Good seed to soil contact is important. If a seed gets hung up on the furrow it will have a hard time imbibing water and germinating.
To ensure this doesn’t happen you need to install Keeton® seed firmers. Once installed, Keeton seed firmers are going to firmly press that seed down to the bottom of the trench to get into moisture and then help you achieve consistent germination.
There are a couple of different styles of Keeton seed firmers. There’s a standard style, which is used in most cases. There’s also a low-stick option, which is used in wet/tacky soils that typically stick to the side of the seed firmer. All seed firmers can be used with a liquid tube to apply your liquid starter in-furrow.
It’s important to check the shape of the firmer and also the tension. You’ll want to look at the shape of the firmer to make sure it’s riding at the bottom of the trench. Make sure it’s not a V-shape. If it is, you need to replace it.
Using a fish scale you can check the tension of the firmer. Take a string, drop it down, loop it around the firmer, and pull up. You want to be able to reach 20 ounces of tension to make sure you’re firmly pressing that seed into the bottom of the seed trench. If you don’t reach 20 ounces of tension, it’s time to replace the firmer. In some types of Keeton seed firmers, there is a bolt on the back that can be tightened. This will allow extra tension to be placed on the firmer.
WET SOIL SOLUTION. In wet soils, regular seed firmers sometimes accumulate too much build-up. A low-stick seed firmer can be beneficial in these environments.
Watch this video about seed firmers.
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