Direct drilling with Claydon Hybrid drill

[Right-arm fast]

Hi,
We have brought a 4.8m Claydon Hybrid mounted drill not used it since delivered in October. I could do with some advice on best practice drilling spring beans and spring barley.
Ran it through the ground yesterday to set depths and to see what finish it left but apart from that haven't done anything else. Its too wet really as its clay loam soil but next week going to make a start sometime anyway i think.
It has the 3" feet with the short seed boot on for the beans. We also have the winged share and the double opening spout for the cereals. Nothing is cultivated, its all in stubble from last harvest.

Thanks

RAF

 

[John Slejpner]

Any chance of a photo or 3 where you were setting it up.
Check your drill tyre pressures are consistent and decently high ( i run at 30 psi), even if its new.
Does your tractor have front axle suspension and if so is it the older school type that might vary its neutral position a bit depending on load / weight distribution? If so identify the relevant fuse and consider removing it pre-drilling.

 

[Andrew K]

Used to run a 4.8m Hybrid, and would agree with your choice of coulters and Johns comments.I used to spend alot of time getting the pitch of the drill right on the top link, and obviously set your lift arms as level as possible.Leave a little slack on the lift arm check chains, but not too much, so there is a little give in the linkage.

I found depth control better using the hydraulic lift in float, and by drilling at a 30 degree angle to the tramlines where practicable.
If fields are really rough a pre cultivation is often advisable to start the levelling process, and give the drill the best chance to give a good result.
The steel levelling boards are next to useless in the wet, I ran a set of plastic paddles which stick far less meaning you can actually use it to level the seedbed if required.

In the wet, dont drop the front tines in too deep as they will just use power and smear the drainage channel underneath the seed.
Set the rear harrow carefully, it can make all the difference to seed cover in poor conditions.

 

[HarryB97]

I used to use a 4.8 metre hybrid and agree with all the points above. Drilling at a good angle to the tramlines is definitley worth doing, I used to always do the land work first then the headland inside to out. In the spring run the front tine very shallow so you don't bring up loads of wet. I used to go at 8-10k max or you can get a lot of drill bounce. Leave rolling a day or two in the spring as it'll still be damp. We cut off and moved the springs holding the wing batter boards and harrows to the very outside of the drill or the outer boards and harrows droop and bull doze soil. We also cut off and moved the wing depth wheels to the outside of the wings as we got a lot of wing droop and a very uneven seed depth. It's well worth putting some air seal tyre sealant in the depth wheels, we had ours filled and due to all the weight had frame and bearing issues.

 

[Right-arm fast]

Thankyou for all your replies I will take some pictures of the area we tried it in tomorrow. We don’t have the paddle boards just two rows of levelling tines.

 

[John Slejpner]

Thankyou for all your replies I will take some pictures of the area we tried it in tomorrow. We don’t have the paddle boards just two rows of levelling tines.

2 rows of levelling tines i would consider the very best option for clay based soils that are damp through or wetter, so good.
As Andrew says, don't go mad with the front tine depth, and as Harry says best to drill the field inside to outside - don't be afraid to hit the extra seed button drilling across your turnings. And if you are using FSS especially don't spare the rate in general esp eg spring barley. It won't be TOO thick whatever you do - inter-row spacing will see to that.

 

[Brisel]

Run the leading tine 2” deeper than the seed. It’s not for deep cultivation work. Osr is the best time to run the legs deep when the soil is dry enough to fix any issues.

Check seed depth to set the pitch. Depending on forward speed, you might find you need to run the back coulters a bit deeper as the rear legs will throw soil over the seed from the front coulters. I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over evenness of seed depth - this is Claydon’s Achilles Heel as well as part of its simplicity. Roll at a slight angle to the drilling. Do what you can with the rear harrows to put soil into the furrows left by the rear coulters. Max speed 12 kph. Best speed 10 kph.

 

[FarmerBruce]

I used to use a 4.8 metre hybrid and agree with all the points above. Drilling at a good angle to the tramlines is definitley worth doing, I used to always do the land work first then the headland inside to out. In the spring run the front tine very shallow so you don't bring up loads of wet. I used to go at 8-10k max or you can get a lot of drill bounce. Leave rolling a day or two in the spring as it'll still be damp. We cut off and moved the springs holding the wing batter boards and harrows to the very outside of the drill or the outer boards and harrows droop and bull doze soil. We also cut off and moved the wing depth wheels to the outside of the wings as we got a lot of wing droop and a very uneven seed depth. It's well worth putting some air seal tyre sealant in the depth wheels, we had ours filled and due to all the weight had frame and bearing issues.

