Drum Type Grass Seeder

Drum type grass seeder PLANTING EQUIPMENT Drills (19) 14-6-27 New-style grass seeder uniformly distributes grass seed through circular openings in a pair of rotating aluminum drums and uses drag chains to lightly cover the seed with 1/ 8 to 1/4 in. of soil. The 9-ft. wide, ground driven planter, which was developed to plant seed that's got a lot of chaff and other trash in it, can be pulled by a tractor, pickup, or ATV. You simply open the lid on top of each drum and fill it two thirds full of seed. "It's extremely accurate and costs much less than most grain drills that can handle "chaffy" grasses such as big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass and Old World bluestem grasses," says Weldon Miller, president. "Most grass seed is light and feathery and clumps together so much it won't work its way down through holes in the bottom of a grain drill box. The tumbling action of our drum planter breaks up the mass of seed into individual seeds that fall through the holes. Each basket has 500 holes that are 7/16 to 9/16 in. in diameter. The holes can be closed up with rubber plugs depending on the desired seeding rate. We supply a chart that shows the number of holes to plug for each seed variety. The planter is easy to clean out. You simply open the lid and use a hose to wash out the drum, allowing you to quickly change from one seed variety to another. It works great in combination with our Flail Vac grass seed stripper which gently harvests the seed with a giant brush. This planter eliminates the need for an expensive, time-consuming cleaning process that can damage seed quality. You can plant the next day, or dry the seed, bag it, and plant it the following spring without cleaning it. Some farmers modify the planter to plant legume seeds. They plug all of the holes, then drill holes that are big enough for legume seed to fall through but too small for chaffy grass seed." Chet Dewald, research agronomist for the USDA Southern Plains Range Research Station, Woodward, Okla., has tested the planter for two years. "It's the most accurate planter I've ever seen for chaffy grass seed," says Dewald. "It works best at speeds of 4 to 10 mph, or 20 to 60 rpms. Three different gears are available to regulate the speed at which the drums rotate. It's ideal for seeding small patches of land because it's light, easy to maneuver, and fuel efficient. The aluminum design minimizes rust. It's also easy to transport - two men can lift it into the back of a pickup." A lightweight drill hitch for pulling two planters at a time is also available. Sells for $2,500. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ag-Renewal, Inc., 1710 Airport Road, Weatherford, Okla. 73096 (ph 405 772-7059).

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