Planters I got a "new" JD 71 Flex Planter

[kensfarm]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

You don't want to cultivate when planting.. it's when the plants reach 6-12 inches.. w/ your tines spaced just right.. it'll get the weeds between the rows.. and slightly hill dirt on each side of your rows.

I thought you might have mistaken cultivator.. w/ cultipacker.. but usually you only use the cutlipacker behind a grain drill or after broadcast planting.. your planter has row packer wheels.

 

[Glenn9643]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

I think Bob is probably thinking about disk-hillers or bedders to establish a raised row as he plants Ken.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

<font color="red"> How much land are you planning on planting? </font>

Probably about 1.5 acres. And yes, I know this is way overkill for that. But if excess horsepower is a good thing, then the logic follows that a larger than necessary planter is good too! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Of the 1.5 acres, it will be divided up fairly evenly between bush type green beans, snow peas, and sweet corn. There will also be a separate garden with tomatoes, peppers, etc. All for personal use. The over flow will go to work with me to be given away, or possibly to church. It has been a couple years since we had a large garden and I used to take a lot of produce in for the night crew in 5 gallon buckets. Our night crew is full of low wage low skill jobs and many on the crew are struggling to get buy, often single parents and in most cases our job is the only job they've ever had that provided health insurance and other benifits . . . but those jobs still don't pay well. I love to grow stuff, hate to see it go to waste, and really don't need to start a new job as a weekend salesman at the local farmers market!


<font color="red"> Bob is probably thinking about disk-hillers or bedders to establish a raised row as he plants.
</font>
Guys, bear in mind I have never hid the fact that I am an ex-city boy, I may not know the right terms for some of the planting duties, but that is what I was thinking of. I've seen some that have disks, others that have a small plow shaped blade. There is one unit that I saw that had a leading row of plow shaped blades that "cultivated" ahead of planting. I presumed they actually directed dirt into raised rows?

 

[Glenn9643]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

There is one unit that I saw that had a leading row of plow shaped blades that "cultivated" ahead of planting. I presumed they actually directed dirt into raised rows?
Correct. There are several planter designs. Some incorporate fertilize distributor/planter. Some create a raised row or bed if needed. Depending on your crop, soil, or climatic conditions the seed might be planted on a raised row or in a "water-furrow". Where I was raised we could plant about everything on a flat bed and throw dirt to the plants as we cultivated. Where I am now drainage is poor and I've found that I'll have to plant on a bed. Because most CUT's that I've seen have limited wheel spacing they don't generally accomodate themselves to cultivating row-crops. I could get by with 28" rows and cultivate OK if not for my 17.5" wide rears. Because of this I reworked an old 4-row disk-bedder to three rows and lay out my rows with it. All planting is done with a push-planter (Earth-Way??). End up using the long-handled single point cultivator around the plants and a small tiller for the middles.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

You don't need smaller hoppers, just don't fill them all the way up.

Around here 4 row planters go for the same price as 2 row because of demand. Small homeowners, hunters and specialty farmers are all looking for 2 row units for little stands of corn and such.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

<font color="red"> Because most CUT's that I've seen have limited wheel spacing they don't generally accomodate themselves to cultivating row-crops. </font>

My game plan, at least with corn, is to measure the inside spacing between the tires and then set the planter to plant rows that will allow me to driver over them for their first few inches of growth so that I can run a 3 prong cultivator down the rows for some weed control. I'm not sure that I can do the same for some other crops as the spacing may require the rows to be set to far apart for me to get the tractors in there. But I suppose that would be something that would justify the need to buy and restore a wide track Oliver or Cletrac crawler tractors. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif My beds are 50" wide, I know of some of the old crawlers that can be set as far out as 68" /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[kensfarm]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

"There is one unit that I saw that had a leading row of plow shaped blades that "cultivated" ahead of planting."

Now I'm understanding.. the above is probably a strip-till planter.

Bob.. I'm def. not trying to fool anyone either.. I know a little about farming.. my grand-parents were the farmers.. my parents were farm-city transplants.. now retired to the farm. I was born in D.C.. raised in MD.. our family worked a farm that was 10 miles away in Accokeek, MD.

