Seeding Advice with conical spreader

SolbergDave · Jul 18, 2019

This weekend I'm seeding up the fall food plots. In the past I have used a pull behind trailer from the feed mill on the bigger fields for fertilizer, and a chest mount to for seed or both for the plots in the woods.
I really don't like the chest/manual spreader. The pull behind I feel I'm on someone else's schedule, sometimes its a little damp and I worry about getting stuck, and I can't get everywhere(wood plots).
Last fall there was a sale on a PTO conical spreader that was to good to pass up, so I grabbed it, if nothing else to fertilize in the wood plots, and sand during winter.
This is a lot of lead up, but I just want to get across the fact that I am committed to try to seed my plots with the spreader this year, at least try. My plan is to mix my 5 lbs of seed with 100 lbs of 19/19/19 to have a large enough load for the woods plots. I reason if the feed mill can mix the seed and fertilizer with the tug, why can't the conical work.
So looking for any advice specific to doing this. On my smaller fields should I try to run below 540 rpm to limit spread width, etc. Let me know if anyones had any helpful experience. I will report back in 6 weeks when the results are clear.

SidecarFlip · Jul 18, 2019

Exactly how I overseed and fertilize my hay fields but I mix my alfalfa / timothy seed with 46 granulated Urea and broadcast it on with my conical spreader. Mine has a capacity of 750 pounds.

The one issue I found was the spinner on the bottom tends to spin the fertilizer / seed mix out and forward too, so I made a sheet metal deflector plate so the mixture don't wind up going forward as well as back and to the sides.

Been over seeding that way for years.

I do follow up with a drag mat / tine harrow (I use a Fuerst tine harrow) behind my quad to 'set' the seed and the granulated 46 a bit better than just broadcasting it.

SolbergDave · Jul 18, 2019

SidecarFlip said:
Exactly how I overseed and fertilize my hay fields but I mix my alfalfa / timothy seed with 46 granulated Urea and broadcast it on with my conical spreader. Mine has a capacity of 750 pounds.

The one issue I found was the spinner on the bottom tends to spin the fertilizer / seed mix out and forward too, so I made a sheet metal deflector plate so the mixture don't wind up going forward as well as back and to the sides.

Been over seeding that way for years.

I do follow up with a drag mat / tine harrow (I use a Fuerst tine harrow) behind my quad to 'set' the seed and the granulated 46 a bit better than just broadcasting it.

Thanks, I will cultipack before and after. I have a deflector and the I think the conical is 500# capacity.
Right now I'm thinking of running the PTO at 1/2 speed. Basically worried that the fertilizer will sling further than the rape and turnip seeds. Although in the past I have mixed seed with fertilizer in the manual spreader and can't say I have seen any uneven growing.

SidecarFlip · Jul 18, 2019

SolbergDave said:
Thanks, I will cultipack before and after. I have a deflector and the I think the conical is 500# capacity.
Right now I'm thinking of running the PTO at 1/2 speed. Basically worried that the fertilizer will sling further than the rape and turnip seeds. Although in the past I have mixed seed with fertilizer in the manual spreader and can't say I have seen any uneven growing.

I cut my pto speed to about half as well. Forgot to add that. My spreader also has a hitch hole on the backend where you can attach a drag but I prefer using my quad to set it. Had excellent results mixing hay seed and fertilizer together and doing it in one application. I prefer the 46 granulated because the granules are clay coated for slow release and 46 is nothing more than straight nitrogen in sold form.

I have one of those chest carry spreaders as well. I use it for corners than I cannot get into very well with the spreader on the tractor. Kind of a PITA but still useful.

One thing you do need to do is wash it out throughly after you use it. The fertilizer will quickly corrode the working parts if you don't.

SolbergDave · Jul 20, 2019

Seeded yesterday, looked like it worked really well. No problems with rate to fast. Also ran about 2000 rpm and get the spread width I was looking for, about 3 tractor widths. Real results in 2 weeks.

Tim Horton · Jul 20, 2019

A number of years ago, I seeded some areas for a couple young guys, who did work for me, to hunt over..

It could hardly be called food plots in the definition of the term. I pulled a couple old harrow sections over the grass, seeded it by hand with a combination of hen scratch feed, cheap bird feeder seeds, bird feeder black sun flower seed, a little left over old garden seeds and grass seed from a garage sale all mixed in one big batch.

I went back over it with the harrow sections and some old car tires bolted into a drag about 8' wide, then left it alone. I seeded several small areas several years in a row. As off the wall as it sounds it produced enough of something that when they set there tree stands both guys got nice bucks over several seasons from those areas.

Like said.. The total key to much of this is ground contact with the seed.

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Seeding Advice with conical spreader

SolbergDave

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SidecarFlip

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SolbergDave

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SidecarFlip

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SolbergDave

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Tim Horton

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