3 point spreader question

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jt

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just wondering how well those little 3 point spreaders work on putting out rye grass seed. it has been so wet were i want to plant that i cannot pull a buggy thru there and was thinking of maybe using a small tractor and one of those spreaders, but i have no experience with them.

just wondering how well they work and at about how wide a spread they put out the seed, and how uniform they put it out.

any other info is welcomed.

thanks

jt
 
I use one every year. The spread depends on the PTO RPM. Crank it up you can get 20 ft. A lot will depend on the spreader you have. Then you need to figure your ground speed for coverage ( lbs. per acre). With no wind it is fairly uniform.
 
I use an atv seeder to seed rye grass seed. I have spread it on disked ground, over freshly shelled corn fields, and freshly harvested soybean fields. Our seeder covers about a 15 foot swath. Just have to make sure you do it on a calm day or its difficult telling where your seed will end up. I try and apread it just before a rain. Knock on wood, have always came out with a good stand. It doesn't take much to establish a stand in my experience, seems to be some pretty vigorous stuff. I seeded some on sunday over a soybean field i had cut on saturday. Got some rain this morning so, barring any unforeseen problems, should have some good grazing later on for the cows.
 
Don;t mix seed types. Some seed has a further fling distance then others. The spreader itself or the manual will give you the distance different seed types are spread.
 
I've used a Herd 3 point PTO (M-96), I've got a Herd ATV 12V ( GT-77 ATV), If I was buying a 3 point I would get a Herd I-92 3 point (12V), it'll cost more than the PTO, but it turns faster at a constant speed ( more fling distance ).
 
bird dog":1l8ccwaw said:
I spread mine in both directions using about half each way. When I do it in one pass I seem to have more bare spots.

If you have access to a chain harrow you can attach this to your tractor with about 20 foot of chain and drag it behind you. It does a really good job of scratching the seed into the duff and also marks the ground so you can see where to drive. Width of the drag is about as far as my spreader will throw ryegrass seed or clover so it works out really good. Just a thought.
 
I used the 3 pt type last year - that rye grass seed is VERY light....if you guys are getting 15-20' out of it, I am VERY impressed...Even mixed with fertilizer Im lucky to get more than 10 or 12 feet out of Rye. When I pull the buggy, I go 20' on centers, and that buggy is much better than the 3pt type....

You can mix the seed with sand, or fertilizer and get a bit more distance out of it, but that seed is light...also if your doing much field, be prepared to be doing it forever....and hopefully you have an easy way to load it into the hopper that is not opening a bunch of 50lb bags b/c that gets old fast...and after bouncing through your pasture getting up and grabbing those 50 lb sacks gets your back to being all kinds of sore that night.

If its an option in your area, and its really too wet, I think I would look into getting it dusted from the air. Only costs about $300 for the plane, plus the fuel, and its pretty even, and MUCH faster than doing it via 3pt. If your the flagger you can easily walk off your centers.
 
marksmu":1vtls5pc said:
I used the 3 pt type last year - that rye grass seed is VERY light....if you guys are getting 15-20' out of it, I am VERY impressed...Even mixed with fertilizer Im lucky to get more than 10 or 12 feet out of Rye. When I pull the buggy, I go 20' on centers, and that buggy is much better than the 3pt type....

You can mix the seed with sand, or fertilizer and get a bit more distance out of it, but that seed is light...also if your doing much field, be prepared to be doing it forever....and hopefully you have an easy way to load it into the hopper that is not opening a bunch of 50lb bags b/c that gets old fast...and after bouncing through your pasture getting up and grabbing those 50 lb sacks gets your back to being all kinds of sore that night.

If its an option in your area, and its really too wet, I think I would look into getting it dusted from the air. Only costs about $300 for the plane, plus the fuel, and its pretty even, and MUCH faster than doing it via 3pt. If your the flagger you can easily walk off your centers.

Same here. I might get a dabble or so outside of twelve but not enough to count. My chain harrow is 12' so it works out great.
 
thanks for the replies. i think i am going to give it a try.

jt
 
If you can see your tire tracts it make it easy. What i do is is make wide turns the first time through and try to put about half of the seed out. After getting to the end i see if i put out too much to too little (as compared to 1/2 the total) and adjust the seeder. I then go back over the field splitting my previous tracks. Easy to do on a clean seedbed
 

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