Use a No Till Grain Drill
A no-till grain drill is a piece of farming equipment designed for use in planting various crops. Unlike traditional pieces of planting equipment, which required tilling before the seeds could be placed in the ground, no-till grain drills are designed to increase farming yield, decrease labor costs, and prevent unwanted erosion. Knowing how to use a no-till grain drill can make your business or personal farming more successful, while having less of an impact on the environment.
Contents
Steps
- Choose a field for planting.
- Traditionally, farming crops were planted on flat pieces of land to prevent possible erosion during the seeding process. However, since the no-till grain drill does not require tilling, crops can be planted on sloping land which might otherwise have been used for pasture. Evaluate the acceptability of the soil before seeding it. If it has never been used for crop growth before, you may want to consider having a soil test performed to determine which crops will perform best.
- Clean the fields.
- While it isn't necessary to remove every stick from the field when working with a no-till grain drill, removing the largest pieces of debris is helpful to the process. Remove any large rocks, branches, or other items which may be currently littering the field you want to plan, and dispose of them appropriately.
- Evaluate how deep you want to plant the seeds.
- Most seeds used for growing crops see optimum success when planted approximately 1 inch (2.2 centimeters) to 1.5 inches (3.3 centimeters) below the soil line. If the field in which you are planting your crop is relatively "clean," and does not have large amounts of stalks or stems from previous seasons, you can keep the seed depth placement at the automatic position. However, if the field was used in a previous growing season, and you have to push the seeds under both the soil and previous seasons' debris, you may need to adjust the depth of the seed placement tool.
- Space the rows appropriately.
- Traditionally, crops were grown approximately 4 inches (8.8 centimeters) apart from each other. However, for best results, you should plant no-till crops between 7 to 10 inches (15.4 to 22.0 centimeters) apart.
- Consult with your owners' manual.
- If you face difficulties while using the no-till grain drain, you may want to consider re-examining your owners' manual. This book should contain all of the information necessary for you to properly plant various crops.
Tips
- If you have difficulty planting a particular field or crop, talk with fellow farmers who use this planting method. Experienced farmers who are skilled in using no-till grain drills are a wealth of information, and are often happy to help individuals who are new to the technique. In addition, employees at implement dealerships should also be able to provide some tips and recommendations when using this piece of machinery.
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