Weighing seeds

[struttingfool]

Any suggestion on how to weigh out your seeds to get the right amounts per acre? I don't have to be 100% accurate but at least close. I bought a bulk bag of a mixture of clover seed from my local seed dealer and he swears by this mix. I bought it in bulk cheaper than if I mixed it myself. One issue, he suggested 9lbs per acre (its a little heavy) and I have no way to measure out 9lbs?????

Thoughts, suggestions, tips, tricks????

Strut

 

[j-bird]

Go to wal-mart and buy a cheap bathroom or kitchen scale. Or hang a bucket from your deer scale. I have done thisl before. You just have to be close. A gallon of water weighs roughly 8.25 lbs as well - if you want to get creative and make a balance scale. Otherwise your looking at a lot of counting......clover seed is roughly 775,000 seeds in a pound based on some internet digging!

 

[Jason Broom]

Most of the places where you buy seed in bulk have a scale where you can weigh and bag the seed, yourself. If that is not possible in your situation, what I would suggest is to get a cheap plastic measuring cup and determine how much 1, 2, 5 of those weighs, for a given seed type. Make note of that and keep it with you when you go to do your planting. You could also go with something larger, like a 1 or 2 quart container.

 

[Scott44]

A 16oz sour cream tub is roughly a pound.

 

[Semisane]

In order to control the amount of corn I'm throwing from my spin feeders, I bought a one-gallon clear plastic pitcher at the dollar store and marked it in 1/2 pound increments with a Sharpie (weighed out the corn at home on a kitchen scale). With that, I can set the spinner time, capture the throw in a bucket by holding the bucket up around the spinner unit, dump the corn in the pitcher to see how much was thrown, and make timer adjustments.

You could easily do something like that for any seed mix.

 

[Jason Broom]

A 16oz sour cream tub is roughly a pound.

Of what seed type?

 

[Brian]

This is slightly off topic, but since you mentioned clover be sure and account for the weight of seed coating and also the germination rate when you buy seed. I planted crimson and arrowleaf clover last fall at the standard rate (at least in Mississippi) of 12# and 4# per acre and didn't get a good stand. When I looked at the seed tag on the crimson clover I learned that the bag was 45% coating and an expected 90% germination rate - which means I actually put out less than half of the recommended seeds! I purchased the Arrowleaf out of a drum at the co-op and have no idea what the numbers look like for it.

Here's a good article from a deer stewardship organization whose name I won't repeat:
https://www.qdma.com/successful-food-plot-seeding-rates/

 

[Mennoniteman]

I use a 16 oz plastic measuring cup the I just happened to borrow from my wife's kitchen. Check the the weight to volume ratio of your different seeds if you are looking for pinpoint accuracy. Or, just scoop ten times for ten lb per acre like I do. My deer have yet to file a complaint that my measuring is off. Especially since I usually throw in an extra for good measure in case the birds might get some.

 

[Scott44]

Of what seed type?

I know that buckwheat, e-wheat and alfalfa/clover mix are close to a pound so I just use that as my measure on other seed also. I'm sure there are seeds that aren't going to be close to a pound but they are close enough for me.

 

[Lewi B]

A 70 lb digital scale from H Freight and then mark the inside of a five gallon bucket for the different seed types per acre. We do a lot of mixes with up to ten different seeds. Once you have your recipe set up it goes fast. Hope this helps.

 

[dogghr]

This is slightly off topic, but since you mentioned clover be sure and account for the weight of seed coating and also the germination rate when you buy seed. I planted crimson and arrowleaf clover last fall at the standard rate (at least in Mississippi) of 12# and 4# per acre and didn't get a good stand. When I looked at the seed tag on the crimson clover I learned that the bag was 45% coating and an expected 90% germination rate - which means I actually put out less than half of the recommended seeds! I purchased the Arrowleaf out of a drum at the co-op and have no idea what the numbers look like for it.

Here's a good article from a deer stewardship organization whose name I won't repeat:
https://www.qdma.com/successful-food-plot-seeding-rates/

Surprised they could come up with the info without the old forum providing such as it usually did. Oh wait, forums are obsolete and serve no purpose so no need to have one so we were told. Luckily we don't know that yet on this great forum. Sorry just couldn't resist, some grudges I have hard time of letting go.

Seriously, I use a electronic kitchen scale and coffee container. I only weigh small seed like brassica and clover and can guess good enough on 50-100# bags of larger seed. Brassica especially I tend to go on lower end as crowding causes problems with tubor devolopement which is what I really want for the winter. Clovers, like grass, will still spread by its stolons even if underseeded.

 

[sagittarius]

We have a digital kitchen scale that goes up to 12 lbs. You could buy your wife one to make her baking easier-quicker, then borrow it once in a while. Once I used a bathroom scale, weight myself, then myself holding a bag of seed .... the difference is the seed. Accuracy is with in 0.5 lbs, but it always seems to read heavy.

 

[Tap]

I own a fishing scale from Cabelas...I think it weighs up to 50 lbs?? (can't remember for sure. Could be less than 50). It's very accurate and I'm amazed that the tiniest amount of seed, added or removed, will change the reading. It has a hook on it so I can weigh right in the bag and I'm not trying to balance a floppy bag on a bathroom type platform scale. And I like that the scale has double or more uses. Weigh fish and a bunch of other stuff, too.

 

[struttingfool]

The divide and concur method worked really well. At least for small seeds. I am not going to take credit for it but my daughter did. I had 27 lbs of clover seed and wanted 3lbs bags. I couldn't think of nine containers that we had that were the same so I put it on her shoulders to figure it out. Her idea was to use brown paper lunch bags!!!! Perfect. It worked out really well. Thanks for all of your suggestions and ideas.

 

[Someday Isle]

Go to wal-mart and buy a cheap bathroom or kitchen scale. Or hang a bucket from your deer scale. I have done thisl before. You just have to be close. A gallon of water weighs roughly 8.25 lbs as well - if you want to get creative and make a balance scale. Otherwise your looking at a lot of counting......clover seed is roughly 775,000 seeds in a pound based on some internet digging!

This - I use a cheap digital kitchen scale and a plastic measuring cup. I weigh a full measuring cup and then just do the math from there.

 

[MarkDarvin]

I use one of these. U can’t weigh all of your seed at once for some things, but u can find out how much a scoop/cup/tub weighs and go from there. I make all kinds of cocktails and this has been key to preventing excess rates.

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