You can check agricultural & conservation tools out for free from the Washtenaw Tool Bank Collective
This No-Till Seed Drill is available to check out from the Washtenaw Tool Bank Collective. While most tools are free to check out, this has a $150 fee. The No-Till Seed Drill is designed to plant grasses and legumes on a variety of site conditions for agricultural conservation and native restoration projects. The drill plants eight 8” rows, with a 5.3 ft. planting width, and requires 40+ horsepower. The drill has three seed boxes allowing for variety of planting uses and seed mixes. Photo courtesy of the Washtenaw Tool Bank Collective.
submitted by Alexa Tedeschi, Washtenaw County Conservation District
In addition to the Washtenaw County Conservation District’s fall plant sales, the Washtenaw Tool Bank Collective offers various conservation tools and equipment to get your fall planting projects done successfully and efficiently.
The Washtenaw Tool Bank Collective is a partnership with Washtenaw County Conservation District (WCCD) and Growing Hope Urban Farm. The two tool banks, in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, offer over 80 hand tools and tractor implements to local producers, landowners, and residents for conservation and agricultural purposes. Tools are available for tree planting, garden bed preparation, invasive species removal, seeding, and soil testing. All tool and equipment details, availability, and reservation instructions are available online at: https://tools.washtenawcd.org.
Smaller tools like shears, loppers, shovels, sod cutters, bulb planters, rakes, forks, hoes, and even a flame weeder are all available to checkout for free. Their two larger tools do have fees
One of their larger tools is the Truax Flex-II 88 No-Till Drill is equipped with multiple seed boxes to plant grasses and legumes on a variety of site conditions for agricultural conservation and native restoration projects. It can be used for pasture plantings, prairie restoration, or cover crops. The drill plants up to eight rows spaced at 8”, a 5.3 ft. planting width, and requires a tractor with a minimum of 40 horsepower. See availability and reserve the drill online at: https://tools.washtenawcd.org/product/76.
The other is the Tree Seedling Transplanter is designed to plant bare-root seedlings for large scale plantings. It requires a minimum 40-60 horsepower tractor with a three-point hitch (category 3 recommended). It includes a trailer to transport easily and can plant around 250 seedlings per hour! See availability and reserve the drill online at: https://tools.washtenawcd.org/product/82.
The WCCD has been distributing trees, plants, equipment and tools for conservation since the 1950s. Over 7.1 million trees and shrubs have been planted as a result of the WCCD’s distributions, contributing to conservation practices such as reforestation, soil erosion reduction & water quality improvement, habitat restoration, and naturalization projects.
To learn more about the Equipment Rentals & Tool Lending Library and other programs, please visit the WCCD website at: washtenawcd.org/equipment. For questions or more information, contact us at equipment@washtenawcd.org or by calling (734) 302-8713.
The mission of the WCCD is to assist residents with the conservation, management, and wise-use of natural resources in Washtenaw County. The WCCD is a unit of local government, managed by an elected 5-member board of directors, and funded in part by Washtenaw County residents through a conservation district millage.
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