Genesis Drill first impressions

Time for an update on this spring’s plantings.
In one of the posts above (Day 4 planting) I seeded the edge of my new 10 acres with a nice barrier of sunflowers. We have had a little bit of rain since May 18, the day it was planted, and it sprouted at about 7 - 8 days. I planted them at an inch and a half and the stand looks pretty darn good. I planted these into standing Rye which was only about 6-8 inches tall at the time. I did not spray this area. You will see in a few of the next posts how I am doing a bit of experimenting with spray vs. roller crimp and even a small patch of till vs no-till. How is a guy to know unless he tries it side by side is the way I figured it.

These sunflowers are today June 2. You can clearly see them but I did get right in the row of Rye in some places.
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I also did a Round-Up burn down of a part of the field and planted some screening. I used Egyptian Wheat as the screen. Here is a picture of how this is starting out. The drill did a great job of handling various types of seed sizes independently, and as mixes. I am very happy with the results. This was straight EW with nothing else added. This was planted on May 20 and is coming along nicely as of today, June 2.
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These next few pics are of the soybean test area. I am going to test the difference between chemical control of the Rye vs. the roller crimped, and there is also a very small area in the middle of the sprayed off Rye where I used the tractor rotor tiller to compare how they do with the thatch and without.
I will include an overview picture so you can see the whole area pretty much.
These soybeans were planted on May 22 and the area was sprayed with gly and crop oil the next day (May 23). Today this picture is taken on June 2.
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Overview picture of the soybean test area ( about 2 acres total area)
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Soybeans and Peas in the Rye that was terminated with gly.
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Soybeans and Peas in the 7’ wide strip tilled up using the rotor tiller. Sprayed with gly the day after planting.
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Side by side of Soybeans and Peas in the tilled area (left) and the chemical termination no till (Right).
 
And to round out the update pictures, this is the Summer Release Blend from Green Cover Seeds. It was drilled into the standing Rye which was about 9-10 inches tall and green. Planting date was May 22, and I sprayed gly with crop oil the next day May 23. Average rain for this time of year, a little shower about every 4 days or so, nothing remarkable for the moisture really. The blend contains 9 different seed types and is doing really well. The Genesis drill worked as advertised and was able to plant the blend with no issues. I look forward to finishing up some plots at the other farm this week. It has improved the germination of seed, no doubt.
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Green Cover Summer Release Blend. I see Buckwheat, Soybeans, Sunflower, and Crimson clover in this photo.
 
I will try and follow up on all the plantings, there are a few other blends I put together, but haven’t gotten out to see how they are doing yet. I hope to be able to post every 2 weeks or so on how the stand comes along and any major differences in the “test” areas. If you guys have any questions or suggestions on other tests, throw em out there. I have enough ground to play around with it a little and see what works and what struggles.
River
 
It is a quality machine no doubt. But you will struggle if you want to plant a brassica mix at less than 9 lbs an acre. You won’t notice small seed issues when planting clover or Alfalfa because the seeding rates are so high in a monoculture. I can’t get the brassicas to plant at less than 9.5ish lbs per acre . . .
Question: Wouldn't adding filler allow lower spread rates? I rented a drill this year and will be purchasing one for next year. I am trying to learn as much as possible. I figured adding cat litter, pellets or similar filler would also lower rates. Is that correct?
 
Question: Wouldn't adding filler allow lower spread rates? I rented a drill this year and will be purchasing one for next year. I am trying to learn as much as possible. I figured adding cat litter, pellets or similar filler would also lower rates. Is that correct?

Pelletized lime would be a great carrier.
 
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