Best way of seeding with atv

[Jordan9682]

What are your opinions on the best way of seeding plots/small fields (1-2 acres) with an atv? I don't want to go buy real expensive equipment I have spike harrows, diamond harrows, seed spreaders and I'm thinking of buying a disc. Would there be anything else i would need to grow a good crop? (Cereal crops,corn and maybe some alfalfa or grass in places)

Thanks for any input

[jerrybob]

Seeds????

[Jordan9682]

No problem there, just didnt bother listing them. I was thinking about equipment

[CliffordK]

Here is a mini seed drill that one person built.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/b...t-no-till.html

Here is a small commercial seed drill.
Iowa Farm Equipment -- Kasco Seed Drills

You can also often find small corn drills that could be mounted behind your ATV.

You can get small 3' and 4' tillers motorized tillers for garden tractors, although it would be good to build some kind of hydraulic 3 pt hitch for your ATV.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...n/S6300845.jpg

[Jordan9682]

That homebuilt drill looks like a nice little machine

[Ted Summey]

For grains and grasses you really don't need to cut the ground very deeply. A couple of inches on top is sufficient. A sprayer to kill existing vegetation and spray Roundup Ready crops, a disc of some sort and a cultipacker would be good additions to your attachments. Seed to soil contact is critical for grasses and cereals to germinate so a cultipacker is an important tool for food plots. They can be broadcast and don't necessarily have to be "planted".

For beans and corn you will need to plant deeper and will need a deeper seed bed. A disc can get you there. Beans for food plots can be broadcast but need to be covered with a chain harrow or other type of surface drag. I suppose corn could be planted the same way, but most I've seen has been planted with a row type planter. That is something you might be able to borrow.

I am now spoiled by my 72" PTO driven tiller. I dream of a no till drill but for food plots I can't justify the cost.

Here is a panoramic photo of my best plot last year - forage soy beans.

[Jordan9682]

So I should be able to disc(to kill weeds and loosen soil), broadcast my seed (we'll just say I'm seeding wheat or oats right now), then harrow, then pack?

Does that sound about right?

[Ted Summey]

Brassicas like turnips, kale and rape can be broadcast and hit with the cultipacker as well. They lie a deeper seed bed as well - 3 plus inches deep.

[Ted Summey]

Jordan your plan sounds about right. Do you have a soil test to make sure you get your fertilizer right? That's the biggest downfall of most food plots is not getting nutrients delivered on time in the right quantities for the specific crop.

[ncnurseryman]

If one doesn't have access to a cultipacker could a disc be used the same way or would that potentially damage the seed or bury it too deep?