Bag salads are one of the fastest-selling grocery items and range from cut romaine lettuce to more diverse greens like kale and arugula to complete salad kits.
According to data presented in 2015, around 83% of American households purchase bag salads. Convenience is one of the reasons why consumers are hooked on buying these packaged leafy greens. Indeed, bag salads have significantly transformed meal prep over the past decade. Thanks to bagged salads, more and more Americans are eating salads regularly.
The continuous advances in agricultural machines have allowed easier planting and led to more bountiful harvests. Carefully chosen farming machinery enables crops to be grown and harvested with almost zero soil disturbance, ensures that the soil remains protected by cover crops, manages crop rotation, maintains nutrients in the soil, and many other benefits.
With the combination of proper human resource management, farm machinery ensures resourceful utilization of equipment and labor, leading to higher production yields and increased profitability for the farming business. Agricultural machinery is vital in increasing farming production and yielding bountiful crops.
Benefits of seed metering equipment
The seed metering equipment consistently distributes crop seeds by metering out the position and covering the seeds to an established average depth. The machine then sows the seeds at equivalent distances and precise depths. This action ensures that the seeds are covered in soil well enough to be protected from birds and pests.
Compared to manual crop seed planting, planting using seed metering equipment allows the correct distribution of seeds, which, in turn, leads to a high rate of produce.
Seed metering machines from Speed Spider
Solex has been importing and selling farm equipment in the Western US for over 50 years. Thus, the company offers a wide range of farm machinery from reputable brands in the USA and overseas.
The Seed Spider seed metering system allows control of the seeding rate with just a button push. An electric encoder motor-driven sponge meters seeds (raw and coated) uniformly, and each metering unit dispenses 1 to 6 lines.
These machines adapt easily to existing planting sleds. Their seed rate controller and driver feature GPS speed sensing. Each driver accepts up to 8 metering units, and the controller will accept up to three drivers.
Here are some of the seed metering equipment from Seed Spider:
1 Outlet Metering Unit with 5/8” Hose
1 Outlet Metering Unit with 1” Hose
2 Outlet Metering Units with 5/8” Hose
3 Outlet Metering Units with 5/8” Hose
4 Outlet Metering Units with 5/8” Hose
5 Outlet Metering Units with 5/8” Hose
6 Outlet Metering Units with 5/8” Hose
All of them have more or less the same standard features:
- The canister empties quickly for changing crops.
- The machine uniformly meters seeds from line to line.
- It has an easy-to-understand calibration.
- Its stainless-steel construction is resistant to corrosion.
- The metering units are removed quickly to prevent theft or damage during bad weather.
- 12-volt motors turn .3 revolutions per minute (rpm) in .1 rpm increments.
Controller
One of the distinct features of the Seed Spider metering system is the controller.
The controller works through the rotating sponge controlled from .3 to 30 rpm in 1/10”-increments, along with a choice of five different sponges. Each sponge size meters a little more seed. The seeding rate is determined by the combination of the sponge chosen and the rpm.
- Standard controllers will accept up to 24 metering units or a maximum of 144 lines.
- Economy controller will accept up to 4 metering units or a maximum of 24 lines. Ideal for smaller growers or producers.
The controller also features onboard diagnostics that send a warning to the operator of malfunctions, such as:
- Driving too fast or too slow;
- The canister has stopped working; or
- The GPS signal has been lost, etc.
The Speed Spider seed metering system was introduced in the late 1990s and has since become the number one seeding equipment for high-density crops like lettuce, spinach, etc. More farmers use the Speed Spider seeding system for planting such crops than with any other planter or seeder.
The next time you open a bag of fresh greens, you should have farmers (and farming technologies) to thank!
If you’re a farmer, grower, or producer interested in acquiring the Seed Spider seeding system, contact Solex at 707-678-5533 or sales@solexcorp.com. We will be happy to be of service!