Time to drill some turnips. 3p606nt

[Bill]

I have a pull type LP 606NT momatt so I have never had any drive wheel issues and can not speak to that. Unlike a lot of you guys, I do calibrate my drill when I need to figure out settings for new seeds or mixes. I have done it enough now that I can go by previous years' settings, or at least have a good starting point from notes of previous years. My brassica mix this year was Winfred Forage Brassica and PTT at 2#/acre and Rape, Crimson and Balsana clovers at 1#/acre each. Setting #25 gave me 5.13#/acre which I used in my summer cover crop mix, but I upped it to 6.85#/acre (Setting #35) for my July brassica planting.

View attachment 45124

I know I can get by with including the forage radish with the smaller seeds in the small seed box, but I prefer to plant my radish a little deeper so I plant radish from the large box - and yes, it can be done very accurately...

Drive Gear 1 - Seed Cup 1 and Seed Rate Lever setting #8 gives my a little over 6#/acre of forage radish.
View attachment 45125

4-5 weeks after planting the brassica/clover mix, I broadcast rye over the brassicas so I don't have bare dirt in the spring. This has worked out real well for me here.

How do you work the depth setting when planting radishes (main box) and turnips and rape (small box)? I left the radishes out this year because I didn’t want the other stuff to deep.

 

[PrairieShadow]

Planting with the small seed box the press wheels don’t matter the seed is falling after the opener, the press wheel controls the opener. Do you have your drive wheel in bottom hole? You want the drill level when planting not tilted down like it sounds like you have it. If your ground is hard it will be harder for your drive wheel to touch. I started out all the way down but now as I’ve been no tilling for 7yrs the soil has gotten softer so I moved it up and helps getting more depth.

Press wheels do matter even for the small seeds. You want enough pressure on those press wheels to "press" the seed into the soil for good seed to soil contact.

 

[Wild Thing]

How do you work the depth setting when planting radishes (main box) and turnips and rape (small box)? I left the radishes out this year because I didn’t want the other stuff to deep.

I just set the drill to plant shallow from the large box where the coulters are just making a shallow trench and the openers are just lightly opening up the trench to where the seed only goes down 1/2" to maybe 3/4" at the most. The small box tubes just scatter the small seed on the disturbed surface for the most part, and the closing wheels pack it down and cover the small seed. Depending upon soil conditions I just make adjustments to the hydraulic stop and the T-Handles on the Press Wheel row units to get the desired depth.

 

[Wild Thing]

Press wheels do matter even for the small seeds. You want enough pressure on those press wheels to "press" the seed into the soil for good seed to soil contact.

X2 - Exactly

 

[RCDuck]

A little off topic, but i have a pull-type 606nt as well. Sometimes when I'm using the small seed box for clover, brassicas, etc. the seed tends to migrate to one side or the other (Seed box not very full). Do any of you put any kind of baffles in the small box to prevent this? It's only an issue when the box isn't very full because you are planting a small area or towards the end of planting.

 

[Wild Thing]

A little off topic, but i have a pull-type 606nt as well. Sometimes when I'm using the small seed box for clover, brassicas, etc. the seed tends to migrate to one side or the other (Seed box not very full). Do any of you put any kind of baffles in the small box to prevent this? It's only an issue when the box isn't very full because you are planting a small area or towards the end of planting.

That can be a PITA when you are running out of seed...which is why I always try to mix up more than I know I will need and then use the leftover the next year.

I cut out a brochure card for a baffle to only use the first 3 tubes when I am calibrating the drill for the small seed box. It works pretty well.

 

[omicron1792]

How do you work the depth setting when planting radishes (main box) and turnips and rape (small box)? I left the radishes out this year because I didn’t want the other stuff to deep.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s what small seed box is for.

Large box drops seed in the trench at the bottom. The a flap makes sure it is at bottom.

Small seed drops after the planting coulter. So it is on top. It then gets pressed with press wheel when closing trench so it is shallow.

 

[Wild Thing]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s what small seed box is for.

Large box drops seed in the trench at the bottom. The a flap makes sure it is at bottom.

Small seed drops after the planting coulter. So it is on top. It then gets pressed with press wheel when closing trench so it is shallow.

Correct. I plant the radish seed from the large box so I can get it a little deeper. Brassica and clovers seeds plant just fine on the surface and pressed down with the press wheels.

