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Implement Alley Discussion Forum

What is checkwire?

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Gary The Rookie

08-29-2004 17:47:45

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And how is it used?

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JMS/MN

08-30-2004 22:14:03

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 08-29-2004 17:47:45

Years ago the horse-drawn corn planters were set up to plant in 40 inch rows- the width of a horse. Fields were smaller and shorter in length, so check wire typically came in quarter-mile long rolls. You attached it to a stake at each end of the field, moved it at each end of the field, and before starting out on the next half round, would attach it to the trip mechanism on the planter- a Y-shaped device that caught each knot (every forty inches on the wire), and when it tripped the planter, the planter would drop the seed. If you did not keep the wire taut, you would end up with cross rows that did not line up well, making cross-cultivation very difficult. Planters had a lever that you could move to drop 2-3-4 seeds at each trip. Hill drop planter could drop several seeds per hill, but did not tripwith a wire, so you could n ot cross-cultivate. If yo set the planter to drill, you had single seeds coming out at a time, very close together.

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Mark Cook

08-30-2004 20:54:02

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 08-29-2004 17:47:45

My brother and I planteda check row test plot this year. We bought a JD 290 planter that we thought we would just use to spot plant in some of our fields, but after getting a book for it we decided to get all the missing parts so we could plant some check row corn. We bought two more planters so that we could make one good one. tThe only thing we couldn"t find was some good check wire with 36" spacing. We made the check wire by drilling a bunch of 3/8" nuts through there sides so that they would be able to slide back and forth on # 11 wire then we put a fence crimpy every 36" as a stop. The knots on the wire are supposed to be as far apart as the rows are wide. The picture is of me cultivating it the first time. I went to cross cultivate it right afterwards but the plants started moving so I quit until later. I've heard that you should cultivate it three times - regular direction then cross then regular again to make it easier on you when harvesting.

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Heat Houser

08-30-2004 23:05:08

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Mark Cook, 08-30-2004 20:54:02

Hey, good job. I remember planting with a two row International planter and a B Farmall. More memories are, moving the stakes at the ends, latching the wire back into the drop mechanism, and later, putting the cultivator on in the morning, taking it off to rake hay in the afternoon. Another memory of wire checked corn was the gentle bobbing of the front end of the B as you cross cultivated, bouncing over the furrows left from the last time. A nice hot day, the drone of the engine, the gentle bobbing, it would put you to sleep. It would be a way to raise corn without using weed spray. I remember the first time we used atrizine, what a difference.

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Loren-MN

08-30-2004 19:31:30

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 08-29-2004 17:47:45

Didn't think I was that old either, but I planted and cultivated checked corn when I was young. JD B and a 290 planter. Have to admit cultivating crosswise was a bit tricky. Loren

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Stan - Florida

08-30-2004 04:26:55

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 08-29-2004 17:47:45

Referring to Paul's post below - I think he's right about the three or four kernels per drop. We had a neighbor who, when asked how he was, would reply, "Oh, about three to a hill" - probably meant the same as "fine".

Stan

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Stan - Florida

08-30-2004 04:25:45

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 08-29-2004 17:47:45

Stan

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Jimmy King

08-29-2004 20:30:24

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 08-29-2004 17:47:45

One of the barns on our farm, which was my Great Grand Dads farm had a roll or two in it I am 62 and that was when I was a boy, and I was told the same thing. When you culitavated you could go either way or both.

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I'm not that old but

08-29-2004 19:24:22

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 08-29-2004 17:47:45

I have seen a roll, and this is what I remember as being told - you laid it out in a row - the planter then drove and the wire had like bumps (I remember thinking it was just a roll of barb wire) and everytime the planter would come across a bump in the wire it would drop one or several kernels - then when you hit the end of the wire it was moved over and the next row planted-----

now remember this was back when you planted corn in a checkerboard pattern - lets say 10 kernels every 3' in rows that were 3' apart (probably 38" or 40" was standard) - now if you can imagine that when the corn came up - at first you cultivate down the rows - just like you do now - but once u are done with that - you can start cultivating or go kitty vorner across the direction you went the first time - and still miss the corn plants - it was just an easier way to try to keep weeds down

next step up in progress, was the hil drop process - drop like 3 seeds 15" or so apart but with a regular type row crop planter -

then came planting ewach kernel evenly spaved in the row - that is where we are today....

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paul

08-29-2004 20:37:17

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to I'm not that old but, 08-29-2004 19:24:22

Actually hill-drop & check-corn is about the same thing - only the wire lined up the hills so you could cultivate N/S & E/W. some would try kitty-corner, but that was rarer.

The planter would meter out seed as normal, but a flipper plate blocks the seed tube. The check wire ran through a V-plate on the planter, and at every 'bump' (a knott or splice in the wire) the V-plate would be pulled & dump the flip-plate to create the hill. Three - 4 kernals was common around here per hill.

I'm not that old either, but dad (and I) planted with an old Case 4 row 3-point that would hill drop & had most of the equipment for check wire.

--->Paul

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Sid

08-29-2004 20:07:11

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to I'm not that old but, 08-29-2004 19:24:22

I have seen a roll of check wire also and was told pretty much the same thing.

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Sid

08-29-2004 20:06:24

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Re: What is checkwire? in reply to I'm not that old but, 08-29-2004 19:24:22

I have seen a roll of check wire also and was told pretty much the same thing.

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