Dibbler Wheel Speeds Garden Planting

Dibbler Wheel Speeds Garden Planting PLANTING EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Making holes to set plants and seeds with David Johnson’s dibbler wheel is as easy as driving down the row His 3-pt dibbler leaves 3-in depressions that are 6 in apart for seedlings onion sets and more “When arthritis in my knees made getting up and down more difficult I started to look for other ways to keep gardening ” says Johnson To make the dibbler he cut off a 5-in section of 12-in dia steel pipe to serve as the rim of the wheel “I cut a circle out of 3/16-in flat scrap and chucked it into a lathe to true-round it to fit inside the pipe ” says Johnson The biggest challenge was the “teeth” for the dibbler wheel “I had to do some calculating to get them mounted evenly on 30 degree angles ” he says He found a no-till planter framework at a farm auction He realized it would make a good mount for the dibbler wheel and was just the right width for the electric 3-pt lift arms on his 1974 Sears garden tractor The top of the framework provided a tray for a cement block Johnson finds the weight just right for making 3-in depressions “I’ve used it for all types of plants ” he says He works up the ground and uses discs to build up a bed about 12 in high This is raked down to about 6 in high and 16 to 18 in wide “I run the dibbler down the row straddling it with my garden tractor ” says Johnson He uses pvc drop tubes to place plants or bulbs into the holes He has a 2-in diameter tube for plant plugs and a slightly smaller one for onion bulbs He added a handle to the length of tubing and a slightly larger section of pvc pipe to its top connected by an adapter “I stick the end in the hole drop in the plant or bulb and move to the next hole ” says Johnson The plant stands up and I come back with a hoe to pull dirt around it It sure beats bending over and pushing them into the ground ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup David Johnson 8090 Benson Rd Carroll Ohio 43112 ph 740 504-5492; hoss677@ameritech net

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