Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
He has a 3p606NT.
A Few no till questions.......
- Thread starter TreeDaddy
- Start date
He has a 3p606NT.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Well......that drill does not drop the seeds in the trench.....right??? The ones I saw dropped the small seedbox directly behind the openers.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
Correct [edit: kind of - it could still drop them in the trench, just not between the openers] I'm assuming the sticking point for @TreeDaddy is that the trench has been formed by the openers and not yet closed by press wheels when the small seed box tube spills them directly over it so the concern is they are getting planted too deep. In theory the trench should collapse a little bit right behind the openers so small seed dropped in the middle of it aren't all the way in the bottom and other seed is spilled on the side or edge of the furrow and pressed into the ground by press wheel rather than dropped in the v bottom between openers like the large seed.
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TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Yep.....I've had allot of concerns in this area too. Especially where Tar River drops the small seed box (in the trench).
As someone above said....it's awfully hard to really understand where those seeds are being dropped and at what depth due to them being hard to see against any kind of dirt and the manner in which they fall and become mixed into the soil. Also we are oftentimes dropping those little seeds into vegetation and that is a bit hit or miss too. I suppose we need to trust the engineers design and the reputation of the products to some extent.
I someitimes think the small seeds could be just as effectively broadcast and cultipacked and get a similar result as many of these drills.....which is what "seeders" are doing to a large extent. At the end of the day the Grain Drills seem to more uniformly spread seeds and the drills appear to get better results.
EDIT: When I was orignially setting up my drill.....I ran some pell-lime through the machine in order to see the depth the "seed" was dropping. It was the easiest to see of three different media I tried (cat litter and floor dry). Though I think this was all through my large seed box.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
You’re overthinking it. The drill is designed to plant both. The big seeds are dropped in bottom of trench and pushed down with rubber flap. The small seeds then drip on top of trench and are just barely covered when trench is closed with press wheels.
It works great.
Also I just use seed settings from seed rate chart.
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
Yes - You are overthinking it. The drill will plant both large seed from the large seed box and small seed from the small seed box at the same time just fine. As others have mentioned, the large seed is dropped into the trench at the bottom of the openers and is pressed down by the flap. The small seed is more or less scattered near the soil surface behind the trench right near the front of the press wheels. I know it seems like most of the small seed would drop deep into the trench like the large seed but it really doesn't. You do want to get off the tractor to check your seed depth from time to time - especially when you first begin planting. Leave the drill in the ground and look at the small seed tubes when you stop. You will see the small seeds right up near the soil surface where you want them. The press wheels will “press” that seed into the soil just like a cultipacker does.
Press wheel settings depend upon soil conditions.
You can adjust planting depth (large seed) by adjusting the hydraulic stop and then fine tune the depth by sliding the press wheel knobs forward (shallower) or rearward (deeper). For my soils with my drill (Land Pride/Great Plains 606NT) my hydraulic stop is usually set up about 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 inches. I do carry two 1/2” wrenches on the tractor in case I want to make a major adjustment in planting depth, but mostly I will just adjust the press wheels to fine tune depth (1/8” per hole). Dig up the seed behind the drill to determine the proper depth. Personally, I will usually try to err on the side of a little too shallow rather than a little too deep and it works well for me.
I calibrate large seed box and small seed box separately, although you probably could do it simultaneously if you really wanted to.
You have a great machine in your drill and it will plant just fine for you once you understand how it functions. It is good that you question just how you want it to operate and that you want to plant the proper rates at the proper depths, but don’t get too hung up on it. Go out and have fun with it.
Press wheel settings depend upon soil conditions.
You can adjust planting depth (large seed) by adjusting the hydraulic stop and then fine tune the depth by sliding the press wheel knobs forward (shallower) or rearward (deeper). For my soils with my drill (Land Pride/Great Plains 606NT) my hydraulic stop is usually set up about 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 inches. I do carry two 1/2” wrenches on the tractor in case I want to make a major adjustment in planting depth, but mostly I will just adjust the press wheels to fine tune depth (1/8” per hole). Dig up the seed behind the drill to determine the proper depth. Personally, I will usually try to err on the side of a little too shallow rather than a little too deep and it works well for me.
I calibrate large seed box and small seed box separately, although you probably could do it simultaneously if you really wanted to.
You have a great machine in your drill and it will plant just fine for you once you understand how it functions. It is good that you question just how you want it to operate and that you want to plant the proper rates at the proper depths, but don’t get too hung up on it. Go out and have fun with it.
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bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
Small seeds. Depends on the drill. Some folks remove the seed tubes on the small seeds box, making the seeds spread more. Sometimes you can move the tubes a touch to the side.
Rye is real popular over other lrge seeds. If your that worried about your clover, put the press wheels shallower.
I feel clover will germinate when there's enough moisture. Just putting it right on top will do it fine.
FYI, my brother in law hires pilots to air seed winter rye into soybeans and clover. Putting your press wheel in shallow will be just fine. MY area of NY ha plenty of clay too.
Rye is real popular over other lrge seeds. If your that worried about your clover, put the press wheels shallower.
I feel clover will germinate when there's enough moisture. Just putting it right on top will do it fine.
FYI, my brother in law hires pilots to air seed winter rye into soybeans and clover. Putting your press wheel in shallow will be just fine. MY area of NY ha plenty of clay too.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
Green cover fall release. All planted from large seed box. I did plant shallow, but there are as many broadleaf sprouts as grain.
Crimson n' Camo
5 year old buck +
Omicron is that a field that you're just starting no till on??
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
Yeah, I had some heavy machines on my property so I had them clear this field. I actually no tilled it last two cycles but I’m sure that’s been reset some.
I have used only advanced cal liquid lime on this plot. Will take another soil test this spring.
I waited to plant till early October based on your recommendation.
I have used only advanced cal liquid lime on this plot. Will take another soil test this spring.
I waited to plant till early October based on your recommendation.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
One of my no till feilds. Planted into standing crops and didn’t mow or crimp. It was slower than the seed put into dirt but doing great now. And finally getting some rain.