Conservation seeder/over seeder.

[AKfish]

I've looked at a number of different types of seeders that are used to plant in stubble and sod or to replant drowned out and winter killed areas.

No-till drills, overseeders, conservation seeders. Even the small no-till drills are nearly double the cost of a similar size conservation seeder and the even smaller overseeders are not cheap.

If you had some areas of winter kill in your hay fields or pastures which implement would you use to restore your fields?

AKfish

 

[sweettractors]

If I were restoring/renovating parts of a field and on a budget, I would use a broadcast seeder and a disc harrow. Otherwise, I would use a no-till drill. Ken Sweet

 

[JimRB]

I broadcast spread some seed a few days ago. I was going to do a chain harrow afterwards but ran out of daylight then it rained almost 2 inches. I have a little better luck scratching the seed in. Chain harrow is not very disruptive to existing grasses.

 

[art]

Grass is normally not planted deep so you only need to loosen the dirt a bit to have good results. We have been using Land Prides overseeders and have good results with them. I don't think you have alfalfa but it is a waste of seed to try it with that as those plants that are established will kill any new plants trying to get started.

 

[AKfish]

Hope that you're all enjoying a warm, Thanksgiving today. Appreciate your comments.

If my fields are like everybody elses's (for the most part), then every year there's flooded out parts, winter kill areas and weedy sections that need to be reseeded. So, what's the most efficient and economical way to tackle the problem... And maybe create a side business in the mix?

I have used a hand rake and broadcast seed or a short-tooth, arena drag and broadcast seed with moderate success. Small areas, though and it generally requires a couple of treatments and two seasons to get the pasture or hay field back on track.

I've got two, 5 acre hay fields that are in need of some help. Both of which, are beyond the hand rake and arena drag. Could disk 'em and replant. Would prefer not to take the hit to my hay production, though. Neighbors and a few hay producers don't speak that highly of the no-till drill option. I suspect that folks were setting the seed too deep with the coulter adjustment but once the bad rap is "on the street" it might be pretty hard to get customers interested and if they did hire you the field would have to be outstanding every time or people would be demanding a second seeding, etc.

That would make things very difficult for a startup business and I can't justify the investment for my acreage -- at least with a no-till grill. Conservation seeder and/or an over seeder might be a different story.

Figured I'd ask around and see what others had to say.

Akfish

 

[nc redneck]

Over seeder will do the job. One pass fertilize, till and press seed in ground. Make sure it is PTO driven. Seed rate will be high 80% to 90%. Down side is they are expensive to buy and maintain. Do not leave fertilizer in it over 48 hours. Clean thoroughly after each use.
They are heavy and need to be for tiller function to work. I have 5 footer and it works my Kioti 45. At other times I wish it weighed 1000 pounds more. On hard packed ground speed can be slow.
It will make land look like a golf course with a small amount of seed.
Good Luck

 

[DJ54]

For small patches, you may want to consider the a slit seeder. Here is my Olathe, Craigslist $100.00 creampuff. Doesn't look to pretty on the outside, but clean as a pin inside, and underneath where it counts.

I planted my 4 acre hayfield with Tuukka Timothy with it, and it did a great job. Being seed was only planted 1/4"-3/8" deep, my little IH 240 powered it with ease. IIRC, the manual says you can plant at speeds up to 6-7 mph. I was limited by the single, 4 spd. trans. Planted in 3rd gear, @ 540 pto speed, and worked well.

Another plus is not having to wait for the wind to die down to broadcast seed.

I'd made several rounds, and took this picture to show how little it disturbed the existing grass. It's definitely a keeper here.

Not sure if you have any equipment dealers that rent such a thing there, but I have one near that rents another brand for $175.00 per day. Might be a good option to try one out, before spending some bucks on one.

 

[AKfish]

For small patches, you may want to consider the a slit seeder. Here is my Olathe, Craigslist $100.00 creampuff. Doesn't look to pretty on the outside, but clean as a pin inside, and underneath where it counts.

I planted my 4 acre hayfield with Tuukka Timothy with it, and it did a great job. Being seed was only planted 1/4"-3/8" deep, my little IH 240 powered it with ease. IIRC, the manual says you can plant at speeds up to 6-7 mph. I was limited by the single, 4 spd. trans. Planted in 3rd gear, @ 540 pto speed, and worked well.

Another plus is not having to wait for the wind to die down to broadcast seed.

I'd made several rounds, and took this picture to show how little it disturbed the existing grass. It's definitely a keeper here.

Not sure if you have any equipment dealers that rent such a thing there, but I have one near that rents another brand for $175.00 per day. Might be a good option to try one out, before spending some bucks on one.

Looked closely at those PTO driven over seeders. They're only 5' or so and would take quite a bit of time to rework some acreage. Be a good option for reworking dead spots, though.

Never seen an Olathe before or heard of 'em. What's on the business end (bottom) of the machine? Looks real straight, not all abused. Just a bit sunburned!

AKfish

 

[DJ54]

Here's what the underneath looks like. Rusty there too, but nothing broken. Polished up real nice after going over the 4 acres.

I did have to replace the pillow block bearings on the front roller, and replace the drive chains. Bearings looked like they'd never been greased, and the roller drive chains were so rusty from never being oiled, they would not pivot. As luck would have it, Surplus Center had them all, for about 1/3 of the price of anywhere else I checked.

It took me about 5 hours to cover that 4 acres, but a good half hour was playing around adjusting the seed drop, etc. Actual planting time was probably just a tad over 4 hours. Again, I was limited by speed. I'm thinking 3rd gear @ 540 is about 3.5 mph. So if you could move along at 6 mph, it would cut the time down quite a bit. Except for fertilizer, it's all done in one trip.

Olathe was a commercial type seeder. TORO has since bought them out. Still make the seeder, pretty much as is this one, so for now parts aren't a problem if needed.

This one was owned by a local high school to reseed the football field. They installed astro turf, about 8-10 years ago, so it sat outside until they sold it at a surplus auction. A school employee bought it, but never used it. Put it on Craigslist as a "make offer" type deal. It was setting in the weeds, as you can tell from some still hanging on it. Couldn't see it real well, so offered him $100, and he took it. Even loaded it for me on the truck. I was pretty pleased when I unloaded it, and saw the underneath.
.

 

[nc redneck]

That is a nice unit. No fertilizer box but you got a great deal. Once you own one going back to buying endless bags of seed and putting out by hand or PTO spreader with little or no results end quickly. Owning one of these tools made me realize how some people and golf courses keep there property looking so good.