Rubber-Tired "Weed Seed Getter" Picks Seeds Off The Ground

Rubber-Tired "Weed Seed Getter" Picks Seeds Off The Ground CROPS Weed Control 25-1-2 Robert Mueller, Kimball, Neb., built a 3-pt. mounted, rubber tired "weed seed getter" that uses seven 15-in. tires to pick up weed seeds from an area that was planted to native grass. He pulls the rig behind his IH Cub tractor, which is equipped with a belly-mounted mower. "I use it when I mow to pick up weed seed-containing burs (such as puncture vine, sand burs, buffalo bur, and cockleburs) so they can't germinate later," says Mueller. "Native grass was planted next to a local retirement home where I work. I didn't want to use herbicides because they could harm some of the grasses. The weed seeds are quite hard and have barbs on them so they stick to the tire treads." The tires mount side-by-side on a steel drum (an old hot water heater tank). A 1-in. dia. steel shaft runs through the drum and is supported by wood bearings at each end that are secured to a metal frame. A metal scraper that rides against the tires scrapes seeds off into a metal collection bin. "It doesn't get all of the burs but it gets a lot of them," says Mueller, who also mounted metal scrapers and buckets on the tractor's front tires. One problem he had with the roller is that whenever he turned short the tires would move to one end of the drum, which made it harder to turn. To solve the problem he now raises the 3-pt. whenever he turns. "A pull-type model would eliminate the problem. However, then I wouldn't be able to raise the rig at all," notes Mueller. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert L. Mueller, 104 Ridge Road

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