CHAPIN 8701B Push Garden Seeder for Row Planting, 20 Seed Varieties | Plant rows faster with interchangeable seed plates for multiple seed types, plus a rust-resistant hopper for garden use

Quality seems really good and assembly was just as the instructions had laid out. It's extremely easy to use and beats doing it all by hand. My old method was placing each seed in the ground by hand which took hours and was brutal on the back and legs. This took me maybe an hour to do 1000 feet worth of pea rows which included troubleshooting and experimentation. The only negative thing I will say is that the seed plate designations are a bit off. I planted purple hull peas which classify as a medium pea to me (largest plate available on this unit) but that plate dropped 4-5 peas in every hole which was entirely too much. I dropped down to small pea which was the next one and I was still placing 3-4 to a hole which is still too many. I ended up using the okra plate which was perfect. Consistently 1 pea with the occasional double pea. But that concerns me because okra seeds are tiny compared to a pea seed. Overall, the functionality was great and I've got a good stand of peas now(a REALLY thick stand for the 20ish feet that I used the medium plate). Only time will tell on how long the little drive belt will last, but it didn't show any signs of wear after planting my garden. Definitely recommend storing it in a shed that keeps it sheltered from the elements though. And will also experiment with adding some weight to the rear of the unit next year to help the rear covering wheel make better contact in the areas where a good bit of grass was still under the soil

They say you get what you pay for. So when I paid very little for this seeder, I honestly did not expect much. But after a very easy assembly, I put it to the test and planted 1/4 acre corn at 1.5" depth into clayey loam. The front wheel is adequately tracked and the adjustable drive belt stays tight! The spring loaded furrow burier is suprisingly more efficient at covering than the standard drag chain of other brands. I love the extra-wide rear wheel that gently compacts the row leaving a perfect rut to track your row straightness plus a low spot for rain accumulation. The adjustable side arm row marker disc also is way better than the drag marker you get with other brands. The disc keeps up with you with no resistance! Best, the comfort grips are a huge advantage when doing large gardens. Only downside is the limited seed options you have in the seed plates provided, but I found that you can find the right size one and tape over excess openings to get the spacing you need. Great product. Probably the best in the $100 class.

Works pretty good. Doesn't miss too many seeds. Made for a tilled garden. You are not going to furrow sod with it.

I've tried a couple of seeders to seed soybeans into well-tilled northern Michigan light soil with pre-made rows (I have irrigation for this place which is neccessary to grow anything in this soil), and this seeder was best as it seemed to do what I wanted it to do. I'll know more in a couple of weeks when the soybeans come up. I ended up using the disc that said beets, okra, and swiss chard, that had smaller holes than the disc that said beans and small peas, that would hold two soybean seeds at a time. Neither one of these discs were depicted in the user manual, so I hope that you get the beets and okra disc if you're doing soybeans. I found that some of the seeds hopped out of the hopper which I fixed quite well and easily by affixing a plastic top to the hopper with gorrilla waterproof tape, which is strong, sticky, flexible, and well suited for the job, probably more functional than anything they could have produced in the factory. You can see this set-up in the accompanying video.

NOTE: Some the most common complaints I noticed had to to with failure to plant or clogging the seed chute....Soil preparation and condition are paramount...the soil must be loose and free of debris and not too wet so that that the furrow opener and furrow closer can function smoothly .....improperly tilled soil with a lot of loose grass will prevent planting and germination and growth by poor seed depth and lack of firm soil to seed contact. Quality is the bare minimum needed to function, probably best for a beginner or experienced gardener who wants a seeder without breaking the bank....Most all others within this price range $120-$180 are virtually identical ....the next level higher in quality is probably The 'Hoss' brand which is $500-$600. The worst aspects of the seeder is that it uses thin flat metal and the left side of the upright to the handle was bent toward the hopper in shipping ...the slight bend caused it to be too close the plastic hopper and the one of the bolts need to be inserted such that the threaded end would not rub on the plastic hopper and cause damage...even if bent back to the proper position the flat rail was by design too close as you can tell by the sleeve spacer located on the equivalent handle bolts on the right side....even with the bolt reversed it would be wise to insert some sort of protective cushion between the bolt hex head and the plastic hopper. There is some advantage that parts of it are made of plastic as it won't rust. I think the seed plate should have a better means of attachment...it seems like it is prone to coming loose especially if seeds build up behind the face of the plate and push the plate away from the housing. For the most part it should work ok for you if you use it with care, clean and store after planting and use a bit of finesse or as my Grandpa used to say ".....hold you mouth right....."

Very disappointed in the operation of this planter. The first time I used the planter was to plant sweet corn. The first planting came up spotty. I blamed the seed. I tilled that planting area down and order seed from another supplier. I just came in from trying to plant the area again and believe I found out why my stand was spotty. The corn plate did not always have a seed in the plate as it rotated in the hopper. I did get the patch planted but had to watch the plate and put a seed in the plate every time the slot in the plate was empty. The pickup plate cups are too small for the sweet corn seed, and the planter does not pickup seed when you are about out on seed. It will leave seed in the hopper when you are about done.

Soil condition is a huge factor in how this will perform. I have rocky clay, the plot in the photo is three years in removing rocks and adding manure and mulch. Any sizeable rocks will stop the seeder, also root clumps from cover crops the tiller didn't break up, that being said I put alot of effort into removing these, I hit some but overall went very smoothly. I planted 1 lbs peaches and cream sweet corn using the corn plate, the first few rows have high density while the last few are sparse and I will likely remove them and replant in a few weeks.

Easy to handle. Plus the seeds was spread out nicely.

Broke on first use

Muy buena compra la recomiendo atodos si

Excellent item. All parts included

Planting discs and hardware missing from box , unusable , returned for refund .

Plantation