Grain drill

[firemen122]

Getting ready to plant bahia seed. Field is disced under. Neighbor has grain drill wants me to take drop tubes off before I use, and pull thru fresh disced ground. I do not follow why to do either I was planning on dragging or rolling before pulling drill. What am I missing here? Figured fresh disced ground no way to control planting depth and if drop tubes removed depth would be all over the place. what ya think? Thanks Jim

 

[Angus Cowman]

Getting ready to plant bahia seed. Field is disced under. Neighbor has grain drill wants me to take drop tubes off before I use, and pull thru fresh disced ground. I do not follow why to do either I was planning on dragging or rolling before pulling drill. What am I missing here? Figured fresh disced ground no way to control planting depth and if drop tubes removed depth would be all over the place. what ya think? Thanks Jim

we planted wheat on fresh disced ground but for grass I would think rolling itthen drilling would be better
on the grass would you be better off to smooth the ground a little then broadcast the seed then roll it ?

 

[dun]

Taking the tubes off will give you a wider coverage for each hole then drilling will. Makes for a more uniform spread. Do it his way tyhen roll it.

 

[firemen122]

Alright ya made me feel better about doing it his way with tubes removed makes since. Jury still out on roll first or drill into disc dirt. Thanks Jim

 

[dun]

Alright ya made me feel better about doing it his way with tubes removed makes since. Jury still out on roll first or drill into disc dirt. Thanks Jim

If you roll it first the seed will tend to lay more on the surface then if it is spread then rolled

 

[novatech]

Alright ya made me feel better about doing it his way with tubes removed makes since. Jury still out on roll first or drill into disc dirt. Thanks Jim

Some grass planters are designed this way. Roller in front, then seed drop, then another roller behind (culti packer). Seed that small will more than likely be planted to deep, even if broadcast on fresh disked ground. So placing on top of rolled ground is best. The first rain will give it enough cover for proper germination.
Disc first, then level and roll, then plant on surface, then roll again.

 

[Angus Cowman]

Disc first, then level and roll, then plant on surface, then roll again.

that was what I was suggesting but you did a better job of it :lol:

 

[dun]

How small is bermuda seed compared to millet?

 

[novatech]

How small is bermuda seed compared to millet?

Looks to be about half the size or less. Pearl millet is about 1/3 the size of sorgum.
http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p1397.pdf

 

[dun]

How small is bermuda seed compared to millet?

Looks to be about half the size or less. Pearl millet is about 1/3 the size of sorgum.
http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p1397.pdf

If it's that small (I thought millet was tiny) rolling it first would be the best idea. I only roll it once and that's after I've put down millet without the drop tubes.

 

[novatech]

If it's that small (I thought millet was tiny) rolling it first would be the best idea. I only roll it once and that's after I've put down millet without the drop tubes.

I have planted bluestem and bermuda with the pre packing. The pearl millet looks to be a little larger so could probable stand a little more depth. I may plant some this year due to the draughty conditions in my area. I think they recommend that you plant twice the depth as the diameter of the seed.

 

[dun]

If it's that small (I thought millet was tiny) rolling it first would be the best idea. I only roll it once and that's after I've put down millet without the drop tubes.

I have planted bluestem and bermuda with the pre packing. The pearl millet looks to be a little larger so could probable stand a little more depth. I may plant some this year due to the draughty conditions in my area. I think they recommend that you plant twice the depth as the diameter of the seed.

I planted german millet and it made clover seed look like bowling balls in comparison, about the size of a straight pin head.

 

[Steve Wilson]

That german millet really is tiny stuff. I mixed it with my haybeans last year, in the big seed box on a Great Plains Solid Stand no till drill. Wished I hadn't because the teeny millet seeds migrated to the bottom of the box and didn't give me the most uniform seeding.

 

[dun]

That german millet really is tiny stuff. I mixed it with my haybeans last year, in the big seed box on a Great Plains Solid Stand no till drill. Wished I hadn't because the teeny millet seeds migrated to the bottom of the box and didn't give me the most uniform seeding.

I drilled my haybeans with the big seed box and used the clover box with the drop tubes removed for the millet. Worked slick.

 

[firemen122]

I am planting the 50 acres tommorrow. alredy disced, roll, drill, re-roll. On a john deere 450 grain drill the spring pressure on discs has 1 more hole that can be let out for less spring press. I am thinking I should do this figure less depth any ideas? First time using a drill. Any tips or suggestions?

Thanks Jim

 

[dun]

I am planting the 50 acres tommorrow. alredy disced, roll, drill, re-roll. On a john deere 450 grain drill the spring pressure on discs has 1 more hole that can be let out for less spring press. I am thinking I should do this figure less depth any ideas? First time using a drill. Any tips or suggestions?

Thanks Jim

If you don;t use the drop tubes the depth doesn;t matter. If you're using another box with a different seed at the same time set it for that. No matter how much I calculate I alwasy end up running about 20 feet and digging down and checking the depth so I can make the final adjustment.
50 acres should only take about 1/2 an hour..................................... at 100 mph

 

[firemen122]

Thanks for all the advice. I disconnected the bottom of the tibes and tied them back with hay string. Dun I figure it will take me a little longer than 30 min. because my tractor is not green this time....

 

[dun]

Thanks for all the advice. I disconnected the bottom of the tibes and tied them back with hay string. Dun I figure it will take me a little longer than 30 min. because my tractor is not green this time....

Unless I'm missing something, you need to disconnect the top of the tube so the seed can spill out and kind of get scattered by the drill as it moves along.
You just need to go to the 4ctop school of drilling!

 

[Angus Cowman]

You just need to go to the 4ctop school of drilling!

I was thinking the same thing

or he could just call ol 4cTopcat and he would do it in 15 minutes and all it would cost is a good dinner or a few cold beers

 

[firemen122]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Seed is in the ground and about half-way thru rolling. I cant run to fast ground is still a little rough. Now lets hope for rain. farmers almanac said wet spring, weathermen say dry. So who knows only time will tell.