Seeder Recommendations?

[Mennoniteman]

Swamp, I completely missed the poster changed from MM to you, thus I thought you had a drill. My apologies.

I’ve seen a lot of those seeders for around the $5K price on the tractor sites but I just never knew if they would do what I need to do. Sounds like it might take the place of a no-till in my soils. My soils are normally fairly easy to penetrate unless it’s baked from heat in early September, then even that sand can get pretty hard. I’m gonna have to do a little more head scratching on this. Thanks for the clarification and the pics.

A notill drill is a version of a regular drill that's built heavier so that it doesn't floating top in heavy sod, thatch, or hard soil, and has an extra cutting disc in front of the planting disc. Many guys notill with a regular drill or planter if they have soft soils, and providing there's not a heavy residue from the last planting. I have friends who do a partial tillage where they run the disc over one time to loosen the sod, but still have the sod on top like a standard no till planting.

 

[SwampCat]

If you are planting in sod - nothing compares to a no-till drill. If you are planting in an established food plot, a Woods seeder type piece of equipment will probably do you fine - at half the cost. If you are wanting to plant two different type seeds at one time - I don't think a drill will do that. If you are planting in rocks, roots - etc - a woods type seeder is probably more durable because there is nothing below ground level - other than disk blades. If you want complete coverage of the ground - and don't want your seed rows six or seven inches apart - a Woods type seeder is probably a better choice.

 

[Mennoniteman]

If you are planting in sod - nothing compares to a no-till drill. If you are planting in an established food plot, a Woods seeder type piece of equipment will probably do you fine - at half the cost. If you are wanting to plant two different type seeds at one time - I don't think a drill will do that. If you are planting in rocks, roots - etc - a woods type seeder is probably more durable because there is nothing below ground level - other than disk blades. If you want complete coverage of the ground - and don't want your seed rows six or seven inches apart - a Woods type seeder is probably a better choice.

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Although mine only has 2, a notill drill can have up to 3 seed boxes for different seed sizes, and plant them at different depths, and a fertilizer box, plus they can drop seed on top of the ground evenly the whole width of the drill.

 

[SwampCat]

A notill drill can have up to 3 seed boxes for different seed sizes, and a fertilizer box, plus they can drop seed on top of the ground evenly the whole width of the drill.

i have learned something new. The ones that have been used on my place could not do that - or were not configured to do that. Thanks!

 

[Mennoniteman]

i have learned something new. The ones that have been used on my place could not do that - or were not configured to do that. Thanks!

If you enlarge my drill picture on page 1 you can see the two lids on top of the drill for the two boxes, and the hoses that you see in the back are going down from the small seed box, They dribble the seed on top of the ground and can do rows or the full width.

 

[SwampCat]

If you enlarge my drill picture on page 1 you can see the two lids on top of the drill for the two boxes, and the hoses that you see in the back are going down from the small seed box, They dribble the seed on top of the ground and can do rows or the full width.

So, do you then pull a cultipacker over the top of the seed "dribbled" on top the ground. I would get next to no germination if seed was laying on the ground without being pressed in - especially in the seed bed in your picture.

 

[Drycreek]

If you are planting in sod - nothing compares to a no-till drill. If you are planting in an established food plot, a Woods seeder type piece of equipment will probably do you fine - at half the cost. If you are wanting to plant two different type seeds at one time - I don't think a drill will do that. If you are planting in rocks, roots - etc - a woods type seeder is probably more durable because there is nothing below ground level - other than disk blades. If you want complete coverage of the ground - and don't want your seed rows six or seven inches apart - a Woods type seeder is probably a better choice.

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Those pics look like my plots, maybe even thicker. My plots tend to look like they’re drilled because of the way I plant but I only disc and broadcast. Do you do anything else besides just plant like you said, no cultipacking afterward ?

Here is one of my plots that looks drilled but isn’t.

 

[SwampCat]

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Those pics look like my plots, maybe even thicker. My plots tend to look like they’re drilled because of the way I plant but I only disc and broadcast. Do you do anything else besides just plant like you said, no cultipacking afterward ?

Here is one of my plots that looks drilled but isn’t.

No - there is a cultipacker on the back of the Woods seeder. If I am really ambitious and dont have anything else to do - when I plant in the fall, I go back in and bush hog the weeds just to make it look pretty. I dont even fertilize anymore, unless I want to produce a grain crop - like wheat heads for my dove plot, or millet for doves and ducks. No fertilizer in the fall plots, though. I might bushhog my clover plots at least once or twice in the summer, to keep the weeds down. When I plant wheat and clover in the fall, it is one pass with the woods seeder and I put it up. I can do 35 acres in two days, and I am done. I do plant quite a bit in the spring for doves and ducks - but again, once and done - but I fertilize before planting, because I am after seed heads.

