Seeding with disc?

[Jordan9682]

This may seem similar to the other threads i started but...
Could you bury seed with a disc? Would you work at about the depth you want the seed placed?(little deeper maybe?)

 

[grnspot110]

Depending on seed size, it may be hard to keep from covering too deep! A light disking will work fine for beans, corn, milo, etc. You may be better off with small seed to disk first, then drag seed in with a harrow, bed springs, piece of chain link fence, etc. ~~ grnspot

 

[Western]

Planting to deep, is probably the main reason plots fail. I would disc it until it is soft (one way then cross the other way) Broadcast your seed, then use a drag as grnspot mentioned. I've used 4 g stock panels, currently use several used tires wired together and that has been working great for 5 years.

 

[Ted Summey]

I agree that the disc is a last resort tool for covering seed. Even a log chain with some sort of spreader, a section of woven fence with some tires on top, three or four pallets wired together or something similar will do a better job. Grasses, clover, and brassicas don't need to be covered, just rolled or packed slightly. Beans and corn need to be covered but not too deep - 1/2 to 1 inch is plenty.

 

[wngsprd]

Since most of my clover plots aren't very large, and I don't have a cultipacker, I just drive over the plot in parallel straight lines using my tire tracks to press in the clover or chickory seeds. Has worked well. I use a drag harrow for the larger sunflower pea and bean, etc seeds.

 

[nwltruck]

I was thinking of the same thing. Dry summer killed a section of my lawn. Thought I could broadcast seed then make 2 or 3 passes with disc. The ground hear is very sandy and when dry does not break easily. When I started the lawn it took multiple passes to get 1" of soft ground with the disc.

 

[Jordan9682]

So could you only disc as deep as you want your seed? Of am i better off with my harrow? Based on...well, WEATHER, my target depth for seed is about 1- 1 1/2" deep. Then pack it

 

[Western]

Jordan, usually you disc as deep as you can to loosen the soil for the new roots (and dislodge a few weeds). It is hard to "float" a disc at a certain depth. To make it easy, I would disc it best you can, spread your seed, then drag or cultipack it with what you have.

I planted with a disc one time when it started to downpour before I could drag it. I disc the seed in, trying to keep it shallow, but never had good germination. It was clear to much had been disked to deep.

 

[Jordan9682]

Here's my spreader. As you can see, it was a push spreader, but I made a hitch for it to pull behind my quad (its not pretty, but it works!!) it's only 2' wide so it won't do many acres fast, but I'll still use it


Here is my harrow that I'll be using. It's about 5' wide and I pull it with a chain (not on right now) and i took spikes from the front row(the front row doesn't do much anyway) and i can now put 2 cinder blocks on for weight. Once again, not pretty but it works!

 

[jeff9366]

In another one of the TEN threads you have posted, you say your soil tends to be dry. Using a spike harrow or your ATV disc harrow to cover the seeds is fine, but leaves the soil open and prone to evaporation followed by crusting, which is not good for germination.

Better to ATV disc harrow, if that is what you have, then seed and cover by dragging timbers, or old fence, or railroad track over the seed, per TED SUMMEY in reply #4, something that will PACK/FIRM somewhat. I used a Brinley 48" plastic drum lawn roller behind my Kubota RTV500 for several years with good results, until frost broke the drum.

Probably packing the seed in/under with ATV wheels would be better than covering/fluffing with the spike harrow.

Best of all is a Cultipacker, which is engineered for this task of covering and preserving moisture around seeds. Note seed in Photo #3.

Consider one of the NO TILL food plot seed mixes. Might be your best bet.