3-Pt. Nut Planter Built Out Of Old Gopher Poisoning Machine

3-Pt. Nut Planter Built Out Of Old Gopher Poisoning Machine MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Pest Animals 22-2-29 When Iowa farmer Louis Christen decided to plant walnuts last fall, he built his own 3-pt. nut planter out of an old Elston gopher poisoning machine. "It's easy to use. I just shove nuts into a slot in a hopper as I ride along," says Chris-ten. He removed the poisoning mechanism and cut off part of the machine's tunnel-forming "bullet" to make room for a 4-in. sq. steel drop tube which he bolted onto the frame. A cutting coulter mounts ahead of the æbullet'. He had his brother build a 3-ft. wide hopper out of 1/8-in. thick steel and weld it onto the top of the tube. A pair of steel slides equipped with handles are used to control the size of the opening into the tube. The machine's press wheel closes the slit trench after nuts are planted. He also attached a seat from a riding mower onto the frame, facing it backward. "It isn't fancy but it does the job," says Christen. "I spent about $75 to build it. The tractor driver goes 1 1/2 to 2 mph as I plant the nuts 2 to 4 in. deep. A small steel plate mounted on each side of the press wheel al-lows me to rest my feet. The hopper holds about 2 1/2 bu. of nuts so it isn't designed to plant large acreages. Last year I used it to plant 8 acres of walnuts. I planted about 30 bu. of nuts per acre in rows 6 ft. apart. I also planted a few acorns. I received a lot of the nuts from people who hunt and fish on my property. I ask them to return the favor by bringing me nuts. "I think a similar nut planter could be built out of a 2 or 3-bottom mounted plow by re-moving the moldboards and mounting a drop tube at the back of the frame." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Louis Christen, 18292 D Ave., Elgin, Iowa 52141 (ph 319 426-5230).

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