seeder attachment

[PPGman 5]

I picked up an Earthway hand seeder last year, and it worked so well, i thought maybe this year i would try to retrofit it to one of our Horses. I was wondering if anybody here has done such a conversion and if so would like to share some pictures of their work.

I don't think it would be too hard to mount behind the tractor with a bit of fabrication. I put out a couple acres of sweet corn every year, and was thinking this would be a nice setup especially with a row marker and a way to inject fertilizer. With all the rain we have been getting, i'm thinking a fast way to run 4-5 rows of corn every few weeks during a short dry window might be the only way we get it in!

I'll keep you posted with what i come up with! :thumbs:

[Kevin wh314 0]

:thumbs: Start the pictures! Thanks Doug for sharing I didn't even think of doing that but my garden is very small (20' x 30') so I can do mine by hand but please so pics as you go or when finished. Thanks Kevin :D

[farmer 1,075]

Doug,

I'm pretty sure I've seen a 3 point conversion done on an Earthway seeder behind a JD on youtube, if you plan to plant that amount of ground, well worth doing.

Good luck and remember .

[PPGman 5]

Sorry guys, i posted some pics but somehow I messed up and got the post in the restorations and modifications CAT. My fault!

Here are some pictures of what i came up with.

[PPGman 5]

I need to cut some spacers and get the seeder centered correctly in the frame, but its close to being finished. One issue i have been working on ( and i thought it would be fairly easy) is a way to get my fertilizer down. I had planned on using a 2 gal gas container as a fertilizer box and use PVC with a ball valve and plumm it down in front of the seed as i go.

After some rather crude lab tests in the garage, i have found the fertilizer will clog a 3/4 inch pvc line rather quickley when you try to meter down the flow with the ball valve. I might still try it (i'm thinking maybe the vibration of the tractor might keep it free flowing). Any ideas??? :thumbs:

[6wheeler 586]

Looks real good Doug. Is the planter chain driven off of the front wheel? Maybe you could add a sprocket and run a chain up to an old smaller spincast spreader tub that you could mount on the front bar. You could remove the spinner and put a drop tube down behind the opener on the planter. Then put another sprocket on the spreader gearbox to drive the stirring mechanism in the hopper. That way you could adjust the flow with the meter on the old spreader. Just a thought. Good Luck. Looks great so far. Pat

[PPGman 5]

Pat, yes the planter has a belt and gear off the front wheel. I have been comming to the same conclusion as you. I remember on the farm our planters all had fertilizer boxes with an agitator and drop tubes. I guess they knew what i already didn't. I was trying to come up with quickie way to get some fertilizer down, but your way sounds better.

Last year, i did all this by hand and found the most time consuming part was laying out the rows and putting down the fertilizer. We actually just walked down the row and dropped a thin layer of fertilizer before we seeded. It worked good and got good results, but took a ton of time.

I have a small tow behind broadcast spreader; I wonder what it would be like to lay it down with that before i seed? :thumbs:

[6wheeler 586]

Well, that would work if you wanted to fertilize the whole garden. Including between the rows. Which by the way isn't a bad idea. But ,then you have to remember. The weeds get fed as well. A starter fertilizer especially for corn is good. Maybe you want to look into good old fashioned horse manure for your fertilizer as an alternative for store bought. That way you can spread it and work it in. All I use is chicken manure on my nitrogen needing crops like corn. And horse manure on everthing else. But I use a plan, the chicken manure goes on crops that grow "fruit" above ground Except beans and peas(they make nitrogen) and horse manure"lightly" on radishes and carrots and spuds. Here in southeast Mn.we have alot of clay so the ground gets rock hard. So, what I do is work in alot of compost and sand in the gardens because it loosens the ground and adds nutrients that are usually not there. Remember, chicken manure is what we call "hot" because it is very high in nitrogen. So, it will make the plants tall and strong but doesn't make the roots grow, ie;carrots an such. So I pile it up and mix it with sand to mellow it and compost it. Anyway, enough blah, blah,blah. Good luck with your toy. Pat

[kyhorse 1]

Well???? How's it going? I really want to see how this works because I have been racking (actually I think it' "wracking" but that seems so snooty) my brain with the same problem. I want to plant some small food plots and was forced to settle for broadcasting everything, which, as you note, wastes a lot and probably does not germinate all that well anyway. I have also wondering if the D-160 will pull an old 2 row corn planter like the JDs I see on CL sometimes. Western Ky is getting a foot of rain a week. I see my cover wheat from a month ago coming up some but I bet a lot of it - and the more important seed- washed away. Broadcasting is easy but not the best outcome. But your little rig is brilliant! If it works I might still have time to make and use one of my own. It will be 90+degrees within 2 weeks but still...