6 Best Pea Planters For Companion Planting Old Farmers Swear By
Boost your harvest with companion planting. We explore 6 farmer-approved pea planters, from classic designs to modern tools for precise, efficient seeding.
You’ve spent hours amending your soil and laying out your garden beds for perfect companion planting. You have your pea seeds ready to go alongside their friends—carrots, spinach, and radishes. But when it’s time to plant, you realize the challenge: pea seeds are huge, carrot seeds are dust, and they all need different spacing and depths to thrive together.
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Why Precise Seeding Matters for Peas & Friends
Getting your seed spacing right is the foundation of a successful companion-planted bed. It’s not just about neat rows; it’s about resource management on a tiny scale. Peas need room to climb, but their root systems are relatively compact, leaving space below for others.
Carrots, on the other hand, need loose soil and zero competition to develop straight, full roots. Spinach needs space to spread its leaves to catch the sun. If you plant them too close, they compete for water, sunlight, and nutrients. The result? Stunted peas, forked carrots, and bolted spinach.
Proper spacing gives each plant exactly what it needs to flourish without interfering with its neighbor. A good planter turns this tricky task from a frustrating guessing game into a simple, repeatable process. It ensures every seed has a fighting chance from the moment it hits the soil.
Earthway 1001-B: The All-Around Garden Workhorse
Plant 17 garden seed varieties with this set of 6 seed plates, compatible with the Earthway 1001-B Seeder. Durable plastic plates ensure evenly spaced planting for vegetables like corn, radishes, beans, and more.
The Earthway is the classic for a reason. It’s a lightweight, no-fuss push seeder that has probably planted more garden rows than any other tool of its kind. It works by using a set of interchangeable plastic plates, each with different-sized holes to accommodate various seeds.
It comes standard with a plate that works beautifully for peas, dropping them at a consistent depth and spacing. For companion planting, this tool excels at creating parallel rows. You can plant a perfect row of peas, then quickly mark out a parallel row for carrots or radishes using the adjustable row marker.
While you can’t easily alternate different seeds within the same row, its speed and consistency for adjacent plantings are hard to beat. The plastic construction is a tradeoff for its affordable price, but with proper care, it will serve a small farm for many seasons. It’s the go-to for establishing clean, separate rows for your companion crops.
Hoss Garden Seeder: Built for Lasting Accuracy
Accurately plant seeds of all sizes with this versatile walk-behind garden seeder. It features adjustable planting depth and a removable hopper for easy seed changes.
If the Earthway is the reliable sedan of garden seeders, the Hoss is the heavy-duty truck. Built in the USA with a powder-coated steel frame and Amish-crafted wooden handles, this tool is designed to be passed down through generations. It’s an investment, but one that pays dividends in reliability.
The precision of the Hoss seeder is where it truly shines. The seed plates are custom-drilled and the mechanism is engineered to prevent skips and doubles, a common frustration with cheaper models. This accuracy is critical when you’re trying to maximize a small space with companion plants. You can confidently plant a row of peas, knowing the spacing is exact, then use a different plate to lay a perfect line of spinach seeds just inches away.
This level of predictability removes a major variable from the gardening equation. You aren’t left wondering if a bare patch is due to poor germination or a faulty seeder. For the serious hobby farmer who values precision and durability, the Hoss provides the confidence to plan and execute complex planting schemes.
Chapin 8701B: An Affordable Push Seeder Option
Plant your garden with ease using the Chapin 8701B Push Seeder. It accurately plants up to 20 seed varieties with 6 included seed plates and features an adjustable row marker for consistent spacing.
Not everyone needs a tool built for a lifetime of hard use right out of the gate. The Chapin 8701B push seeder is a fantastic entry-level option that delivers the core benefits of a mechanical seeder without the higher price tag. It functions similarly to the Earthway, using a series of seed plates to handle different crops.
This seeder is more than capable of handling the basics of companion planting. It will create a clean furrow, drop your pea seeds at a reasonable interval, and cover them up, all in one pass. This saves your back and ensures a much more uniform planting depth than you could ever achieve by hand.
