Odd Jobs

[near horse]

Hi,

I have a question going back to Jen’s picture (nice) – but about training Peanut. You mentioned he had a habit or started to develop one, of stepping back when he stops.

he has a tendency to want to take a step back when he stops, sometimes stepping on the singletree or chain)

When you ground drove him before hitching, did you just start and stop until he started to just stop w/o stepping back? Or when he stepped back did you then switch to having him back up until you said whoa again?

My team is starting to do that as well – except sometimes more than just one step and not a good thing when you’re hitched to an implement. Just trying to see how to correctly correct it! BTW – don’t see it (or maybe notice) when ground driving – then I imagine it could be an operator issue. Darn.

[jen judkins]

Geoff, The tendency for Peanut to step backwards in the stop happens mostly when he is fresh and to me, seems like an extension of his desire to keep moving his feet. He knows I asked for a cessation of forward movement, but he is unwilling to fully comply. Later when he is fatigued…doesn’t happen.

I simply ground drove him asking for several stops. If he steps backward, I correct him by asking him to step up. After 2 or 3 stops he had the idea. But it was mostly about me insisting that he stop where I wanted and just making that clear to him…before we hitched to the harrow.

Not sure if that helps you…

[near horse]

Thanks Jen!

BTW – your “pasture roller” looks a lot like those crop rollers folks are trying to use w/ green manure/no-till cropping, although those rollers are heavier.

[Carl Russell]

So I know this is a really old thread, but I thought it was worth resurrecting. This spring I have been spreading fertilizer and lime with the horses using a ground-drive EZ-Flow Spreader. 2 tons of bagged Sul-Po-Mag, and about 12 tons of Lime. I can get about 1200-1500 lbs into the hopper and I can spread about 2 per hour.

We could have paid to have it spread, but it was $85/ton, versus $35/ton dumped bulk. I figure I’m keeping pretty good value on the farm doing it myself.

[Does’ Leap]

Carl:

We cleared around 12 acres a couple of years ago. We left the stumps in and are renovating it for goat pasture. It needs lime. How much did you pay for the EZ flow and how stable would it be on side-hills and obstacles? How about beefing up the tires to facilitate rolling over stumps?

George

[Carl Russell]

@Does’ Leap 27691 wrote:

Carl:

We cleared around 12 acres a couple of years ago. We left the stumps in and are renovating it for goat pasture. It needs lime. How much did you pay for the EZ flow and how stable would it be on side-hills and obstacles? How about beefing up the tires to facilitate rolling over stumps?

George

George, the EZ-Flow is extremely stable…. about 8 feet wide. However it is very low to the ground, and can get hung up on a pretty low stump, rock, or uneven ground. It runs about 6″ I think. Larger tires could help, but would affect the rate of application. Not that big of a problem though.

The biggest problem with stumps and rocks is that because it is so wide, a stump can trig a wheel pretty easily, shunting the whole rig off center. It only happens infrequently, but it is noticeable.

I would spend the time to cut the stumps down to soil level. In the long run it will pay off for a lot of field work.

Carl

[Tim Harrigan]

Carl, are pigs incorporating the fertilizer and lime?

[Carl Russell]

@Tim Harrigan 27699 wrote:

Carl, are pigs incorporating the fertilizer and lime?

No, there are cattle grazing those fields.

George, I bought the EZ-Flow about 15 years ago, for $150??? I think.

Carl

[Ed Thayer]

That is a neat set up. What do you think the application rate is with that per acre?

[Carl Russell]

@highway 27705 wrote:

That is a neat set up. What do you think the application rate is with that per acre?

It is variable with settings from nil to a lot. There is a chart (supposedly guaranteed) of application rates and settings inside the cover for every type of soils amendment known to man. I am applying about 1500-2000 lbs/ac. It varies for me as the lime compresses and doesn’t flow consistently. I have to stop and poke it down from time to time, but a heck of a lot better than doing it by hand, and a lot cheaper than paying to have it done. I shot a quick video the other day and will post it…. but I have to wait for the morning to get the band width I need.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Here you go, the set-up in action. Carl

[video=youtube_share;Xa6nEAn5t7Y]http://youtu.be/Xa6nEAn5t7Y[/video]

[Tim Harrigan]

Carl, I have used one of those spreaders. I liked it, but it was tough to get lime to run through it without bridging up so I had to stop a lot. I had better luck when I did not fill it all the way, it seemed to pack down more when full just transporting from the pile to the spreading site. It also helped to make a frame with 3/8 inch I think screen to set on top and screen the big pieces as it went in. Maybe the easiest is to have someone walk along behind and keep poking it with a fork if you can find some help. Looks like it was working fine for you, though.

[near horse]

@Tim Harrigan 27726 wrote:

Carl, I have used one of those spreaders. I liked it, but it was tough to get lime to run through it without bridging up so I had to stop a lot. I had better luck when I did not fill it all the way, it seemed to pack down more when full just transporting from the pile to the spreading site. It also helped to make a frame with 3/8 inch I think screen to set on top and screen the big pieces as it went in. Maybe the easiest is to have someone walk along behind and keep poking it with a fork if you can find some help. Looks like it was working fine for you, though.

I’ve been looking at ways to spread field quantities of lime (although nobody limes around here and thus ag-size quantities of lime are hard to find) and it seems like packing of the lime in the spreaders is always a concern. I wanted to use a conventional drop spreader designed for granular fertilizer which has an agitator and a screw system to meter out the lime.

Also, I’ve seen a liquid lime product advertised. Anyone have experience with that one?

[blue80]

I too am looking for a spreader with an agitator to spread gypsum in our alkaline soil. Gypsum bridges even more than lime… I rented a conventional gas powered 6 ton ffertilizer spreader rom the coop and pulled some shields and spread 100 ton a couple years ago but had problems and wouldn’t do it again. I need something with steeper sides and an agitator. Have my eye on an old highway sander spreader that would mount on a 7 ton wagon frame and run off hydraulics of a powered forecart?
I have come across a lot of museum pictures of the old timers pulling wagons with horses spreading gypsum with a shovel off a wagon and will probably just do it that way for now….
Apparently Georgia Pacific local wallboard plant says I am the only one getting gypsum locally for ag use which I find strange, given the benefits it can bring to the soil….

[Carl Russell]

Tim I have found the bridging to be somewhat of a bother, but not a deal breaker…. after all I am working with horses and a brief stop once and a while is not a bad thing. I am using my Barden cart which, with its “chariot”-like design, allows me to step off easily (about 8″ from the ground). I keep the shovel on the cart that I use to load the lime anyway, so a quick walk around to the back of the spreader, a few pokes with the shovel blade, and I’m back in business… less than a minute delay, which is actually a gain because the horses got a brief reward for their good behavior.

Also, as I suggested earlier, I can easily spread a ton per hour. Looking at the $50/ton difference between spread and bulk, I figure I’m defraying the expense of $50/hour working my horses….. I can afford a few laps around the spreader.

Carl

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