Small (tiny) combine - pull type - for grains?

[jyoutz]

Good nectar source during the dearth. Grows easily, fast, produces tons of organic matter, smothers weeds...
View attachment 1110278

Oh I see that you raise bees. That’s understandable.

 

[jyoutz]

Cover crop that unlocks phosphorous in thrle soil. It grows fast, also, and in dense stands (high population) it can overtake weeds. It also promotes healthy organism growth in the soil.

Tilled in the organic matter is, furthermore, good for the soil.

Growing Buckwheat for Grain or Cover Crop Use | MU Extension

Rob Myers Adjunct Associate Professor Division of Plant Sciences Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) is a fast-growing crop most often found in northern temperate regions, such as the northern tier of U.S. states. It is native to southwest Asia, and is currently grown most extensively in...

extension.missouri.edu

Edit to add -
The principal of "cover crops" is something we are studying. There are numerous directions to go with it, however with the right application of crops to soil you can do any number of things. Around here (central Ohio) farmers use field raddishes to add organic matter and break up compacted soil, among other benefits.

If you dig in to the subject of "cover crops" youll find a whole other world within agriculture.

I understand the concept of cover crops, but they are typically a short term soil management strategy for lands intended to grow other crops.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Planting part of the property to buckwheat also reduces mowing time and control of noxious weeds. If I can till, plant, till... It's less time consuming than mowing it 7x per year. Not to mention it's absolutely beautiful when in bloom.

 

[oldnslo]

So, full disclosure. I'm not a farmer and I'm not a fabricator, so don't laugh. I'm a long time IT guy who spent some time on a friend's family farm in my younger days, with a strong DIY streak and a desire to be more self sufficient. I don't have any plans to sell grain, but am interested in experimenting with some of the heirloom grains as a way to reduce gluten intake. My daughter is gluten intolerant, which got me interested in this.

Here's a short video of the thresher as it currently sits and the theory of operation.

I still need to add some baffles for air flow and I need to fabricate some kind of bracket for mounting the motor inside the back open area. I'm going to try this with a 1/2 HP motor that I have sitting on the shelf. If that isn't powerful enough, I'll swap it out for a 1 HP model. I did some basic CAD drawings for dimensioning purposes, but don't have a material list to go with it. If it looks like something you're interested in, I'm happy to share.

As for your questions about the logistics, I'm not certain what to expect. The machine is pretty heavy, but adding some wheels would make it easier to move around in the shop, which is where I plan to do my threshing. It will have to be hand fed, so it will still be a slower process than a combine, but a lot faster than trying to do it by hand. My goal is to have a two stage solution for threshing and winnowing. I know it won't be perfect, but hopefully, it's good enough.

As for portability, I suppose that I could mount it on a pallet and move it out to the field and use a generator to power it. I hadn't really thought about that.

A word of caution on threshing grain inside of a building is that under certain conditions the dust can be explosive. I have clue exactly what those conditions are but the explosion usually is quite dramatic.

In the old days people used to build shocks of grain both for drying and transport. Seen this done as a youngster but never actually did it. Have handled the shocks though using a pitch fork to load wagons.

Wish you the best on getting that threshing unit figured out.

 

[t1kilo]

A word of caution on threshing grain inside of a building is that under certain conditions the dust can be explosive. I have clue exactly what those conditions are but the explosion usually is quite dramatic.

In the old days people used to build shocks of grain both for drying and transport. Seen this done as a youngster but never actually did it. Have handled the shocks though using a pitch fork to load wagons.

Wish you the best on getting that threshing unit figured out.

I really appreciate the heads up. I guess I won’t be doing any threshing in the shop!

 

[groundcover]

This should do the trick ! 44 acres an hour !

 

[LouNY]

I really appreciate the heads up. I guess I won’t be doing any threshing in the shop!

Most grain explosions are are at the mills were it is being ground or in large elevators were the grain is being moved swiftly and creating fine dust.

 

[paulsharvey]

Would an electric leaf shredder, and a high volume fan at the discharge, do the trick? You still have the cutting/gathering side; but a sickle bar mower, and then the less than fun gathering phase. If we are talking well less than an acre; that would probably do the trick.

If you had the leaf shredder, a generator, and a high volume fan, with your "hopper" maybe a IBC tote; and put all that on a trailer; your chafe would be blown back into the field too

 

[paulsharvey]

Or, a set up like this, pulled behind the tractor, and a trailer for the blow heavier grain. You would want/need a ground person running the vac hose; and someone on the tractor or ATV. I'm thinking you would end up with a semi processed grain at the outfeed, with the trash just blowing away, and the heavier grain dropping in a small trailer.

 

[34Willys]

When we lived in Upper Lake, there was a vineyard/winery across the road from our friends on Tomki Rd in Redwood Valley that planted wheat between the vines for crop/harvest/cover and I think they were going to sell breads, flour, or make Whiskey?
Frey Vineyards in Redwood Valley, CA.
They had a mini combine that would fit between the vines.
They got hit real hard by a forest fire about 8 years ago and lost most of everything so I'm not sure if they're still doing the wheat thing.
I'm trying to post a picture of them and their little combine.
Patrick