[AT] old corn planters

[David Steinich]

John,
What type of corn are you going to grow? How much, and what are you going
to do with it? What type of tractor will you use to plant? Row spacing on
the planter needs to match that of the picker/combine. Also best if the
number of rows matches between the two machines. (But you can pick more
rows than you plant at a time IF you are good at keeping your row spacing
even between planter passes.)  With the older AC and JD planters you need
to match the seed shape/size with the plates you use. If you jump up to the
1970s vintage, the finger pickup units on the JD 7000 series planters will
plant "any" corn seed. Around here (southern WI), you can pick them up
fairly reasonable.
(Some times with no-til setups.) It's also fairly easy to adjust them to
the number of rows and row spacing you prefer. We see a lot of the cut down
to two rows and listed as "deer plot" planters. Of course that label comes
with a premium price,,, Another consideration is if you would benefit from
using a starter fertilizer at planting time. Dry is easy to work with in
smaller quantities, but you need to clean the planter and use some form of
rust protection or it will destroy that part of the planter,,,
Dave

On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 10:33 PM, Dean VP <deanvp at att.net> wrote:

> John,
>
> I don't know what your soil conditions are where you live but my Dad used
> a JD 490 4 row planter tow behind in NW Iowa many years(40's to 60's) with
> extremely good luck. One of the most desirable JD collector implements is a
> two row version of that (JD 290) either tow behind or three point hitch
> version.  They are very good planters.  He only used the split wedge type
> shoe on the planter head, which I think you are calling the sword type. New
> replacement shoes are still available.  The only time I remember him having
> any kind of trouble with these type shoes is if an old cornstalk got stuck
> in the shoe which wasn't very often. I vaguely remember a finger that was
> placed directly ahead of the shoe to brush aside any trash.  I suppose a
> really dirty field might require something that cut up the trash but they
> would have to be really sharp to work very well.  PS: This is why my Dad
> was so fussy about making sure we covered up all the trash when we plowed
> oh so deep  :-) .
>
> If you find something like this of interest I can email you a Parts
> Catalog for these types of JD Planters.  Obviously there are newer versions
> of these two row planters but they might be even more expensive.
>
> Dean VP
> Apache Junction, AZ 85120
>
> "A picture is worth a 1,000 words, but it uses up to 12,000 times the
> memory"
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:
> at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of jtchall at nc.rr.com
> Sent: Friday, February 22, 2013 5:27 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: [AT] old corn planters
>
> I am looking into planting some corn this year. I’ve got a fellow that can
> plant it for me, if my fields are ready when he is in the neighborhood with
> his rig. Ideally, I would rather have my own planter. I prefer a 2 row so
> it will free up duties on the 2 tractors that I would use with a 4-row.
> Besides, it would take up much less shed space.
>
> I’ve seen a lot of 2 row Ford 3pt planters (model 309 I think) on
> Craigslist. The only thing I don’t like is they are a sword type planter
> instead of disc row openers. I’ve also seen a couple 2 row AC planters that
> appeared to be tow behind units. Anybody had any experience with these
> small planters or have one you would recommend? I wouldn’t mind having
> no-till but those aren’t very cheap.
>
> Thoughts on the matter?
>
> John Hall
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>