I used to use a 4.8 metre hybrid and agree with all the points above. Drilling at a good angle to the tramlines is definitley worth doing, I used to always do the land work first then the headland inside to out. In the spring run the front tine very shallow so you don't bring up loads of wet. I used to go at 8-10k max or you can get a lot of drill bounce. Leave rolling a day or two in the spring as it'll still be damp. We cut off and moved the springs holding the wing batter boards and harrows to the very outside of the drill or the outer boards and harrows droop and bull doze soil. We also cut off and moved the wing depth wheels to the outside of the wings as we got a lot of wing droop and a very uneven seed depth. It's well worth putting some air seal tyre sealant in the depth wheels, we had ours filled and due to all the weight had frame and bearing issues.

You both said ‘used to run a claydon’ why is this? Didn’t you get on with them? We are looking at one and trying to pick up all the advice we can. Thanks.

 

[Devon James]

Thankyou for all your replies I will take some pictures of the area we tried it in tomorrow. We don’t have the paddle boards just two rows of levelling tines.

Did you buy the drill second hand?

 

[Brisel]

Quite a few Claydon owners have moved onto no-till from strip till. It’s certainly my ambition to do so & Jeff Claydon does not make a no till drill - the front disc kit is just a tool but a 3-9” A share will never be “no till”

 

[HarryB97]

You both said ‘used to run a claydon’ why is this? Didn’t you get on with them? We are looking at one and trying to pick up all the advice we can. Thanks.

When I left school the farm I used to work on for a few years before returning home ran a Claydon alongside a tine drill and cultivators. It was a good tool and convinced me that direct drilling is the best route to go down but I wanted more seed carrying capacity and versatility as well as less soil movement. I now have a Horsch Sprinter ST with 1 inch dutch openers on.

 

[Right-arm fast]

Did you buy the drill second hand?

New drill, usually use the weaving gd which does a good job in the dry but not in extreme wet weather as it doesn't loosen the soil and is a trailed . Just worried about the bg with moving the soils with the Claydon but that’s something secondary I think, as you need to have crop in the ground that is not going to waterlog, as been there and got the t shirt.

 

[Right-arm fast]

The drill has lifted the wet soil but its not anywhere near dry enough to roll even if the top dried. The beans would probably be ok but more concerned over the small spring barley seed.

 

[Brisel]

I can’t see any smeared slots so I’d say it was ok to drill. Give it a few days and it will roll nicely.

 

[Andrew K]

You both said ‘used to run a claydon’ why is this? Didn’t you get on with them? We are looking at one and trying to pick up all the advice we can. Thanks.

They are a great drill dont get me wrong, but at the time we were cutting down on our contracting side, and also available hp so it made sense to go for a lighter, lower disturbance machine[to us anyway] I would say they are the best bean/rape drill you can buy for heavy land, and the back up is superb.

 

[John Slejpner]

Agree with Brisel.
My soil is a lot more evil than that.
If it came up like that i would be drilling it. On my soils, and maybe yours, that would be as much as i could hope for this spring. (More than i can hope for actually.)
Risk to barley seed in that seedbed is that the weather changes to breezy, warm, no rain so you very quickly get dry little cobbles. With cool weather and cool soil currently i see little risk of over-dry cobbles happening faster than you can react to then.
In two weeks time you could be pulling up an identical seedbed but in 16 degrees and a breeze someone needs to be rolling within hours of the drill.

 

[Hereward]

Agree with Brisel.
My soil is a lot more evil than that.
If it came up like that i would be drilling it. On my soils, and maybe yours, that would be as much as i could hope for this spring. (More than i can hope for actually.)
Risk to barley seed in that seedbed is that the weather changes to breezy, warm, no rain so you very quickly get dry little cobbles. With cool weather and cool soil currently i see little risk of over-dry cobbles happening faster than you can react to then.
In two weeks time you could be pulling up an identical seedbed but in 16 degrees and a breeze someone needs to be rolling within hours of the drill.

Did you manage to get your WW drilled in the autumn with the Claydon?

 

[JCfarmer]

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The drill has lifted the wet soil but its not anywhere near dry enough to roll even if the top dried. The beans would probably be ok but more concerned over the small spring barley seed.

Not a 100% sure but it looks like you are drilling parallel to the tramlines. I tend to drill at an angle and the following year at the opposite angle. Start at the top of one tramline to the bottom of another. Only bought our sr drill last year but we have always done the same when cultivating.
Only osr drilled with the SR in 2019, some spring beans and barley to go in with it yet.

 

[John Slejpner]

Did you manage to get your WW drilled in the autumn with the Claydon?

Yes, but 20% of it i wish i hadn't , with hindsight...all on real heavy clay. Hanslope clay looks surprisingly well on the whole, despite being drilled last.
Agronomist tells me to stop moaning and be grateful.
TBF i have barley planned on some heavy clay (BG issue) and with the best will in the world it wont/cant be great.

 

[JCfarmer]

Not a 100% sure but it looks like you are drilling parallel to the tramlines. I tend to drill at an angle and the following year at the opposite angle. Start at the top of one tramline to the bottom of another. Only bought our sr drill last year but we have always done the same when cultivating.
Only osr drilled with the SR in 2019, some spring beans and barley to go in with it yet.

Ps Not trying to teach you to suck eggs!