Covering food plot seeds - what is your choice??

[James Loehr]

Looking to get something to cover up the seed with this fall. In the past we (my hunt club) have usually covered the seed by one of the following methods:
1) run the disc harrow back over it
2) tie an old bed spring to an atv and run that over it to cover up.
3) tie an old tractor tire to an atv and run that over it like in (2).
4) run the tractor tires over it (as in planting narrow firebreaks which doesn't take too long due to the narrow width of firebreaks)

If you had your choice, would you get a cultipacker, a chain drag harrow (are these available in 3pt lift style?), a spike tooth drag harrow, or something else?? Mostly we plant a variety of seeds like wheat, oats, rye, some clovers, and maybe mix in some iron clay peas. We're not being "professional" about this, just trying to get something green to come up for the deer to nibble on. Thanks for your comments.

Just wanted to show you my 3pt chain drag. it can be turned upside down for seed cover. Used it for some grass seed that way this spring.

 

[nspec]

I've had this same dilema at my place and this is what I've come up with. I can't find a cultipacker at a reasonable price near me, and seeing that I'd only use it once a year, I really can't see spending tons of money on one. I took a landscape rake and removed every other tine. I then rotated it 180 degrees, so I tow it with the hook backwards - the back of the tine scratching the surface. It does an okay job of covering things up for me.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

:thumbsup:

Looking to get something to cover up the seed with this fall. In the past we (my hunt club) have usually covered the seed by one of the following methods:
1) run the disc harrow back over it
2) tie an old bed spring to an atv and run that over it to cover up.
3) tie an old tractor tire to an atv and run that over it like in (2).
4) run the tractor tires over it (as in planting narrow firebreaks which doesn't take too long due to the narrow width of firebreaks)

If you had your choice, would you get a cultipacker, a chain drag harrow (are these available in 3pt lift style?), a spike tooth drag harrow, or something else?? Mostly we plant a variety of seeds like wheat, oats, rye, some clovers, and maybe mix in some iron clay peas. We're not being "professional" about this, just trying to get something green to come up for the deer to nibble on. Thanks for your comments.

The only seed that I see that you guys plant that just needs light covering is the clover seed, the rest of it can be harrowed in and it doesn't necessarily just have to be lightly cut in, I cut mine in and use a drag behind the harrow then spread my clover seed on top and use a roller filled with water to roll it in. As a test after you harrow your seed in make a pass thru the food plot on the tractor with the harrow up and see where the seed comes up first, it will be in those tractor tracks.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[kebo]

Just wanted to show you my 3pt chain drag. it can be turned upside down for seed cover. Used it for some grass seed that way this spring.

I like that! :thumbsup: Looks like it might factory made?? If you bought it, who is the manufacturer, and how much?

 

[kebo]

Hi Kebo, I see you have a Leinbach #11 field cultivator, how do you like that for your foodplots??? Thanks

I like it very much thank you! It breaks up ground pretty much the same as a shank plow does. Most cultivators just have a nut and bolt holding the spring cutilvator tines to the frame. If the nut loosens up, or if it hits something like a big rock, or while turning or backing up, they can pivot around a good bit. My cultivator has these little brackets that locks each spring tine in place so they can only move a degree or two to either side, even if the bolt is slightly loose.

A cultivator also works very well to break up a garden, and then use the harrow to cut up the bigger clods and smooth it over some. Nice tool to have around! :thumbsup:

 

[clemsonfor]

I also am in SC. My food plot planting has mostly been in Lancaster County in the clay loam to clay soils.

I too have tried the chain link drag, weighted chain link drag, old bed springs, and may be something else im not remembering. But honestly the best method i have found i used the last 2 seasons and has be my disk lowered just so it kisses the ground, say 1-6 inches of the disks in the soils and go fairly fast. It seems to be much more even germination compared to the chain link fence method, where it seems like all the seed gets in the trough and you end up with little valleys with a bunch of seed coming up and the high spots not as much. I dont have a cultipacer so my seed bed is just how the disk leaves it, which is tiny furrows.

 

[foggy1111]

I have a pull type chain harrow that can be used 3 ways. (also called pasture renovator and a few other names) We pull it with a 4 wheeler....as we do with our culitpacker as it is more maneuverable for our food plots.

We seem to find lots of uses for this. It really levels roads and trails nicely and serves to cultivate and or clear trash from the trails pretty well. It seems indestructible.

We cover broadcast "large" seeds with it and follow with a cultipacker. I'd guess we get up to 1" seed covering depending on which way we pull it. Small seeds (brassica) are sometimes just broadcast and cultipacked.

When I plant soy beans, I will either disc or use a shallow setting on my tiller to get them a bit deeper....and follow with the cultipacker.

 

[foggy1111]

Just wanted to show you my 3pt chain drag. it can be turned upside down for seed cover. Used it for some grass seed that way this spring.

I sure like the looks of this rig James! I dont plan on owning one for my 3 point.....but if I did....this would be the real deal. We just drag ours around with the 4 wheelers.....but I can see this for unloading the trash....and for transport if you use it allot. Nice. :thumbsup:

 

[flusher]

I understand about the grain drills, but we use 3pt spreader to put out the seed since it's what we have. Obviously a drill wastes far less seed, and achieves better germination, but we don't have one and I don't see us buying one either. Besides, most of our food plots are in places that would probably tear up a grain drill just trying to get it to them, such as crossing some pretty large creeks or going up/down steep hills or uneven terrain. Most years we are lucky just to get the atv's (let alone the tractors) across the creeks! In SC (and other southeast states), most hunt clubs (including mine) lease land from timber holding or investment companies and they try to maximize every square foot of acreage for pine tree production. We have almost no open areas like you do in your pic's. So, a grain drill really isn't the best way to go, at least not for us.

Judging from what I see on eBay, there's a market among the food plot clientele for old 10-ft grain drills that have been cut in half to make two five foot drills. They end up looking like midget versions of the one I have. Most are pull type, but I've seen these things set up for 3pt use. The guys selling these modified ask big bucks ($1500-2500) for these things, depending on vintage with modified JDs getting top dollar. If you and your buddies are mechanically inclined, this would be a nice project.

 

[Briana03]

Hello,

This thread has been moved to the new Food Plot Forum. :thumbsup: