planting in drought??

[wiscwhip]

Truax, oh yeah, and JD.

 

[yoderjac]

My camp did the spray / plow / disc / harrow / culti-pack process for our corn plots, WR plot and the brassica plot. Some of our other plots we just over-seeded. We had some really bad foxtail and we sprayed gly to kill it before plowing. It was good and brown before mowing then plowing. We want to minimize tillage in the future for building better soil. How do you beat back foxtail and other weedy crap so you have a decent chance of getting good plot results ?? Spray only ??

Can you guys give a recommendation on a good brand of no-till drill ?? - no experience with one. ( would it work in stony ground ?? ) Camp members would not want a cheapy piece-of-crap that needs repairing all the time. Thanks.

I'm using a small 4' 3-pt Kasco versa-drill. I bought it used for about $3K. It was used so I did have some repairs when I first got it but none since. However, this is not a big-boy drill. It does not have the weight and a depth wheel like high end drills. You are supposed to adjust the top-link to move pressure from back to front to change depth. The problem is that when you increase depth, you loose pressure on the cultipacker that covers the seed. I ended up getting a hydraulic toplink and a chain to allow the drill to "float" behind the tractor like a tow-behind. I then add 5 gal buckets of cement to the frame to adjust depth. It is a workable solution for the small food plotter that doesn't have the funds to justify a high-end no-till drill.

For large seed warm season annuals, another option for the small food plotter on a budget is a cut down planter. There are a few companies who specialize in this.

If you have the personal resources or are part of a club with funding, a couple of big names in the no-till drill game are Great Plains and Tye. If you have tiny plots and tight access roads, you may be forced to use a 3-pt drill. The size will be limited by your tractor. If not, a tow-behind drill follows the ground and plants better. I kind of hybridized my little Kasco with the hydraulic toplink and chain. You can also handle a wider drill with a smaller tractor than with a 3-pt drill.

Thanks,

jack

 

[yoderjac]

Truax, oh yeah, and JD.

Yep, they are big players as well.