ATV food plot devices?

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Ok. Next project in the garage is a ATV food plot planting Device.

Anybody have good experiences with any equipment they've owned?

Got 14 inch discs, culitpacker, drop spreader, john deere small seed boxes with gears.

Was thinking of making possible 2 or 3 ATV towed equipment.

(1) Make a nice 2 gang disc set with the drop spreader ontop. Adjustable disc angles, weight boxes, and hand crank wheel lift. MAybe 3ft wide. Drop spreader would have funnels and tube to direct seed or seed /fertilizer mix at discs. Planting small grains with light application of fertilizer mixed in hopper.

(2) Make a 3.5ft cultipacker with the john deere small seed boxes in there. To be used after the disc set puts the grains in, top it off with brassicas or clovers. This would have transport wheels too.

Both could be tandem towed together for transport. Hitch ball on back of one of the implements.

Or, instead of 1 and 2. Make a small version of the firminator. Single row disc and the cultipacker in one. Maybe flip the cultipacker section over so it doubles as a weight. Be able to disc it hard once, then 2nd pass with the seeder dropping seed and the cultipacker rolling it in. Guessing a honda 420 rancher could tow a 2-2.5ft wide setup like that. Nothing perfect just some soil ontop of the grains and the clover seeing a bit of bare dirt


(3) is definitely happening in either case. Making a small compact ripper. (3) Danish S-tines with a set of depth setting wheels. This would be on a simple frame and hitch with a weight box. Either use a ratchet strap to lift it up in the air while transport, or disconnect it and drive to the next remote site with it on the back on the Rack. Maybe make the depth setting wheels larger and heavy and cam be turned way down for transport.

 

[omicron1792]

Ok. Next project in the garage is a ATV food plot planting Device.

Anybody have good experiences with any equipment they've owned?

Got 14 inch discs, culitpacker, drop spreader, john deere small seed boxes with gears.

Was thinking of making possible 2 or 3 ATV towed equipment.

(1) Make a nice 2 gang disc set with the drop spreader ontop. Adjustable disc angles, weight boxes, and hand crank wheel lift. MAybe 3ft wide. Drop spreader would have funnels and tube to direct seed or seed /fertilizer mix at discs. Planting small grains with light application of fertilizer mixed in hopper.

(2) Make a 3.5ft cultipacker with the john deere small seed boxes in there. To be used after the disc set puts the grains in, top it off with brassicas or clovers. This would have transport wheels too.

Both could be tandem towed together for transport. Hitch ball on back of one of the implements.

Or, instead of 1 and 2. Make a small version of the firminator. Single row disc and the cultipacker in one. Maybe flip the cultipacker section over so it doubles as a weight. Be able to disc it hard once, then 2nd pass with the seeder dropping seed and the cultipacker rolling it in. Guessing a honda 420 rancher could tow a 2-2.5ft wide setup like that. Nothing perfect just some soil ontop of the grains and the clover seeing a bit of bare dirt


(3) is definitely happening in either case. Making a small compact ripper. (3) Danish S-tines with a set of depth setting wheels. This would be on a simple frame and hitch with a weight box. Either use a ratchet strap to lift it up in the air while transport, or disconnect it and drive to the next remote site with it on the back on the Rack. Maybe make the depth setting wheels larger and heavy and cam be turned way down for transport.

Firminator has a 3’ atv model. Use it for inspiration.

 

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Anybody own one of those 3ft firminators?

 

[yoderjac]

Here are my thoughts for what they are worth. The most you are likely to do with an ATV is scratch the surface as far as tillage. When it comes to tillage, I believe less deep and less frequent is better. None is better. So, if you can T&M successfully, I'd skip tillage implements. I would focus on something that would simply drop seed, cultipack it, and spray behind. This would allow you to do everything you need in a single pass if you mow a the right time to manage vegetation.

