Plotmaster vs multiple implements

[Mitigator33]

I have an 83 HP JD 5083E. Have been planting food plots for two years now. Question is this...is the Frontier Plotmaster better than using specific implements. I have a cultipacker, disk and spreader that I use for food plotting. The Plotmaster has the following in order.

Disk harrows
Cultivator
Seed planter
Cultipacker
Drag

Here is a link to the model I am discussing for a visual. http://www.plotmasters.com/fp_1208.html

Most everything I plant (clover, alfalfa, etc...) calls for disk, pack, spread seed, pack again. It seems like for planting clover the Plotmaster would plant the seeds too deep with the order of implements. Is this correct? I know that they must do something right or they would not be selling them but seems out of whack to me. Thoughts? Experience?

Thanks

 

[remington270]

I would stick with using the implements separately. These things seem like they would not plant your clover correctly either. Most likely the reason they sell is that they're quicker to use, with one pass getting the job done. But if you want a job done right, I wouldn't risk all my seed money on a shortcut.

 

[LeadPoison]

Stick with what you have. Some of the reviews I read we're enough to make me not consider one.

 

[VA MTN MAN]

you would be far better buying a no till drill for food plots. i hardly ever use my disk ,plows or drag etc any more. with the no till i can go back in a clover field in sept and drill oats or wheat and groundhog radishes or turnips for the fall without killing the clover. when i need to redo a field i spray with roundup and drill the new crop a couple weeks later. With the drill i get a 90% or better germination and i dont have to keep fooling with new rocks or eroision. The best money I ever spent. just my opionon.

 

[remington270]

Well no till drills are incredibly expensive.

 

[foggy1111]

Well no till drills are incredibly expensive.

They dont exactly give away the plotmaster's either. I don't see a need for one. I work my ground up....broadcast the clover seeds either with a hand-held seeder or my ATV Herd seeder.......and then cultipack 'em. Works good for me.

Same goes for brassica....except I light drag those before cultipacking.

Same goes for beans....but I drag those more agressively (deeper) before packing.

I'm not sure how many acres of clover your planting.....but it would take lots of ground to make one of those units pay off IMO.....and then you give up some versatility.

 

[remington270]

Agree. My point was both are expensive compared to more traditional disc/ cultipacker type equipment.

 

[Mitigator33]

you would be far better buying a no till drill for food plots. i hardly ever use my disk ,plows or drag etc any more. with the no till i can go back in a clover field in sept and drill oats or wheat and groundhog radishes or turnips for the fall without killing the clover. when i need to redo a field i spray with roundup and drill the new crop a couple weeks later. With the drill i get a 90% or better germination and i dont have to keep fooling with new rocks or eroision. The best money I ever spent. just my opionon.

I need the implements that I have for various task. The only one I would not need if I had a no till would be the cultipacker.

I can afford the no till just can't justify it for what I would use it for and no more land than I plant.

Thanks for the input and I will keep in mind for future.

 

[Bandit1995]

I run a 32hp John Deere (3032E) with a Plotmaster Hunter 500 and honestly, it’s been a game changer for me the past 5 years. I just don’t think you can beat the versatility it offers, I can run it off my tractor with 3 point hitch for bigger fields, then switch it to my 900cc side-by-side with the single point to get into tighter plots that a grain drill can’t go. Plus, the single-point and 3-point hitch switch with a single pin makes it seamless.

It’s not just about one pass, but having one implement that does it all is the biggest difference for me. Not having to drive back to the barn 5 times and l help a lot of my friends plant, and am able to pull my tractor and Plotmaster up onto the trailer and have everything I need to go. Every food plot has different needs and a lot of time, especially brand new plots I am running one pass tilling with the discs and plow and then coming back with cultipacker and drag down to plant. But then my best plots I plant twice a year I can hit with a simple single pass and am good to go.

I hear a lot of folks getting excited about no-till drill lately, but in my experience the Hunter 500 has been every bit as effective, and way more versatile. With the Plotmaster I can aggressively primary till and even cut firebreaks when needed, or I can run it minimal-till for shallow-seeded crops like clover and chicory and adjustable seed gate. The VersaSeeder and cultipacker combo put those seeds right where they need to be with excellent germination rates year after year.

I could see no-till drills are great if you’re farming truly big acreage and have a bigger bank account than the rest of us, but for me planting food plots, it’s hard to beat having one unit that does it all, break ground, drop seed, and pack, without a barn full of separate equipment and a $15k+ drill sitting idle most of the year. For me, the Plotmaster Hunter 500 has consistently outperformed the patchwork approach and given me the most reliable plots I’ve ever planted. Wouldn’t trade it for anything else on the market.

 

[kneedeep]

It would probably take as many passes with a Plotmaster as using a disk, cone spreader and drag to plant a foodplot to get a good stand.
One pass plowing, seeding, covering is a fantasy that will never be fully accomplished.
I am currently retrofitting a Taylor Pasture Dream to plant into existing crops or cover. Almost got it finished, just need some free time to finish.
It will not ‘till’ the ground, rather cut a slit and drop seeds either into or on top of the minimum disturbed soil and covered with a drag chain and a cultipacker wheel to close the slot.
As close as I will ever be to ‘One Pass Planting’!

 

[AntiqueIron]

I have an 83 HP JD 5083E. Have been planting food plots for two years now. Question is this...is the Frontier Plotmaster better than using specific implements. I have a cultipacker, disk and spreader that I use for food plotting. The Plotmaster has the following in order.

Disk harrows
Cultivator
Seed planter
Cultipacker
Drag

Here is a link to the model I am discussing for a visual. http://www.plotmasters.com/fp_1208.html

Most everything I plant (clover, alfalfa, etc...) calls for disk, pack, spread seed, pack again. It seems like for planting clover the Plotmaster would plant the seeds too deep with the order of implements. Is this correct? I know that they must do something right or they would not be selling them but seems out of whack to me. Thoughts? Experience?

Thanks

Get yourself an old seed drill and run what ya brung

I am of the opinion that any tool that does many things, does none of them particularly well.

Least my train of thought (or lack thereof, I’m not regarded as the brightest crayon in the toolshed), is that if these worked well, farmers would be all over them. Nobody Ive ever known or any operation I’ve encountered plants that way.

Least the way I’ve always done it, right wrong or indifferent has been to till once, pick rocks, till again, pick any residual rocks, fertilize, seed, pack.

You loose a lot of benefits associated with a time difference between stages, can’t pick rocks, can’t let muddy soil dry out, can’t really incorporate OM, can’t really let weed roots get exposed in soft dirt to bake and die.

I think those all in one units work, but are nowhere near as effective as a dedicated multi phase approach.

 

[kneedeep]

I agree with this 100%.
There isn’t a “One Pass Planter” made or will be made that works correctly. The time in between each pass contributes to the success of any agricultural endeavor.