Homemade Stand-Up Seed Planters allow those with mobility and/or back issues to sow seeds in their gardens without having to kneel or bend over, which would otherwise put stress on the back, knees, or hips. Here are brief descriptions of three such minimal-cost DIY planting devices plus online construction plans for a bit-more-elaborate planter. All utilize PVC pipe.
E.R. of Iowa wears a carpenter’s apron with the seeds in its pocket. As he walks each row, he drops the seeds, one at a time, into a small funnel taped to one end of a 40-inch length of 1/2-inch PVC pipe. (Source: Successful Farming Magazine )
E.C of Wisconsin uses PVC pipe of various diameters for planting onion sets as well as different-size seeds. Straddling each row, he pushes the pipe down into the soil a little bit past the desired depth, drops a set or seed through the pipe, then lifts it straight up, which causes the dirt to cover that which was just planted. (Source: Farm Show Magazine )
S.S. of Indiana attached to a 4-foot length of 1-inch-diameter PVC pipe the following items: (1) a kitchen funnel at the top, into which he drops the seed; (2) a short piece of a pointed dowel rod at the bottom, to ensure proper seed placement; and (3) a 6-inch length of wood trim-board running perpendicular to both pipe and rod, to ensure proper seed spacing. He uses a hoe to open the soil. (Source: S.S.)
‘Thin Man’ of Michigan made his seeder using PVC pipe plus the following items—a funnel, a squeeze handle, a pull-rod, and a steel flipper. Once a seed is dropped into the funnel and falls to bottom of the pipe, which has been inserted into the soil, he squeezes the handle, which pulls the rod upward to open the flipper and release the seed. (Source: Complete instructions, including pictures, at A Homemade Seed Planter | ThinMan's Blog)