I have a 4' kasco no-till drill (tractor model). I'm considering putting a sprayer on it and rigging it to just spray the individual planting rows. This would let drill into clover effectively without suppressing the entire field. I've seen folks use established perennial clover with a contraption like this was weed suppression in a corn planting. The clover also feeds the corn N. It is on my long list, but I have bigger fish to fry these days.

 

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Roll then spray........ Would be realy easy for my setup to do. I have a sprayer tank to about 10ft of hose to a PVC pipe frame with (2) 130 deg spray nozzles about 4ft apart. Could easily go to (1) nozzle above the back of the cultipacker.


Disc assemblies weren't really for tillage, but more just to scratchup a spot to get seed contact. I do like wheat as an option. One disc to open it a touch, then the 2nd to scrape a touch more and stir it in.

I think I will make the cultipacker 1st, but make it capable to mount both large and small seed boxes. Im too worried about putting clover in the ground. Some of my most enjoyable weekends are the ones I happen to frost seed clover.

Instead of an expensive seed meters, I am using a drop spreader used for lawns. The adjustable opening swaps out perfectly with a cut open section of 3/4" pvc pipe. May need 2 or 3 takes to get the opening I like. Not planning of a variety of seeds, just grains. Using regular bike gears to adjust the speed between varieties or speed it up a touch if I do fertilizer mixes like adding 30-100lbs/acre.

Cultpiacker is not the typical 9 inch or so ones, Larger older AG ones 14 inch or so. The main wheel has a deep groove line in the middle and then a thinner star wheel goes alongside it. I do think long term no-till or permanent no-till cultipackers need to put more pressure on the ground than typical seed bed finishing ones.

 

[yoderjac]

Roll then spray........ Would be realy easy for my setup to do. I have a sprayer tank to about 10ft of hose to a PVC pipe frame with (2) 130 deg spray nozzles about 4ft apart. Could easily go to (1) nozzle above the back of the cultipacker.


Disc assemblies weren't really for tillage, but more just to scratchup a spot to get seed contact. I do like wheat as an option. One disc to open it a touch, then the 2nd to scrape a touch more and stir it in.

I think I will make the cultipacker 1st, but make it capable to mount both large and small seed boxes. Im too worried about putting clover in the ground. Some of my most enjoyable weekends are the ones I happen to frost seed clover.

Instead of an expensive seed meters, I am using a drop spreader used for lawns. The adjustable opening swaps out perfectly with a cut open section of 3/4" pvc pipe. May need 2 or 3 takes to get the opening I like. Not planning of a variety of seeds, just grains. Using regular bike gears to adjust the speed between varieties or speed it up a touch if I do fertilizer mixes like adding 30-100lbs/acre.

Cultpiacker is not the typical 9 inch or so ones, Larger older AG ones 14 inch or so. The main wheel has a deep groove line in the middle and then a thinner star wheel goes alongside it. I do think long term no-till or permanent no-till cultipackers need to put more pressure on the ground than typical seed bed finishing ones.

I'm using larger equipment. I generally don't use tillage at all, I just broadcast, spray, and cultipack. The only time I needed to use a tiller (raised high so it only touches the top inch) or a non-aggressive light disk was early in my conversion from traditional tillage when my low OM clay would glaze. It depends on your soils. I would try T&M with no tillage. You can raise seeding rates slightly if needed, but a cultipacker is generally enough for most of the small seeds and cereal grains we plant for deer. I would only see using a disc in a special case, not as a standard approach. So, if I were building a tool, I'd shoot for the most general case, and keep the disk as a separate implement for special cases.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[omicron1792]

I would do the opposite. I think having a tractor is best case. If not and going to use atv, the Firminator is a great tool.

You can do a pretty good job discing with multiple passes. It doesn’t go too deep, which can be good if you have rocks and such. The cultipacketr can be used without discing, which can really be good for throw and roll. But you don’t have to throw because the machine will drop the seeds and roll at the same time.

