Seeders, aka landscape seeders or spreaders, are versatile machines, often featuring adjustable applicators suitable for spreading multiple sizes of seeds and other materials, such as fertiliser or rock salt.
Read More (About Seeders)Seeders, also called landscape seeders or spreaders, are used on golf courses to plant various types of grasses on fairways, greens, tee boxes, roughs, walkways, and other surfaces. Most seeders feature adjustable applicators that support seeds of different sizes and can often be used to lay other materials, such as fertiliser or rock salt.
There are two primary types of seeders: broadcast and slit-seeding. Broadcast seeders are most commonly used for overseeding where the goal may be to fix patches in the turf or replace divots, prevent weeds from expanding, or simply thicken up the grass.
Slit seeders, on the other hand, are equipped with discs or blades that cut lines at various depths into the grass and then drop seeds into the slit to promote growth and produce stronger turf. There are also grass drills available that can plant seeds in either worked or unworked soil, but they are used more frequently for agricultural applications, such as planting grass on a large acreage.
Depending on what the application calls for, groundskeepers may opt to use a walk-behind, pull-behind (pull-type), or mounted seeder. Walk-behind seeders may have an engine that controls the disc(s) and spreader mechanism, or they may use a gear system that takes power from the wheels and spins the applicator for broadcast seeding. These compact machines are ideal for seeding greens, tee boxes, and other surfaces that may require more precision.
Other, larger seeders may either be mounted to the front of a machine, such as a skid steer, or feature couplers that can be connected to the three-point hitch on a utility vehicle or tractor in a pull-behind configuration. Some of these units require energy from a power take-off (PTO) in order to operate. Pull-behind seeders typically have larger payload capacities and working widths, making them well-suited for seeding fairways, roughs, and other long stretches of turf.
NeedTurfEquipment.co.uk has a large selection of new and used seeders for sale from such popular brands as Billy Goat, Brillion, Exmark, and Land Pride.
Brillion, a Landoll brand, has a line of Landscape Series seeders with support for both skid-steer mounting and three-point hitches. This includes the LSS-6, which weighs 559 kilograms (1,242 pounds) and has a working width of 1.8 metres (6 feet) and maximum seed box capacity of 4.5 bushels. The company also sells Turfmaker Series seeders with working widths of between 2.4 and 3.6 m (8 and 12 ft) for larger applications.
Another popular line is Land Pride’s OS15 Series Overseeders, which includes the OS1548 and the OS1572. The Land Pride OS1548, for example, has a seeding width of 1.3 m (4.25 ft) and a seed box capacity of 4 bushels. Both are available with an optional slit seeder attachment.