What to use for seeding plots?

[Scott Clearman]

I'll be making plots this year, planting cow peas, clover and likely corn in a mix. I have a 35hp new Holland and a 5' tiller. What I don't have is a spreader or drill. What are folks using to spread seeds? I've used the handheld broadcasters and they area a pain, too many fill ups and lots of walking. I tried a Scott's garden spreader, but it had really narrow wheels and didnt' do well in the tilled ground. How well do the pull behind broadcasters with pneumatic tires work? I mean the ones in the 85-150 pound range.

 

[jeff9366]

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[Bearsixty7]

I'll be making plots this year, planting cow peas, clover and likely corn in a mix. I have a 35hp new Holland and a 5' tiller. What I don't have is a spreader or drill. What are folks using to spread seeds? I've used the handheld broadcasters and they area a pain, too many fill ups and lots of walking. I tried a Scott's garden spreader, but it had really narrow wheels and didnt' do well in the tilled ground. How well do the pull behind broadcasters with pneumatic tires work? I mean the ones in the 85-150 pound range.

LOL! I watched and watched for a reasonably priced 3pt spreader to be on craiglist or anywhere and even the most rusted out ones were $300 and up so I just used my Scotts lawn spreader and it worked well, the key was to disk the ground while it was fairly dry then use the spreader.
My next plan was to buy what you are considering, a pneumatic tired spreader such as TSC carries. I was also considering mounting an ATV spreader to the back of the 3pt disk and running a switched 12V wire to it as those spreaders are more available and cheaper. You may want to look into doing that or a dedicated 3pt electric spreader.

 

[3gunr]

Seed mixes are becoming very popular but you have to mix the right seeds , You cant plant clover and corn or peas together in the same spreader. Seeds like clover and brassicas are tiny and need to be just pressed into the soil in a firm seedbed , Corn , beens , peas, oats , and other large seeds can be planted and drug over and then cultipacked. Get yourself an earthway bag spreader for your small seeds, a 3pt spreader works great for your large seeds and lime and fertilizer. If you buy a pull behind type for an atv , buy the biggest and best one you can find , they dont hold up well and they tend to bounce all over and can tip over real easy, I have been plotting for 20 yrs and have learned things the hard way, It is a lot of fun though , Good luck .