Mixing seeds - what is your approach?

[DRandall90]

Do you guys put your mixtures all together in your spreader and then go to town? How do you prevent your small seeds from not just dropping out the bottom and getting an uneven spread?

I have always done one seed at a time because I am so paranoid when spreading different size seeds. It takes forever to plant, but I have still been able to seed 8 acres in a morning just walking each different type of seed. This is all throw and mow. I don't till at all on my land.

Most of the time I am spreading 3-4 types of seed, 1 acre at a time, 1 seed type at a time, unless I'm combining some close size seeds, then I will combine them.

My wife just thinks I don't want to leave the fields. I tell her it's so I get my steps in.

 

[catscratch]

I do the same thing and only mix seeds that are the same size. I've tried mixing large and small seeds at once and it doesn't work, like you said the small seed comes out too quick. One thing that might work is adding a filler of some sort that matches the small seed in your mix. Not worth the risk or effort to figure it out for me. I'll just keep walking the plot until I'm done. Honestly shouldn't be much of a problem. Most clovers are about the same size. Most cereal grains are about the same size. And most legumes are around the same size. I can't imagine needing more than 2 or 3 passes.

 

[j-bird]

I try to spread like sized seed at the same time. It may increase your number of passes, but I think you get better results that way. I have gone as far as to spread each seed type separately because I was not sure how well they would mix. It's a pain to do it that way...but you either do it right the first time or find the time to do it twice. I am notorious for cutting corners but this is one where I try to bite the bullet and do it properly. I have also been known to be spreading one seed from my conical 3 point spreader on the back of the tractor and cranking away with my hand-held while "driving" the tractor as well....again....at times I do dumb things!

I have also mixed medium to larger seed with fertilizer or pelletized lime before to reduce the number of passes needed, but this was over a larger area as well.

 

[wsucoug]

To be honest this year I added about 20 percent of my grain seed to my small seed to act as the filler. I already seem to make 4 trips over the same area so I figured if it separates some I would be more than fine. If I was a calibrated walker and good on the gate opening I may not have done this.....but I am already walking like a lost guy out there. If it turns out bad this year ....I may go back to separating by seed size which is what I have always done.

 

[OkieKubota]

I mix everything from clover to rye grain to radish seed and fertilizer all together in my 3 point spreader and take off...I get even coverage across the plot of everything...don’t ask me how. It just works out...

 

[dogghr]

^^^^ Yep throw it all in the hopper and put it out. I've done it all ways and can't tell the diff. If God wanted me spread separately he would've given me a better spreader and more patience.

 

[MarkDarvin]

I seperate them into about three categories:

For the blower: Clovers, brassicas, chicory, carrot, japanese millet, flowers

For hand broadcasting: Cereals, sorghums, buckwheat, okra, sunflower, tomato

For other hand broadcasting: Beans, corn, pumpkins, squash, peas, cowpeas, fabas

 

[Drycreek]

My planting is a little less complicated than y’alls I guess. I’m either planting grains and AWPs with some MRC in the fall, or planting clover with chicory, or planting IC peas in the spring. For fall, I plant my grains first with a three point spreader, drag the plot smooth, put out the clover with a Solo spreader from the back of a golf cart, (need a driver and a cranker), then cultipack it. Three point spreader plants the peas, golf cart and Solo for the clover and chicory. Done !

 

[DRandall90]

My planting is a little less complicated than y’alls I guess. I’m either planting grains and AWPs with some MRC in the fall, or planting clover with chicory, or planting IC peas in the spring. For fall, I plant my grains first with a three point spreader, drag the plot smooth, put out the clover with a Solo spreader from the back of a golf cart, (need a driver and a cranker), then cultipack it. Three point spreader plants the peas, golf cart and Solo for the clover and chicory. Done !

Most of my plantings match what you are saying above, so it's usually 2 passes. I have a couple plots in fall that I throw and mow from clover/chicory to WW/rye/brassicas/some clover, but occasionally I have an area that has grains/clovers/pea or beans all spread at the same time.

 

[KSQ2]

I think I'm going to consolidate my broadcasting a little this year after reading this! I have tried unsuccessfully mixing rye grain with oats before, I ended up with half a plot of oats and half of winter rye. So I think I'll still spread it separately, but I'm going to begin mixing all of my pellet lime with the fertilizers for sure. I by each fertilizer separately from the coop, it's so much cheaper, even if I have to bad it all myself.

 

[j-bird]

For those that just "throw it in the hopper" - do you do this once you are at the plot site? The reason I ask is that this may impact your results. From my work experience I know that if you put a container of different sized materials together and shake the snot out of it the material will stratify itself based on particle size (especially if there is significant size differences). The smaller size works it's way to the bottom and the larger size stays on top. I am wondering if mixing your seed in the hopper and then bouncing down the path and the like on the way to the plot may be facilitating this stratification process, where if you simply mix your seed while you are at the plot may reduce the vibrations and the like and NOT facilitate this stratification process as much......just a thought....

 

[wsucoug]

For those that just "throw it in the hopper" - do you do this once you are at the plot site? The reason I ask is that this may impact your results. From my work experience I know that if you put a container of different sized materials together and shake the snot out of it the material will stratify itself based on particle size (especially if there is significant size differences). The smaller size works it's way to the bottom and the larger size stays on top. I am wondering if mixing your seed in the hopper and then bouncing down the path and the like on the way to the plot may be facilitating this stratification process, where if you simply mix your seed while you are at the plot may reduce the vibrations and the like and NOT facilitate this stratification process as much......just a thought....

In my bag seeder I load the large seed first, then mix in the smaller seed, then spread. I do this while I am at the plot to prevent seed seperation. To much shaking will cause the mixture to separate.

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[Drycreek]

One of those paint stirring paddles from Lowes that you mix paint in a five gallon bucket with (chucked on a drill) will mix those seeds well. I’d do it immediately before you put it out. That’s where I always put my seed in the spreader anyway.

I mixed in some PTT once by hand and when everything came up I had a bunch of turnips right down the middle of my wheat patch. Thick too ! Didn’t make much difference, brassica type stuff is never touched around here. The hogs wouldn’t even eat the bulbs.

 

[Mennoniteman]

For my experience I've never seen or heard of well mixed seed of different sizes that's loaded into a spinner right before starting to plant stratify in the seeder, and I do this type of thing all the time. I also mix granular fertilizer with brassica seed or clover seed in a 500lb 3pt ferilizer spinner with good results. I usually check my Herd ATV seeder several times during a load, usually planting a 3way brassica or 3way clover mixture and it always looks like the same consistency in the mixture when almost empty as it does almost full.
But I do seed different sizes separately sometimes for a different reason, to better quantify the pounds per acre that I'm putting on.