I started doing the same(growing food) about 3 years ago on my own farm.. started w/ an acre.. but when my farm renters changed.. I took over the fields surrounding the house & barn. I have two buddies(one's a dairy farmer) that help in the planting, harvesting, etc. We all get fresh food.. give it to our families.. local church groups.. and bring some to give away at work. We did sell sweet corn this year.. but probably only made enough to pay for the corn seed & fert. We finished up last weekend by digging our 3 last rows of potatoes.. kinda late.. but most were still good.. enough to fill 7 50lb feed bags.

I just love being outside.. working the soil.. watching everything grow.. seeing what Mother Nature will do.. it's good for the soul.

 

[twinstackram]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

messing around on ebay and ran across this place,He had a nice IH 2 row planter SOLD that would have went real nice with my IH234 but he has 2 JD 71 planters,jsut thought Iwould let you all know just in case,wrong color for me.oh here is the web site wenger.com

 

[rambler]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Guys, bear in mind I have never hid the fact that I am an ex-city boy, I may not know the right terms for some of the planting duties, but that is what I was thinking of. I've seen some that have disks, others that have a small plow shaped blade. There is one unit that I saw that had a leading row of plow shaped blades that "cultivated" ahead of planting. I presumed they actually directed dirt into raised rows?
)</font>

As I mentioned in a different message, these JD 71 planter units have been sold off to Yetter - www.yetterco.com . Plates can be bought from many sources. JD still supports them, but Yetter will have whole units.

I certainly would keep the seed hoppers you have - much better than the steel buckets. Just don't fill them. But these will be easier to clean than the old narrow....

I suspect your soil/ climate is not so different than mine - planting would be about the same.

It is best to work the soil, let it rest a few hours, then plant. Strip tillage works with the big fancy units (see some of the other stuff Yetter sells - that's what they do is specialty strip till after market equipment) but you really need top notch equipment. If it is damp out, the planter wants to ball up if you combine things.

There are 'field cultivators' which are the chisel 'small plow' implements. And there are 'row crop cultivators' which go over the rows to kill off the weeds.

After you plant, but before you see any of the sturdy crops break through the ground (works for corn, soybeans - be careful with anything small-seeded!) you can harrow over the ground. This will disturb the weeds sprouting, but not harm the crop - if you don't drive on the row & set the harrow shallow.

Or you could use a rotorty hoe. You can also use a rotory hoe after the crop has come up - again, only in sturdy crops, like corn! The little teeth called 'spoons' on the rotory hoe pluck out tiny weeds, but do little to no damage to the corn.

For a row crop cultivator, you need to be cultivating before you see much for weeds, and then every 7-8 days again, no matter what you see. This will kill all the sprouting weeds. If you wait to see a growing weed before cultivating, you've lost the battle. Enough weeds will get through the cultivator when they are that big that they will overtake the plot.

This is the old, pre-herbicide way to control weeds when farming. You need to kill the weeds before you even see them. After harrowing or cultivating, you will see tiny white strings behind you - the sprouting weeds laying on top, dying...

Understand some of these things could be _real_ hard on tiny delicate crops - I only know corn, soybeans, oats & wheat....

Don't know that this is any value to you, but seemed like you were curious.

--->Paul

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: I got a \"new\" JD 71 Flex Planter

Paul, actually you HELP ME A LOT with that post. I knew that a cultivator was used for weeding between the crop rows and I intend to do that. What I didn't realize was the frequency of the cultivating that was needed and the fact that I had to start BEFORE seeing any weeds.

My intent is to till the area this fall/winter. I've already started, but am just doing it in my spare time. Currently the area that will be a garden next year is a farm field this year. The soybeans were harvested in October and I have a flat field to work with, but it has some of last years corn stalks and some of this years dried bean plants on the surface, so I'm tilling them in. I intend to till again in the spring as soon as the soil is dry enough.

I have about 2 acres that I am taking over and I intend to make 50" wide beds with 72" to 84" wide grass stips running between the beds. My goal is to have an easy to work garden, so it will take over a lot of space but not be very space efficient. I want to be able to drive the tractors down the grass strips between the beds. The beds, at 50" wide, should be reasonably easy to harvest as it will be possible to reach in to pick the produce from the grass strips without having to do to much walking inside the planting areas.