It’s also nice to have less equipment, you can smooth your trails with it. I’m a big fan.

 

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This is sand with high OM in 3 spots, low OM in 2 others. Low OM spots have small rocks. One has some large roks sticking out here n there. MAy use a club members tractor to clean up the larger rocks and do an initial level with his box blade.

All these spots equal about an acre. We lease the land from a logging company, so I cant really make plots in new spots. Many of our trails are too rocky and rough to do any plotting with almost any farming equipment. We have enough trouble with ATV's by themselves.

The end of lease by the road has 6 spots I can put a little stuff in. 1/3 acre, (2) 1/4 acre, (2) 1/8th acre, and 150-300 yards of 10 yard wide snowmobile trail. I initally seeded 1/2 the trail with clover n grains and let it go fallow after that, just to steer it a bit. The other half is in sight of a treestand members like to use. After inital grain n clover seeding in 2020, I throw and mowed brassicas in 2021 and in 2022 did rye n clover. This fall I may disc it to level it up some more.

Not alot of land. I can borrow a tractor at home from my son-in-law. However, not sure if he would let me use it up north. B3030. The cabin gives me allergies residual mouse poop in the walls n crevices. I care for the cabin much better than other members, but sleep in my onverted enclosed trailer. Bringing an equipment trailer means I got to sleep outside, or with the windows open. Hence the ATV preference.

If I get the large log landing steered around, do some of the neighbors snowmobile trail like mine, and doing a spot a member wants a trai plot in we call hidden valley. Taking about 2.5 acres total. Right now I am about 1-1.5 acre range. I probaly have a 1/10th acre extension of a good spot because I cleaned up the area and put a few whtetail crab trees there. Trees are at risk of being bear or logging skid wrecked. Going to put some trees here n there, but looking for special protected spots to put them, near ledges or large rocks were logging skids cant go.

I have a tire drag up there and was thinking of making another 1 or 2 more and leaving them where I Food plot in some real remote spots. Sometimes get stuff stuck getting there.

 

[omicron1792]

The Firminator for atv will increase your plot success significantly.

 

[yoderjac]

The Firminator for atv will increase your plot success significantly.

I would say the opposite. With sandy soil, I would not till at all. nutrients move through the soil much to fast for tillage at all. I'd go to complete T&M or no-till drill. This will improve your long term success.

 

[Tree Spud]

I would say the opposite. With sandy soil, I would not till at all. nutrients move through the soil much to fast for tillage at all. I'd go to complete T&M or no-till drill. This will improve your long term success.

Sandy soil needs OM in it. In addition to OM on top of soil, you need to get OM into the soil to hold nitrogen. Planting hybrid sorghum, mowing when it gets to 3'-4' will help. You can get 1-2 cuttings this way then till into soil.

 

[omicron1792]

Most use Firminator as a min till instrument.

You’ve already said with its weight it can barely scratch the surface.

You’ve already said that at times you rototill the top inch of soil.

 

[yoderjac]

Most use Firminator as a min till instrument.

You’ve already said with its weight it can barely scratch the surface.

You’ve already said that at times you rototill the top inch of soil.

Yes, I think the firminator can be a good min-till tool. The question is when to use min-till vs no-till. To my way of thinking, a good example of Min-till is someone converting from traditional tillage that has low OM heavy clay soil. Low OM clay soil will crust, especially when directly exposed to rain. That crusting can keep water from infiltrating and cause runoff. Until you can build OM over time by mixing legumes with grasses, that crusting can be a limiting factor. A min-till device like the Firminator can be a great tool for this.

The reason I don't recommend it in this case is the sandy soil. Water and nutrients infiltrate sandy soil very quickly. There is no crusting. There is generally no real need for min-till with sandy soil and it just makes the infiltration problem worse. Keep in mind infiltration works both directions, water into and out of the soil. So, in sandy soil that does not hold water well like clay, during dry times you end up with a lack of moisture. Avoiding any tillage and maintaining a thatch layer on sandy soil helps slow the infiltration.

