Chapin Garden Seeder with 6 Seed Plates, Model# 8701B

I plant about a quarter acre of sunflowers and other flowers for my bees. The sunflowers haven't flowered yet but those rows of sunflowers were planted using this seeder. THE DIRT HAS TO BE TILLED and once the dirt is prepared it works so well. There is a learning curve on how fast you push ratio to how close the seeds are. This little machine saved me hours and my back, it is lightweight. I am a late 60s shorter woman and no problems using it. It was not hard to assemble and I really love it.

This seed planter works like a charm, except for the minor downside of not picking up seeds when the level gets low. To ensure smooth operation, simply keep an ample amount of seeds in the container. Overall, it significantly speeds up the planting process and makes it a breeze compared to manual planting methods.

This product worked like a charm! I'm a new-to-farming-Gen-X "oldster" and needed a foolproof way of planting my flower seeds...sunflower, dahlias, zinnias, peonies and wildflowers. Each seed comes in so many different sizes so the easy to switch out discs were a breeze to use.I'm not even joking when it comes to using this thing. I'm about 5'7 and out-of-shape and pushing the Chapin Seed Planter was easy, the occasional rock or two in the soil might slow down progress but most rocks the wheel just ran right on over and kept on going. I wasn't strained, nor did I ever have to fight with this Planter, I thought it was a bit flimsy out of the box but really it's a magnificent device designed to save your back and your soul. Who knew?I had help from my 13 year old assembling the handle, which helps with two people but one person could do it alone. I think overall for the value, the time saved by not having to bend over and move row to row is truly what makes this nifty little seed planter so great. Can't imagine I'd be able to walk if I had to do it all by hand. Save your back and some money.

The Chapin 8701B seeder is decent but has flaws. The seed plates work for most varieties, but some smaller seeds jam. The zinc plow blade and row marker are helpful, though assembly could be clearer. The frame is sturdy but heavier than expected. Overall, it’s functional but needs minor improvements.

Oh my goodness! This is fantastic! My husband and I are in our late 60’s and we both LOVE to have a garden in the summer. It has been getting harder and harder on us to plant one and we would have to plant a couple of rows at a time and then rest for the day and then do it again the next day. With this seeder we were able to do half of our large garden in the time it would have taken us to do two rows before! It’s lightweight, easy to handle and keeps the rows fairly straight. I feel like the cost of the seeder is very good and it is easy to use, easy to understand. If you have trouble like we do….buy this…..you won’t regret it!

Well....seemed like a good purchase for the price point. I originally bought this to plant sunflowers. Box came pretty beat up so that made me pretty concerned that the parts inside were broken or missing. HOWEVER when I was trying to install the row attachment, I noticed the chute that goes from the hopper to the cutter where the seed is inserted to the ground wasn't even in the hole in the base of the frame. Could this have been from the rough shipping???? maybe but there are two bolts on both sides of the base plate and this thing was stuck on one of the bolt heads. This was probably due to manufacturing (China) and very poor-quality control.I was ready to just to send back but I needed to get this field planted so I decided to take the chute apart and see if I could move it over into the hole. Had to take 6-8 screws out and remove the bolt on the bottom to move the chut into the hole. All this to say it did work and I was able to get this back to together and get my sunflower field planted. It worked well and was easy to use.See if it holds up. Only tested with sunflower seeds.NOTE: have your soil prepared or this will not work correctly, and you don't want debris (grass, weeds etc) in the dirt because this stuff will clog the cutter and part that pulls dirt back over the seed and you will have to keep stopping. I would rake that stuff out before planting.Crappy assembly and poor-quality control is the reason for my low rating!

My original order arrived damaged. Things happen.I called the manufacturer, through the Amazon app. Nikki and Wendy of Chapin Manufacturing were stellar. I wish more companies had such great customer service!The seeder works well in tilled soil.

Seed plates and not straight. Seeds get in between plates and the seeder, preventing the pickup of seeds, bending plates further. Result, at least for smaller seeds (cabbage kale etc), is little to no planting. I can’t make the plastic plates straight . Might be defective from factory.I previously had an earthway and the seeder plates were made of stiffer material. I recommend that brand