Terrace Seeder Built From Grain Drill, Aerator

Terrace Seeder Built From Grain Drill, Aerator PLANTERS Planters 27-1-32 When Shambaugh Farms, Oakley, Ill., needed a small grass seeder for waterways, terraces and roadsides, they decided to build it themselves. The 5-ft. wide seeder is fitted with a pair of 8-in. dia. aerating rollers with an old Deere grain drill mounted on top. The drill is equipped with a grass seed hopper that drops seed onto the ground between the two rollers. The drill was originally ground driven. Shambaugh converted it to hydraulic drive by mounting a slow speed hydraulic motor on it. "We use it to seed grass, oats, rye and wheat. It works good and didn't cost much to build," says Teddy Shambaugh. "The spikes are heavy and aggressive and perform well in a wide range of soil conditions, including sod." The grain drill was originally 10 1/2 ft. wide and had 18 planting units on 7-in. spacings. Shambaugh cut it in half so it has nine planting units. The drill bolts to brackets on the aerator frame. "We spent about $500 to build it. Comparable size commercial drills sell for $4,000 to $5,000 and don't have as many features as this one has," says Shambaugh, who built the seeder last summer. "We paid $200 for the drill and also $200 for the Super Gill aerator, which was originally designed as a turf aerator for landscape use. The drill was originally developed for grain so it has high quality seed metering units. It can plant many types of seed - even lightweight bromegrass - without any problems whereas comparable commercial seeders can handle only grass seed. We use a 30 to 40 hp tractor to pull it. "Because the drill is hydraulic-driven, we're able to back up into a corner and drop seed onto the ground. Also, with hydraulic drive we know how many feet the drill covers at a certain speed. By catching the seed we can calculate the seeding rate and know how many lbs. of seed per ft. the drill is putting out." "The aerator's front roller can be angled for more aggressive digging action. The rear roller is spring loaded and floats on the ground. It does a little digging but provides more compaction than anything else." The drill worked so well that Shambaugh built a second model. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Shambaugh Farms, Rt. 1, Oakley, Ill. 62552 (ph 217 763-6156).

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