clover/grass seed in rota spreader

[devonbeef]

Has anyone had any success with getting seed to take by putting in the muck to thicken up old leys.I know it would have to be grazed tight over winter with sheep first. I know somebody who claims had no white clover on any fields over their farm now have it everywhere. They don't seem to have done anything else,i can see fields as neighbours. They suggest a sprinkle over top of every load. What do you think?

 

[som farmer]

mike lemmy always recommended putting clover seed in feed, reckoned it had a nice seed dressing, and ready to go

 

[Bury the Trash]

mike lemmy always recommended putting clover seed in feed, reckoned it had a nice seed dressing, and ready to go

That's who it was Mike Lemmy, the chap who put the container of clover seed in his varispreader hopper ..to spread it on its own. you have just reminded me.
I cant for the life if me remember how it was done tho

 

[som farmer]

think he just chucked a handful in the feed bag, allways thought of putting seed in the mix, when we did mill and mix, never did though.

 

[Bury the Trash]

think he just chucked a handful in the feed bag, allways thought of putting seed in the mix, when we did mill and mix, never did though.

Iirc he went away from that method because it wasnt reliable enough, and he got his varispreader' mod.' For sowing it Into practical farm ideas mag I think but im not sure it was too long ago

 

[Chae1]

Have you seen the price of grass seed!? I wouldn't just be chucking bags of it in a muck spreader.

 

[devonbeef]

Have you seen the price of grass seed!? I wouldn't just be chucking bags of it in a muck spreader.

 

[devonbeef]

not bags of it ,a sprinkling of clover seed on top of each load while spreading on thin grazed fields, this time of year. Might be a cheap way of getting a bit of seed in.

 

[devonbeef]

mike lemmy always recommended putting clover seed in feed, reckoned it had a nice seed dressing, and ready to go

I will ask my neighbour where he got the idea from, probably from this chap. I seem to remember a chap with a french berry on in the farming press 20 years ago , i think that might have been him.

 

[som farmer]

Have you seen the price of grass seed!? I wouldn't just be chucking bags of it in a muck spreader.

not grass seed, clover seed, and measured in cupfuls

 

[som farmer]

Iirc he went away from that method because it wasnt reliable enough, and he got his varispreader' mod.' For sowing it Into practical farm ideas mag I think but im not sure it was too long ago

vari spreader, mixed with what, to bulk up? he was organic

 

[z.man]

vari spreader, mixed with what, to bulk up? he was organic

That old chestnut......I’m just broadcasting a little clover ? .....said in jest in case anyone takes offence

 

[neilo]

If you want to add a little clover seed, just do it reasonably accurately, by whizzing over it with a slug pelleter on a quad bike (or get someone in to do it if you don’t have one). It’s cheap, fast and a hell of a lot more reliable than putting it in with feed, minerals or in a muck spreader to bury it under a lump of dung. The seed needs to be on the surface, as the clover plant would distribute itself in nature, not buried.

If you’re going over it with a fert spreader anyway, chuck some seed in there (but it won’t spread to 24m) to do the same, just don’t let the grass growth shade it out.

 

[Nithsdale]

Just put it in the fert spreader.
It works well. As @neilo says, the clover doesn't get thrown as far as the fert. But clover, once established, will spread out itself.

 

[Bury the Trash]

vari spreader, mixed with what, to bulk up? he was organic

No, not mixed with anything , just straight clover seed.

It was a suspended container inside the spreader hopper for small seeds with a small outlet hole, letting a very small amount out at a time.

 

[Nithsdale]

No, not mixed with anything , just straight clover seed.

It was a suspended container inside the spreader hopper for small seeds with a small outlet hole, letting a very small amount out at a time.

Upside down juice bottle with a hole in the cap?
Easy to fill, easy to fix in the spreader. Funnel shaped so the seed always goes to the hole (so that hills don't affect spreading).

Simple Idea. But I'll stick with just chucking a few kg in with the fert

 

[Bury the Trash]

Upside down juice bottle with a hole in the cap?
Easy to fill, easy to fix in the spreader. Funnel shaped so the seed always goes to the hole (so that hills don't affect spreading).

Simple Idea. But I'll stick with just chucking a few kg in with the fert

Hole is made of a size to suit how fast you drive, easy to test / calibrate hole sizes before hand with a stop watch ( in a controlled enviroment ) .....until you get a suitable size and Allow a bit for bumping and rattling ?
Infact you could have a few different sized ones prepared for use at different times.

He was organic.
and a Very thoughtfull chap.


Anyway Can Anyone advise me how to sow straight Timothy?

 

[z.man]

Hole is made of a size to suit how fast you drive, easy to test / calibrate hole sizes before hand with a stop watch ( in a controlled enviroment ) .....until you get a suitable size and Allow a bit for bumping and rattling ?
Infact you could have a few different sized ones prepared for use at different times.

He was organic.
and a Very thoughtfull chap.


Anyway Can Anyone advise me how to sow straight Timothy?

Slug pellet applicator on a bike or opico Harrow type machine if your posh, just don’t bury it

 

[Great In Grass]

@Mark C

 

[Extreme Optimist]

Had some fields where the clover just wouldn't take. Various experts looked at it and still no success. Started chucking handfuls into the calves creep feeder and now have clover throughout both fields. Cheap, easy and successful.