Packer maxx crimper

[momark]

Packer maxx has come out with an add on crimper for their 4' cultipacker. Has anyone by chance used one or know someone who has? If it's a good product the price is reasonable(1200, incl. shipping) for a roller/crimper combo imo. From the pic the crimper looks a little on the lightly built side, but I could be wrong about that (hopefully). Short of building your own most crimpers are quite expensive. If anyone has any first or second hand info on these I would love to hear about it.
Thanks, Mark

 

[Doublewide]

I don't have a crimper but I read (possibly on this site) that unhooking the PTO on your rototiller and dropping the tiller to the ground works as a crimper. I'm going to give this a try and hope that it works well enough that I don't have to spend any more money on equipment, although I think I passed that imaginary threshold years ago.

 

[momark]

I do have a tiller and I have done that. It works somewhat, but not enough for my satisfaction. Remember a tractor without implements is just a slow way to get around. :)

 

[yoderjac]

Seems expensive for 4'. Crimping won't kill a lot of vegetation. It works great with some plants at the right growth stage. So, if you are gong to do the same rotation every year and know crimping will be sufficient to get sufficient kill, the only problem becomes size. At 4' per pass, unless you are doing a tiny plot, it is going to take a long time. And, if you are doing just a tiny plot, herbicides may be a better answer depending on your situation.

If you have a tiller, I would probably consider putting my money into a used 8'-10' old farm cultipacker. It took me a few years to find one, but $600 - $800 should be enough. Then consider a min-till approach. Raise your tiller so that the tines are only touching the top inch of soil. When you are done the field should look green rather than brown. The tiller does a good job of chopping up vegetation and breaking the surface slightly. Microbes from the soil help decompose the vegetation once it is on the ground. This very light tillage is not going to have a major impact on soil tilth or introduce oxygen deep enough into the soil to burn OM. Any plant that would be killed by a crimper would also be killed using this method. (You don't turn your PTO off for this). Depending on what is growing and what your are planting, you may or may not need herbicides as well, just like crimping.

That is my 2 cents for what it is worth...

Thanks,

Jack

 

[momark]

I do have a tiller. My plots are small 1/4-1/2 acre in size. I always have cereal grains in the fall and in my experience they{ especially rye) become a pain in the butt when tilling due to wrapping around the axle/shaft. Very difficult to remove. This seemed to happen even after mowing. Did you have that problem? If not, what is the solultion?

 

[Bassattackr]

Mark,

Do you have a front end loader on your tractor? Others have reporting this working well for dropping rye. Otherwise, that PM crimper may work a little better but never used one.

 

[Tree Spud]

I do have a tiller. My plots are small 1/4-1/2 acre in size. I always have cereal grains in the fall and in my experience they{ especially rye) become a pain in the butt when tilling due to wrapping around the axle/shaft. Very difficult to remove. This seemed to happen even after mowing. Did you have that problem? If not, what is the solultion?

I suspect you will have the same issue if you crimp the cereal grains.

 

[yoderjac]

Seems expensive for 4'. Crimping won't kill a lot of vegetation. It works great with some plants at the right growth stage. So, if you are gong to do the same rotation every year and know crimping will be sufficient to get sufficient kill, the only problem becomes size. At 4' per pass, unless you are doing a tiny plot, it is going to take a long time. And, if you are doing just a tiny plot, herbicides may be a better answer depending on your situation.

If you have a tiller, I would probably consider putting my money into a used 8'-10' old farm cultipacker. It took me a few years to find one, but $600 - $800 should be enough. Then consider a min-till approach. Raise your tiller so that the tines are only touching the top inch of soil. When you are done the field should look green rather than brown. The tiller does a good job of chopping up vegetation and breaking the surface slightly. Microbes from the soil help decompose the vegetation once it is on the ground. This very light tillage is not going to have a major impact on soil tilth or introduce oxygen deep enough into the soil to burn OM. Any plant that would be killed by a crimper would also be killed using this method. (You don't turn your PTO off for this). Depending on what is growing and what your are planting, you may or may not need herbicides as well, just like crimping.

That is my 2 cents for what it is worth...

