Wooden roller for sowing wheat

Hi there!


I am looking to make a roller to sow wheat. Since I want to do it myself, with available material, I was thinking of making it with a log.

The thing is, I fear that it might not be heavy enough to compact the soil after sowing.

Has anybody tried it?

Anyhow, people 5000 years ago didn't have concrete or cheap steel to make rollers out of, and I guess they didn't each have a stone roller.

Thus I would tend to think that people were able to make one themselves, but I couldn't find anything about this on the web.

What was the traditional roller like?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Hey Vic, your question intrigued me.
The earliest known  mechanism for sowing seeds is probably a tube attached to a horse drawn plow:

https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/13/

This did not use wheels, but it would probably have had bronze fasteners and other parts.

Before this and indeed after this, people sowed grain by hand.

If you want to build a human powered wheeled seeder  maybe start by learning how to build one from scap items that can be had for free,such as bicycle parts.

After that , you will know what parts you need to replicate from raw timber and you'll be able to evaluate the time it will take.

I think the ancient tradition was bare feet. but a log would probably do the job

Perhaps you could post a pic of a roller, or a link for one? Lots of out of the box thinkers here... We just need to know what your roller is supposed to look like.

My earthway seeder has a plastic roller wheel.

First comes the front wheel.
Then a chisel to dig a furrow.
Then it drags a chain to refill the furrow.
It's followed by a back wheel that  compacts the soil.

Mostly though, when planting seeds, I stomp them into the ground with my bare feet.

Thanks a lot for the replies guys! I didn't expect that many responses, and as swift as that.

I realize that my post wasn't clear enough.

To correct this: I am not looking to build a seeder, but just a device to compact the soil.

I looked at videos on how to sow by hand, and the process is the following: work the soil a bit, sow, make the seeds fall by vibrating the soil with a rake, and then compact the soil.

It's the last part that I am asking about.

Until now, I did it as some of you guys said, by stomping on it. The thing is, this year I planted 50 m2 (about 500 square feet), and I would like to double or quadruple that next year. Even if I stayed at 50 m2, it is EXHAUSTING to stomp on it. I didn't believe it would, but believe me, it reminded me of my hardest basketball practices.

Thus I am looking to get a roller for the last part.

Here is a picture of a purchasable one, for lawn:



Here is a picture of a homemade one out of concrete: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426153183518351449/visual-search/?x=16&y=16&w=532&h=414&cropSource=6&surfaceType=flashlight

Here is a picture of an ancient one, made of stone:

The question for me then is:

I can't make it out of stone, I have no idea how the hell I could carve a stone to become a cylinder, I am not equipped for that. I don't want to make this out of concrete. I want to make this with readily available material, whatever I can gather around me, in the forest, the field, whatever.

I have a few logs that I was thinking of using, but I was wondering whether they would be heavy enough to compact the soil well.

Thus I was wondering if anybody had this experience.

I am guessing that before concrete was invented, people did differently. I don't believe that every household had this massive stone roller. It is possible that they stomped the ground, but it seems unlikely to me, for several reasons. First, I have never seen depictions of people stomping their field, paintings or stuff. Second, as I mentioned it is exhausting, and people back in the days were careful not to waste their scarce energy.

Thanks again very much for your answers and your help!

Actually, @Joseph Lofthouse, looking again at your device, it inspired me some idea, that I could just have something similar, although I wouldn't need the furrow or the chain, but just two wheels, and with the handle I could exert some pressure on the back wheel.

Did you use it to sow wheat? Could you thus tell whether it compacts the soil enough for a good germination of wheat?

Vic Dupont wrote:
I am guessing that before concrete was invented, people did differently. I don't believe that every household had this massive stone roller. It is possible that they stomped the ground, but it seems unlikely to me, for several reasons. First, I have never seen depictions of people stomping their field, paintings or stuff. Second, as I mentioned it is exhausting, and people back in the days were careful not to waste their scarce energy.

Thanks again very much for your answers and your help!

I'm imagining a seed sowing party:


Looks like fun!

Failing that, I've seen lawn rollers that are hollow cylinders filled with water. Only plastic ones unfortunately, but it makes them much easier to move around when not in use, since you can just empty the water out to lighten the load again.

I do not favor broadcast sowing. Planting into rows minimizes the amount of ground to compact. Planting into rows makes weeding  easier.

I often plant wheat with an Earthway seeder. It works wonderful.

I might also use a planting stick, in which case, I trample each seed immediately after planting.

Wheat germinates within a couple days of getting wet. Broadcasting right before rain minimizes seed predation.

To summarize: The objective is to bring the soil/moisture in close contact with the seed.  Not necessarily to compact the soil.  So a log with a pin in each end with a yoke of rope that pulls behind you may work fine. A rain or overhead irrigation will also compact the soil around the seed and provide the moisture to start the germination.

 

Negative experience: I did not compress the soil or water it after this planting and I had no germination but I blamed it on dead seed from the grocery bulk bin.

You could drive over the area with a vehicle.

You could drag something heavy across the ground. Doesn't have to roll.

Thanks a lot for all your answers and your help.

My approach was not that much to try to "find" a solution, but just to ask how people used to do before, since for thousands of years they were in this exact situation. I find it weird that we have no clearer knowledge than that on how people used to sow wheat. It's the basis of our civilisation.

Anyway, to answer precise points, yes, rain does compact the soil, and so far I've tried to sow just before rain, but I was told it's not enough to just count on rain.

I guess I could try either a log, or something with just wheels, and either a weight on top, or a handle to exert downward pressure.

@Joseph Lofthouse, you mention you use a planting stick. I would love to use that technique, since it would spare plowing. However, my first impression is that it would take forever. What kind of surface have you tried planting with it?


Thanks again very much to all of you for the help!

In tilled ground, I typically use PVC planting sticks. In rocky areas, or non-tilled ground, I really like using steel electrical conduit.

In their natural state, seeds fall to the ground and grow. With grains, I love to scatter seeds, in the fall, a few days before the arrival of the monsoons. Minimizing the time they lay on dry soil, minimizes predation by birds and insects.

@Joseph Lofthouse thanks a lot for the reply!

I realise my question was not clear. I meant what kind of surface area are you able to sow with a planting stick? I am asking because I am afraid it would be way too slow to sow the kind of area I am aiming for, around 200 m2, or 2000 square feet.

Thanks again very much for your help!