Perry County, 35 miles NW of Harrisburg, PA | Ed,
Yes, fall killed sod IS easy to plant into. It's that spring killed sod, that causes problems. Killing in the spring is necessary sometimes due to winter kill of alfalfa, a take over by chick weed or just wanting to leave a "live" cover crop on our hills. I have seen erosion problems on fall killed sod on my hills. SO, trying to find a combination to close that seed slot becomes the challenge. Now I realize that I am talking about the EXTREME situations here. 98% or more of my planting does not take place in this type of situation.
Steve and Brian,
2 or 3 years ago I thought the Thompson closing wheel, with the toe in like you are describing, would be just the ticket, especially in my cover cropped fields and in the above situations. In a phone conversation with someone from Expata, sorry can't remember a name, he advised that with a lot of my ground being stoney, the toe in feature may actually end up with stones wedged in and stuck and dragging on the row. I really appreciated his honesty because it ended up costing him the sale. Now that is for my hills here in Perry County. It very well may not pertain to your ground in Lancaster and Adams counties.
Dave |
Spader closing wheels benefit Yes or No