Thanks,

Jack

Catch them earlier. I typically I include some turnips with my cereal grains. They need to be terminated in the spring before they go too seed. I simply mow when they are in bloom This also sets back the WR. Deer are not using it by then (but they are using the CC in my fall mix). When I get ready for my spring plant, the WR is not a problem for my tiller.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[momark]

I don't do much spring planting other than occasionally buckwheat . I like to leave the cereals until late July or early August and then plant my brassicas, clover, cereals then. I like to leave the cereals standing for weed suppresion and seed production. I could be wrong, but it seems like crimping wouldn't wind them up much. And if it did I think it would be easier access for getting them out of the crimper. It's really a pain trying to get them out of the tiller. Other things get wound up too, but rye is the worst.

 

[yoderjac]

I don't do much spring planting other than occasionally buckwheat . I like to leave the cereals until late July or early August and then plant my brassicas, clover, cereals then. I like to leave the cereals standing for weed suppresion and seed production. I could be wrong, but it seems like crimping wouldn't wind them up much. And if it did I think it would be easier access for getting them out of the crimper. It's really a pain trying to get them out of the tiller. Other things get wound up too, but rye is the worst.

Ok, now I'm confused. Folks crimp WR to kill it in the spring without herbicide so they can plant. WR is an annual and it dies in the summer. If you only plant in the fall, crimping won't do anything that I can think of that mowing won't do. Maybe if you had a drill and wanted to lay it down in one direction so the openers could run in parallel with the shafts. But 1/4-1/2 acre isn't large enough to need a drill.

The only case I can see for a crimper is if you plant in the spring.

 

[momark]

I think laying it down with a crimper would make a much more even thatch layer to cover the seed to improve germination and give some protection from turkeys and such from eating it. I have a rotary mower, but it doesn't do a very good job of covering the ground evenly. I suppose a good roller would work pretty well also. I just feel a crimper would be the best tool for the job. The Packer Maxx crimper is by far the cheapest crimper I've been able to find. Even though it's only 4' my plots are small enough that I think it would work for me. Thanks for your feedback, that's what I'm looking for. I want to explore all the scenarios.
Mark

 

[yoderjac]

I think laying it down with a crimper would make a much more even thatch layer to cover the seed to improve germination and give some protection from turkeys and such from eating it. I have a rotary mower, but it doesn't do a very good job of covering the ground evenly. I suppose a good roller would work pretty well also. I just feel a crimper would be the best tool for the job. The Packer Maxx crimper is by far the cheapest crimper I've been able to find. Even though it's only 4' my plots are small enough that I think it would work for me. Thanks for your feedback, that's what I'm looking for. I want to explore all the scenarios.
Mark

Well, do what will make you happy, but you would be better off with an old farm cultipacker. When I let WR stand through the summer, I either broadcast, mow, and cultipack or just broadcast and cultipack. They both work well. Crimping doesn't do anything but break the shaft to kill WR in the spring. There is no noticeable difference in germination rates.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Bassattackr]

momark,

Going to agree with Jack on this one. A crimper is a tool for a very specific time frame. If you're going to leave the cereals until fall, you don't need a crimper - just a roller, cultipacker or even a FEL as I mentioned earlier to lay everything down in late summer after it's spent.

For years, I used a push mower, a leaf rake and a shoulder earthway spreader maintaining one of my 1/4 acre plots.

Personally, I'd just spread, mow and/or cultipack as Jack mentioned. If you're worried about seed predation or germination rates, just increase your seeding rates. You'll spend more fuel getting out there than the 1/4 acre of seed you just bought.. Besides, you're already getting free volunteer seed

 

[john volkman]

I do have a tiller. My plots are small 1/4-1/2 acre in size. I always have cereal grains in the fall and in my experience they{ especially rye) become a pain in the butt when tilling due to wrapping around the axle/shaft. Very difficult to remove. This seemed to happen even after mowing. Did you have that problem? If not, what is the solultion?

this has been my experience as well, a tiller with any green Vegetation is not a good combo

 

[yoderjac]

this has been my experience as well, a tiller with any green Vegetation is not a good combo

Interesting. I have no problems using a tiller for min-till. Simply mowing a couple weeks before min-till allows heavy vegetation to desiccate. The remaining low growing green vegetation is no problem at all. One mistake I see lots of guys make with a till (I've made it myself), is to make turns. This always seems to cause vegetation to wrap around between the last tine and frame. Over time, the rest of the tiller clogs. By tilling in a straight row and lifting the tiller for turns, this is avoided.