No-stoop seed sowing

A long dowel and a pipe make sowing seed easier. Photo/Illustration: Christine Erikson

When I want to seed a large bed of corn or beans without being on my hands and knees all day, I use two homemade tools. The first is a long wooden dowel with a large rubber washer placed near one end; I adjust the placement of the washer so its distance from the end of the dowel is equal to the depth of the holes I need. I use it to poke uniform holes in the soil as I walk down the rows.

My other homemade tool is a long piece of metal pipe. As I walk along, I place the pipe in the hole I’ve made with the dowel and drop a seed in the top. A quick swipe with a rake and a sprinkler finishes the job.