Spreader Broadcast Spreader

[mark.r]

Well today I finally got around to getting my 950lbs. of fertilzer spread which meant using my Agri-Supply broadcast spreader for the first time. The spreader itself works as expected, not surprises there. The process of spreader bulk materials however is definitely something you get better at with experience. The spreading guide that is on the side of spreading is definitely only a "guide". I ended up spreading at an opening setting one higher than recommending as the one recommending just didn't seem to be working well at the speed I was moving.

I also should mention that I was trying to beat the weather. I had originally planned on spreading yesterday afternoon, even took the afternoon off from work. However when I got to the lot the could load my truck because their loader was down and they were still waiting for a rental skid steer. The weather reports were calling for heavy rains starting this afternoon so in theory my plan was sound . . . in theory. The rental skid came in this morning at 930AM so having to take all but three hours off from my "real" job I was able to hurry to the lot get loaded and get back to my place by noon. Things were looking ugly as the clouds rolled in. I started shoveling fast to get the first load into the hopper. It took about 15 minutes to fill the 500 model (950lbs) with half of my load. Took about 30 minutes to get that spreaded included some test time to see what settings speed and direction worked best. I probably did pay enough attention to my row spacing which the chart claimed should have been 19ft. since I was in a bit of rush but I had what I though was enough to cross hatch the pasture which I hoped would compensate for any gaps I may left. My second full load went much better. I got almost completely done. The rain let loose when I had about 50 lbs left in the hopper. I was glad I had the agitator in the hopper since it was getting a bit wet.

All in all I wish I had a bit more time to experiment but the weather was pushing me. On the flip side I am glad I got it down before the rain which was the goal. After I was done I walked the field and I felt I could have put down a bit more in the big pasture but I think a lot of it had disolved already do to the rain so it looked worst than it really was. Good experience, I learn a good bit.

 

[TwinWillows]

I must finished broadcasting 150# of red clover on top of about 1" of fresh snow (the snow makes it easier to see where you've been & also helps pull the clover seed into the ground as it melts). Seeding went well but I came out about 30# short. I did not have the seeder adjusted quite right when I got started & laid down quite a bit more than I needed before I realized what was going on.

I used a sharpie & marked the inside of the hopper after I put in 1 bag so I had a reference for later to let me see how much was left in the hopper.

After lunch I spread about 5gal of left over orchard grass & will let the horses walk it in.

FWIW My agitator is metal & it did not appear to damage the grass seeds @ all. I'll try & get another 50# of clover Monday & finish out & then clean, touchup paint & oil & put the seeder up until next year.

 

[mark.r]

I bought a 125#'s of seed today. I got 75#'s of pasture mix which pretty has everything in it except for fescue. I also got 50#'s of paddock mix which is the same as the pasture mix but addes about 15% fescue to help make it more resilant. I plan on using nearly 20lbs or 3/4 of a bag just for one of my smaller pastures only because most of it is bare dirt now. The other bag of paddock mix will will go in my medium size paddock. Whatever paddock mix I have left will get mixed in with the pasture mix and will get seeded into the main field. The main pasture will get about 3 and 1/4 bags or just over 75lbs of seed. That should be a enough since I bought about 25lbs extra to begin with. I am shooting for Thursday as it is suppose to be 60 degrees with rain forcasted for Friday.

 

[mark.r]

I put out 175lbs. of seed today. I paid $69.99/25lb. bag. I had 4 acres to do total with 3.5 acres to do today. The local Co-op said to go with the 25lbs./acre rule for re-seeding which I was ok with but there was a one paddock that was basically bare dirt so I just about used a complete 25lbs. bag in that single paddock. For that paddock I used the following mix Horse Paddock Mix:

27.59% Benchmark Orchardgrass
19.98% Polim Perennial Ryegrass
19.77% Kentucky Bluegrass
14.97% Select Tall Fescue
9.96% Clair Timothy
4.99% Will Landino Clover

For my large pasture I switched to 75lbs. of the following Horse Pasture Mix:

27.80% Benchmark Plus Orchardgrass
24.97% Polim Tertaploid Perennial Ryegrass
24.81% Kentucky Bluegrass
15.00% Derby Timothy
3.26% Will Landino Clover

After 75lbs. of Pasture Mix I determined that I didn't like it at all. I seemed to be very fine and was spreading like dust. I opened up the hopper one more setting and that help a bit but I felt I didn't get the coverage I wanted. I ended up go back and buying 75lbs. additional lbs. of "Paddock Mix" since that spread much better (heavier it seemed) at a lower opening on the hopper. That gave me the coverage I needed.