pto seeder

[summit1966]

hi all,
Looking at purchasing a pto driven seed spreader and have a few questions.

I'm looking to spread some seed which specifies a 5kg per hectare sow rate as the seed is very fine. Will a pto driven spreader do they job? Will it be able to spread the slow enough and far enough wide? Or would I need to mix fertiliser with the seed and spread it that way?

THanks

 

[ruffdog]

Normally, the pendulum spreaders work better for the fine seed but they cost more.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/223779-pendulum-vs-plain-spreader.html

 

[skipperbrown]

With small seed I'd be adding a filler such as fertilizer and mixing it as you pour it in if you go that route. Mixing is a difficult job in itself. It's very difficult to get good distribution especially if the spreader is bouncing up and down as you cross the field. It's too easy to get uneven spreading with tiny seeds plus the seed is usually really expensive so you don't want any waste. A second option is using a hand spreader and using your legs for motion. If you only have a few hectares and don't mind the exercise, I'd probably do it with a hand spreader. I have a couple of earthway bag hand crank spreaders and they do a fine job with small seed. On our food plots we use the pto spreader for oats, wheat, and fertilizer and the hand cranks for the tiny clover and turnip/kale seeds.

 

[Oldoak]

Even with using a hand spreader, I mix the seed with children's play sand to get a more even distribution of seeds for my wildlife food plots. Particularly when I am sowing a clover mix which are very tiny seeds and expensive.