making no/min till corn planter?

Sharp planter openers should cut in once the surface debris (stalks and such) are parted to allow them to see dirt. I mounted Dawn trash wheels on my JD-7000 last year and in once disked corn stalks they parted the stalks beautifully. They even parted half dead lamb's quarter. By next spring I'll mount simple coulters (taken from my plow) up front to slice through the stalks so the trashwheels can part. Doing beans this year the original closing wheels did find. Some claim (and there are multiple makers) that a notched closing wheel on one side is more effective than the original closing wheels. Dawn Equipment is one good source of not till accessories. I found the trash wheels used at Colfax Iowa for a decent price.

One problem in Minnesota is that leaving the stalks on the ground slows warm up in the spring so that the growing season gets to be too short for pure no till. One thing that seems to work for some is strip till, where just a few inches is bared and worked with the cover pushed back, and that is done in the fall so the sun can warm that streak in the spring for earlier planting. That does require precise driving with the planter that probably also puts down a significant part of the fertilizer off to the side of the seed row. Dawn's Pluribus units are gaining acceptance for that strip till.

Discussion hints that its worth leaving the corn stalks as tall as possible so there's less on the ground from the high production and insect protected modern varieties. Also the tall stalks bend over instead of punch through tires for much better tire longevity.

Gerald J.

New Ag Talk Crops: Look for threads on strip till.http://u15205752.onlinehome-server.com/forums/forum-view.asp?fid=3

Gerald J.

• new ag talk crops

Link

I see 3 of the 4 neighbors that were min-tilling cornstalks brought the plows back out this fall. And we've had dry winters of late! :)

Anyhow, if you are in the sandier parts of the state where the snow doesn't pile up so bad all winter;

Your best bet will be a used no-till planter. The bolt-on attachments, bought new, are _not_ cheap. Making your own out of scrounged parts - will have limited success. Starting with a lightweight planter, if you do get the strip/ clearing units on, and add weight, and add heavier down springs..... .

Bushings wear out fast, parts start to break.

You can do it, and if you are good at scrounging & such one can get stuff together for lower bucks. But if you think long term, it doesn't always work out so well for the pocketbook.

Frame members, bushings, etc. will be stronger on a no-till planter, even if they look pretty much the same as a regular....

--->Paul