The key, in my mind, is matching the technique to the situation. My suggestion is based on his description of his soil and situation, not what I've done. I haven't used min-till for a number of years now. It did take some time, but as I've rotated and mixed C and N based crops, but eventually, my clay soil stopped crusting. At that point, I was able to T&M for my fall plants and the little Kasco no-till drill for any larger seeded spring planting.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Tree Spud]

The disk angles on the Firminator can be set straight for no till, then angled for the amount of tilling you may want. Because the cultipacker sets the till depth, you can adjust depth based on seed type.

 

[omicron1792]

Yep. I’ve used the Firminator. This isn’t a guess. I also have a drill.

I think goal should always be to move towards no till. I have lots of sand on my farm, if you just throw seed on top you will get nothing.

You can use the discs and cultioacker to get the seed covered. He could buy a bunch of different implements, or could buy one. As soil health improves, you can angle the Firminator to just drop seed and cultipack with no discing.

AND, early on being able to disc, cut furrows with straight discs, will greatly enhance his success. Again, not a guess.

 

[Foggy47]

Yep. I’ve used the Firminator. This isn’t a guess. I also have a drill.

I think goal should always be to move towards no till. I have lots of sand on my farm, if you just throw seed on top you will get nothing.

You can use the discs and cultioacker to get the seed covered. He could buy a bunch of different implements, or could buy one. As soil health improves, you can angle the Firminator to just drop seed and cultipack with no discing.

AND, early on being able to disc, cut furrows with straight discs, will greatly enhance his success. Again, not a guess.

^ Good post. I have sandy soil too.....and have come full circle from heavy tillage and row crops to no-till using a drill. I do like the sound of the firminator for someone that needs to break new ground and for seeding and packing. I had to clear several thousand stumps with my 3 point grinder to make food plots out of a pine plantation.....then used extensive tillage and lime and plantings to get some decent ground to grow things. Now converted to no trill drill and keeping armor on my soil. One thing not mentioned is the organic material that is growing in the roots under the ground. When you terminate crops that produce N...... those decaying roots give back the stored nutrients to the next crop. Beautiful!

Tillage has a time and place......but that is past tense for me (for the most part) at this point. I love putting little slits in the ground to deliver the seeds via a drill these days.

 

[Foggy47]

OH....forgot to mention.....I saw a used firminator for sale.....I think it was in MN and on FB Marketplace. I seem to recall it to be a 5 footer? Better hurry.

 

[Tree Spud]

Yep. I’ve used the Firminator. This isn’t a guess. I also have a drill.

I think goal should always be to move towards no till. I have lots of sand on my farm, if you just throw seed on top you will get nothing.

You can use the discs and cultioacker to get the seed covered. He could buy a bunch of different implements, or could buy one. As soil health improves, you can angle the Firminator to just drop seed and cultipack with no discing.

AND, early on being able to disc, cut furrows with straight discs, will greatly enhance his success. Again, not a guess.

I have one also, love being able to drill & cultipack in same pass.

 

[omicron1792]

I have one also, love being able to drill & cultipack in same pass.

I still use my Firminator on my trails and rough terrain. It’s a well build awesome tool. I do like you said, unaggressive disc angle with more weight on the cultipacker. For perennial plots, a light disc reinvigorates the clover at time of planting, and I put a little clover seed to drop at same time. Win all around.

For most of my plots, I use my drill and crimper (or will, this spring will be my first crimper run).

 

[omicron1792]

Been a lot of talk here about planting into perennial clover and using light gly to stunt it.

I use that trick some too. But talking about soil health, cutting it tight with mower, then using something like Firminator for light discing and cultipacking will accomplish the same thing, probably better.

AND, not spraying a chemical just as important for soil and wildlife health as not tilling.