but that wasn’t going to help me that day.

But I wasn’t about to abandon my seed operation. I was determined, y’all. It’s February. I haven’t touched a plant in months. I HAD to do something so I could pretend I was gardening. So I decided to give my seed trays and flats a good scrub and disinfecting, which is how this blog post was born. Poor planning for the win, I suppose.

Do You Really NEED to Disinfect Seed Trays?

Maybe. Probably not? I don’t know. 

How’s that for an answer?

Truth be told, I don’t always disinfect my seedling flats, pots, cups, or trays. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I’m NOT a germaphobe, and I’m pretty laid back about such things. (I rarely even sterilize my chicken coop for new chicks— I believe in the power of good bacteria.)

However, if you’ve had issues with any sort of plant disease, fungi issues, or damping off (more on that below), I would definitely plan on cleaning and disinfecting your seed starting equipment before you start your seeds each year.

It’s cheap insurance to prevent big issues like damping off, which can be borderline devastating when you’re anxious to get your seeds rolling. (And Lord knows we are…)

What is Damping Off?

You plant the seed.

You water the seed.

The seed begins to emerge from the soil and you get all excited.

And then said seedling shrivels and DIES with no explanation.

That’s damping off. It’s so rude.

For the more technical-minded, damping off is a disease of seedlings caused most commonly by fungus or mold. Sometimes it affects just a handful of your seeds, while other times it can wipe out entire trays of fledgling plants.

Needless to say, you don’t want to be dealing with damping off, so it’s wise to take simple precautions to prevent it.

How to Prevent Damping Off in Seedlings:

• Don’t reuse dirty potting soil
• Keep your seedlings warm while they are sprouting (our basement is cold, so I keep a small heater in the room and run it on low heat)
• Water seeds or seedlings with lukewarm water, not ice cold
• Don’t crowd seedlings
• Provide seedlings with sufficient light (usually 12-16 hours of consistent light– oftentimes window light is not enough. I use fluorescent lights for my seed starting set up.)
• Clean and disinfect pots, flats, and trays before you use them to start seeds, which is what we’re talking about today.

How to Disinfect Seed Trays

Not surprisingly, the most common way people disinfect or sterilize seed starting equipment is with bleach. The Internet has such a fascination with bleach, but I can’t stand the stuff.

Thankfully, hydrogen peroxide comes to the rescue. Yup, just plain old, drugstore-strength, 3% hydrogen peroxide. Easily available, cheap, and much less stinky. Bingo.

Here’s how I disinfect my seed trays the natural way– no nasty bleach required:

Step One:

Shake out any residual soil from the seed trays and flats. You may need to soak everything in a bit of water if any soil is dried on and super crusty.

Step Two:

Scrub the trays and containers with warm, soapy water. I used a bit of my #1 favorite natural cleaning concentrate in the entire universe for this part, On Guard Cleaning Concentrate. This concentrate, by itself, will likely eliminate most of the issues that cause damping off, so I figure using it alongside hydrogen peroxide is the perfect one-two punch. If you don’t have any On Guard cleaner, you can use regular soap and water. (And then order some On Guard Cleaner. You’ll thank me later.)

Step Three:

Spray the trays, flats, cups, or whatever with a generous spritz of hydrogen peroxide, then let everything sit for 20 minutes.

Step Four:

Wipe with a clean, dry cloth, and you’re ready to plant! Pretty easy, eh? Disinfecting your seed equipment is a project you can easily complete in a morning or afternoon and it’s a simple way to eliminate one of the biggest causes of damping off.

Seed Tray Disinfecting Notes:

• I would recommend doing this project outside. It was stupidly cold and windy the day I did it, so I opted to wash in my laundry room tub. However, it’s a messy task that’d be better suited for a warm spring day where you can use a big plastic tub outside, or something along those lines–especially if you have a lot of trays. Also, leaving your seed trays to dry in the sun for a while is another way to kill off any bad stuff that may be lingering inside.
• What about vinegar? Yeah, I know– I was wondering the same thing. Using vinegar was my initial thought, but I’m not certain it has enough punch to kill off all the problematic microorganisms. And if I’m going to go to the trouble of disinfecting everything, I want to be sure the effort was worth my time, which is why I opted for hydrogen peroxide instead. If you do want to try vinegar, you could spray the rinsed flats and pots with a spritz of white vinegar, wipe, and then follow with another spritz of hydrogen peroxide.
• If you want to know all the details of our laundry room washtub sink, here’s a post with all the details.

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