 

[Drycreek]

No - there is a cultipacker on the back of the Woods seeder. If I am really ambitious and dont have anything else to do - when I plant in the fall, I go back in and bush hog the weeds just to make it look pretty. I dont even fertilize anymore, unless I want to produce a grain crop - like wheat heads for my dove plot, or millet for doves and ducks. No fertilizer in the fall plots, though. I might bushhog my clover plots at least once or twice in the summer, to keep the weeds down. When I plant wheat and clover in the fall, it is one pass with the woods seeder and I put it up. I can do 35 acres in two days, and I am done. I do plant quite a bit in the spring for doves and ducks - but again, once and done - but I fertilize before planting, because I am after seed heads.

Thanks for the info Swamp, that’s what I’ve been looking for, someone with hands on experience with that type seeder. Now, if I can find one at a price that won’t frizz my wife’s hair ! All I seem to find right now are new ones or only a year old or so and they want $7/$8 K for them, plus they’re several hundred miles away. I’m gonna keep looking though.

 

[SwampCat]

Thanks for the info Swamp, that’s what I’ve been looking for, someone with hands on experience with that type seeder. Now, if I can find one at a price that won’t frizz my wife’s hair ! All I seem to find right now are new ones or only a year old or so and they want $7/$8 K for them, plus they’re several hundred miles away. I’m gonna keep looking though.

Make an offer - I bought mine for $1000 off asking price. I did have to drive 200 miles to pick it up. These are HEAVY pieces of equipment. My 84", full of seed, squats my 65 hp tractor. It isnt too big - but any heavier, and it would be.

 

[Drycreek]

If I pull the trigger, it will be a 72”. Sixteen hundred pounds dry weight I think. That will be about all my M6040 wants, and a six footer will cover my tractor tracks. Any wider and I couldn’t go where I need to.

 

[swat1018]

So, do you then pull a cultipacker over the top of the seed "dribbled" on top the ground. I would get next to no germination if seed was laying on the ground without being pressed in - especially in the seed bed in your picture.

The small seed tubes drop the seed just ahead of the press wheels.

 

[SwampCat]

The small seed tubes drop the seed just ahead of the press wheels.

But, seed dropped not directly in front of the narrow press wheels is just laying on the surface of the ground - without being pressed into the ground - resulting in seeds basically germinating in narrow rows of the press wheels - correct?

I have had wheat planted on my place using a grain drill. One of the problems I saw - we dont plant wheat until around the first couple of weeks in October. Bow season is already open when we are planting. With a drill, wheat came up in rows six or seven inches apart. Deer grazing pressure keeps the wheat pretty well eaten down - resulting in six inch wide strips of bare dirt with no wheat - ground that could be providing food for the deer, also. For my conditions, I preferred broadcasting wheat and dragging it over drilling it. Maybe it was the type of drill that they used on my place that left the “row” like appearance.

 

[swat1018]

But, seed dropped not directly in front of the narrow press wheels is just laying on the surface of the ground - without being pressed into the ground - resulting in seeds basically germinating in narrow rows of the press wheels - correct?

I have had wheat planted on my place using a grain drill. One of the problems I saw - we dont plant wheat until around the first couple of weeks in October. Bow season is already open when we are planting. With a drill, wheat came up in rows six or seven inches apart. Deer grazing pressure keeps the wheat pretty well eaten down - resulting in six inch wide strips of bare dirt with no wheat - ground that could be providing food for the deer, also. For my conditions, I preferred broadcasting wheat and dragging it over drilling it. Maybe it was the type of drill that they used on my place that left the “row” like appearance.

No, you're right 7.5" spacing. It's just like a Great Plains ag drill, except 6' working width. I don't disconnect my small seed tubes, so the press wheels firm the seed. But, I don't see it any different than when I use to broadcast clover and other small seed and let the rain set it.

 

[cutman]

My Great Plains drill drops the small seed in the seed trench right in front of the press wheels as well. The problem is: if the seed trench is an inch deep, the small seed is planted too deep.

Next year I’m going to disconnect the tubes and let the seed just fall out and see how it does. I’m not worried about pressing in the small seeds.

 

[davidhelmly]

Drycreek I will echo everything that SwampCat has said, I bought an 84" Woods FPS with 2 seed boxes in Jan and have loved it. I planted 20-25 acs of a summer mix in the spring and then 30-35 acs of cereal grain, clover and brassica in Oct and the time saving is unbelievable over the convention discing, dragging, spreading, cultipacking routine. The only thing I regret is not buying one 10 years ago and their 48 month 0% financing made it too easy!!