 

[Tree Spud]

I read the other thread and decided to calibrate. Setting 25 was throwing about 3.6 lbs. little spiders sure made a mess with their webs in the drop tubes. Anyone figure out a good way to clean those? Also those wire clips were clearly designed by the devil himself.

Edit: Just remembered "bottle brush". $10. via amazon. ref=sr_1_4_sspa

You can try this to clean the tubes ...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NB0729G/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&aaxitk=336a3201e8d9e9ea7d96b6f74cc8873f&content-id=amzn1.sym.53aae2ac-0129-49a5-9c09-6530a9e11786%3Aamzn1.sym.53aae2ac-0129-49a5-9c09-6530a9e11786&hsa_cr_id=4654606550801&pd_rd_plhdr=t&pd_rd_r=333a2b30-7499-4ee0-ba78-b80d28add490&pd_rd_w=udOcr&pd_rd_wg=5Irku&qid=1660156524&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_lsi4d_asin_0_title&sr=1-1-a094db1c-5033-42c6-82a2-587d01f975e8

 

[Foggy47]

^ Regarding spiders and mice. I read where some guys had troubles with mice chewing on the plastic parts of the seed cup delivery system. That could get quite expensive! Then a guy suggested to put a dryer sheet at each of the seed cups to deter mice.....and I suppose that may work for spiders too? Dunno. But I did buy a box of dryer sheets the other day....and figured for $5 I would keep my drill free of mice. I've used dryer sheets in lots of other applications......and the mice stay clear.

 

[Tree Spud]

^ Regarding spiders and mice. I read where some guys had troubles with mice chewing on the plastic parts of the seed cup delivery system. That could get quite expensive! Then a guy suggested to put a dryer sheet at each of the seed cups to deter mice.....and I suppose that may work for spiders too? Dunno. But I did buy a box of dryer sheets the other day....and figured for $5 I would keep my drill free of mice. I've used dryer sheets in lots of other applications......and the mice stay clear.

Mothballs also work for deterring mice.

 

[Foggy47]

Mothballs also work for deterring mice.

The past two years I had some issues with mice building nests in some of my Buddy heaters. Man.....that really screws those heaters big time. Thinking I need to put some dryer sheets in those heaters in fall.....when we put 'em in the blinds. I have an issue with putting anything with an oder in my blinds tho. I have used some of those "no pest strips" in my blinds for the summer.....and they. really have cut down on the spiders and bugs that get into my home built blinds over the summer. Just hard to add some extra orders when the deer season is weeks away.....so we have not done that with the heaters. Other Ideas?? I've got a couple of Buddy heaters that stink to high heaven with mouse chit. I hate mice.

 

[Wild Thing]

The past two years I had some issues with mice building nests in some of my Buddy heaters. Man.....that really screws those heaters big time. Thinking I need to put some dryer sheets in those heaters in fall.....when we put 'em in the blinds. I have an issue with putting anything with an oder in my blinds tho. I have used some of those "no pest strips" in my blinds for the summer.....and they. really have cut down on the spiders and bugs that get into my home built blinds over the summer. Just hard to add some extra orders when the deer season is weeks away.....so we have not done that with the heaters. Other Ideas?? I've got a couple of Buddy heaters that stink to high heaven with mouse chit. I hate mice.

I generally don't leave the stoves in the blinds all year. It does take some work to set them up and remove them again every year but I have never had any issues with mice building nests in them either. The other thing that I do to keep mice issues to a minimum is to put Tomcat pellets in water or pop bottles and lay them on their sides in all of the blinds. I also keep them in the wood shed, the lean-to of the barn and in the corners on the inside of the pole barn. If you keep their numbers to a minimum to begin with, it is pretty rare to even see a mouse - other than a dead one now and then.

I buy the pails of pellets on-line. One packet of pellets in each bottle does the trick. When the pellets are gone I fill them again.


Sometimes they will roll the bottles around in the blinds. You would think that Hamsters are playing in them.

 

[Wild Thing]

Mothballs also work for deterring mice.

Tried mothballs one year here Tree Spud. It didn't seem to have much effect on the mice but it did stink up the hunting blinds so I never tried it again. The Tomcat pellets seem to do the job very well.

 

[roymunson]

Where are you guys sourcing more tubes? I had a couple that must have dry rotted and started coming apart on me. just get ahold of GP?

 

[WKyGasDoc]

Good stuff here… braking out the planter this week