Treebased permaculture independence through innovation
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Pottiputki DIY

10/29/2015

3 Comments

 
I have thousands of seedlings to plant and it would be backbreaking work to do it with a small shovel on hands and knees or to bend over and plant each one. In my research into broadacre permaculture systems I came across a tool known as the "Pottiputki" which is a reforestation tool used to plant seedlings on a large scale. Unfortunately, I could not find one for sale in the USA, nor does anyone seem to ship them here. They also cost $300 and the shipping from Europe would be a mint so I went ahead and made my own from off the shelf parts at Lowes for about $60.
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The main body consists of a stick of 2" electrical pipe (emt) with the digging end made from heavy duty galvanized 2" rigid electrical pipe.
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I marked the 2" rigid with electrical tape to make the cut for the main body of the digging end and cut it with a 4" grinder with a cut off wheel. A miter saw with a metal blade would have been a better tool for the job.
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After fabricating the main body of the digging end, I test fitted it onto the 2" emt pipe. I split the digging end at the narrow and spread it open slightly for it to fit over the emt.
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I used the other half of the digging end cut off to make the opening part of the digger. I then welded on a length of 1" bar stock for the foot pedal and began to shape it to go around the main body of the tool.
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Here is the business end of the tool with the shovel body welded up and the opener/foot pedal assembly bolted in place with short carriage bolts. I used a 110v wire welder that I got on ebay for $100 and, as you can see, you don't need to be the world's best welder to make it work. Below is a video showing the final bits and pieces and some tips to make it all work.
3 Comments
Honey link
3/20/2016 05:33:35 pm

Love it. I've been wondering if there was something easier than digging a bazillion holes for seedlings and canes. Thanks for sharing!

~Honey

Reply
Taylor
10/25/2016 08:11:27 pm

Couldn't find a post on your tree progress, did you get a decent survival rate? Any trouble with critters eating them? Thanks.

Reply
Martha Reed link
3/1/2019 09:51:12 am

Can you tell me what this weighs?

Reply



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