grass/grain/no-till drills?

[liveoutside]

i am trying to purchase some type of drill so that i do not have to till plant and cultipack (also to avoid weed/johnsons grass encouragement). i am also on a tight budget so even with a small no till i am out of my budget. i will be planting mostly clover seed and some fescue using a 22 hp 4wd john deere 850 so weight and width is a concern. considering i am planting mostly small seeds(clover/chicory). is it possible to use a grain or grass drill instead of the added expense and weight of a no till. i will be seeding into some pastures, roundup sprayed pastures and clover "food plots". i might also seed some corn,wheat and oats just for deer, not production if this has an effect. i apreciate any help anyone might be able to provide. im in georgia with mostly RED CLAY.

 

[flusher]

i am trying to purchase some type of drill so that i do not have to till plant and cultipack (also to avoid weed/johnsons grass encouragement). i am also on a tight budget so even with a small no till i am out of my budget. i will be planting mostly clover seed and some fescue using a 22 hp 4wd john deere 850 so weight and width is a concern. considering i am planting mostly small seeds(clover/chicory). is it possible to use a grain or grass drill instead of the added expense and weight of a no till. i will be seeding into some pastures, roundup sprayed pastures and clover "food plots". i might also seed some corn,wheat and oats just for deer, not production if this has an effect. i apreciate any help anyone might be able to provide. im in georgia with mostly RED CLAY.

If you can't afford a small no-till drill, then you're probably out of luck if you want to avoid tilling and cultipacking.

Normal grain drills need tilled, leveled (locally) and compacted soil to work properly.

Grass drills like Brillion units are great for grass seeding since the seeding and cultipacking can be done in one pass. But you still need the tilling and leveling to get the Brillion to work correctly. I've never used one myself, but my neighbor uses a 10-ft Brillion to seed his alfalfa fields. He says his drill only works well on a smooth, firm ripped, disced and compacted seedbed.

I just calibrated my recently restored Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drill (10 ft wide, 20 drops) for fertilizer and oats. It has a pair of grass seed boxes to handle the kind of seeding you're interested in. I paid $275 for a pair of these old beauties---used one as a parts unit to make one good unit.

Before:





After:







Restoration costs mainly fasteners and paint ($150 or so).
This is the least expensive alternative I can think of.

You can find grain drills with grass seeder boxes on eBay regularly. JD B, FB, FBB drills go for around $500.

 

[whistlepig]

i am trying to purchase some type of drill so that i do not have to till plant and cultipack (also to avoid weed/johnsons grass encouragement). i am also on a tight budget so even with a small no till i am out of my budget. i will be planting mostly clover seed and some fescue using a 22 hp 4wd john deere 850 so weight and width is a concern. considering i am planting mostly small seeds(clover/chicory). is it possible to use a grain or grass drill instead of the added expense and weight of a no till. i will be seeding into some pastures, roundup sprayed pastures and clover "food plots". i might also seed some corn,wheat and oats just for deer, not production if this has an effect. i apreciate any help anyone might be able to provide. im in georgia with mostly RED CLAY.

The no till drills they make these days are pretty awesome. I have a neighbor that farms full time and have watched him plant with his no till drill. These things are a technological marvel. I would love to have one. These things ( the newer ones) are unbelievably expensive. I think I'll just watch my neighbor.

 

[powerstroke444e]

Were yo located?? Our local pheasants forever chapter has drills that you could pull with your tractor that are free for members to use. The local soil and water district also has one that they charge a small fee to use.

 

[liveoutside]

I'm in north georgia. the soil and water conservation here has them set up as contractors that do the work for you. minimum is $350. ive only got 7 acres and want to plant twice yearly. so if i can find a good deal and a grain/grass drill and will work in moist soil i could pay for one of my own in a couple/few years unless i need a true no till. if i need a true no till so that i dont have to disk first i will need santa claus to sell it to me to substantiate the cost of buying my own.

 

[twarr1]

flusher,

Nice drill!

 

[RickB]

I'm in north georgia. the soil and water conservation here has them set up as contractors that do the work for you. minimum is $350. ive only got 7 acres and want to plant twice yearly. so if i can find a good deal and a grain/grass drill and will work in moist soil i could pay for one of my own in a couple/few years unless i need a true no till. if i need a true no till so that i dont have to disk first i will need santa claus to sell it to me to substantiate the cost of buying my own.

You are going to be looking a long time to buy your own equipment and do it yourself for $700 per year fixed and variable machine cost. You absolutely do need a notill drill for your stated uses.

 

[liveoutside]

I've also seen coulter bars to add on to grain drills on the "tounge" portion of the unit. do these bars in effect turn a grain drill into a no till drill? if no what is the use for adding one?

 

[jcaron2]

I'm in north georgia. the soil and water conservation here has them set up as contractors that do the work for you. minimum is $350. ive only got 7 acres and want to plant twice yearly. so if i can find a good deal and a grain/grass drill and will work in moist soil i could pay for one of my own in a couple/few years unless i need a true no till. if i need a true no till so that i dont have to disk first i will need santa claus to sell it to me to substantiate the cost of buying my own.

Here in northern NC, the local Ag extension office has a nice drill for rent. They charge $10/acre. Southern States (don't know if you have them down there or not) also rents one for about the same price.

That being said, I read a pamphlet from the Dept. of Agriculture this spring that talked about "frost seeding" being the recommended method for clover. Drilling is apparently less than ideal as clover wants to be planted really, really shallow. I think the basic idea is to broadcast seed the clover during the late fall or winter. The rain, snow, and freeze-thaw cycle then work it down a few millimeters into the soil. I've never planted clover, so I'm no expert - just passing along the info. A google search should turn up lots more info.

 

[liveoutside]

i am familiar with frost seeding but in ga our growing seasonn is very short in the spring for cool season annualls and perenials that we have to have the seed up and going by late fall to give the plants enough time to develop a root system large enough to support it durring the first summer. i will check with southern states im not sure if they have them or not. our conservation guys have them to but its a $350 minimum with a contractor doing the work so i would be paying $50 an acre to have it done instead of the $10 that you mentioned.