The build might be lighter and the precision slightly less dialed-in than more expensive models, but don’t discount its utility. For someone with a few raised beds, it’s the perfect tool to graduate from hand-sowing. It makes planting long rows of peas, beans, and corn incredibly fast, freeing up your time and energy for more delicate tasks.
Stand ‘N Plant for No-Bend Intercropping Peas
Push row seeders are great for lines, but what about more intricate, mixed plantings? This is where a tool like the Stand ‘N Plant seeder comes in. It’s not for speed over long distances; it’s for surgical precision without kneeling or bending.
This simple tool allows you to stand comfortably while placing individual seeds exactly where you want them. You push the pointed end into the soil to the desired depth, drop a seed down the tube, and move to the next spot. This method is ideal for intercropping within the same row—a pea seed, then a radish seed two inches over, then another pea seed.
This is something a push seeder simply cannot do. It lets you execute high-density planting strategies like square-foot gardening with ease. For planting peas among low-growing companions like lettuce or spinach in a raised bed, the Stand ‘N Plant offers unmatched control for complex, space-saving designs.
A.M. Leonard Soil Knife for Surgical Placement
This durable soil knife features a 6-inch stainless steel blade with both serrated and slicing edges for versatile gardening tasks. The bright orange handle provides a comfortable, secure grip, and depth gauge markings eliminate the need for extra tools.
Sometimes the best tool isn’t a complex machine, but a simple, versatile hand tool. The A.M. Leonard Soil Knife, often called a hori-hori, is the market gardener’s secret weapon. It’s not a "planter," but it facilitates the most precise planting you can do.
With a serrated edge for cutting roots and a sharp point for digging, it’s already a garden essential. But for planting, the depth markings inscribed on the blade are its killer feature. You can create a perfect 1-inch-deep hole for a pea seed, then use the tip to score a quarter-inch-deep trench for carrot seeds right beside it.
This method is deliberate and manual, but it gives you absolute control over spacing and depth for each and every seed. It’s the perfect approach for small, intensively planted beds where you’re mixing three or four different crops together. When your planting plan is more of a mosaic than a series of rows, a soil knife is your best friend.
Jang JP-1 Seeder: The Ultimate in Precision
For the hobby farmer operating at the upper end of the scale, the Jang JP-1 is the gold standard. This is a professional-grade tool that brings incredible accuracy and efficiency to the small farm. It’s a significant investment, but its performance is in a class of its own.
The Jang uses a system of specialized, swappable rollers—not plates—to singulate seeds. It can handle everything from tiny, pelleted lettuce seeds to large pea and bean seeds with near-perfect accuracy. There are virtually no skips or doubles, meaning no wasted seed and no need to thin later.
For companion planting on a larger scale—say, a 50-foot bed of peas next to a 50-foot bed of carrots—the Jang is a game-changer. The time saved and the flawless germination that results from perfect placement make it a worthy investment for anyone managing a market garden or a very large homestead plot. It’s the pinnacle of walk-behind seeding technology.
Choosing the Right Planter for Your Garden Plot
The "best" planter depends entirely on your garden’s scale, your budget, and your planting philosophy. There is no single right answer, only the right tool for your specific situation. Don’t get caught up in buying the most expensive option if a simpler tool fits your needs better.
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
- For neat, parallel rows in a typical backyard garden: The Earthway or Chapin offers the best balance of speed, affordability, and convenience.
- For a lifetime tool with unmatched durability for row planting: The Hoss is your answer.
- For intricate, mixed-plantings in raised beds: The Stand ‘N Plant or a Soil Knife gives you the precise control you need.
- For the serious grower with a large plot demanding efficiency: The Jang JP-1 is the ultimate precision machine.
Think about how you actually plant. If you love creating complex intercropped beds, a push seeder will only frustrate you. If you have several long rows to get in the ground before a rain, a soil knife will feel agonizingly slow. Match the tool to the reality of your garden and the time you have.
Ultimately, a good planter is a tool that removes barriers between your vision and a successful harvest. By ensuring each seed gets the right start in life, you’re not just planting rows; you’re laying the groundwork for a thriving, productive garden ecosystem where every plant helps its neighbor.
