Van Brunt Grain Drill

No-til sounds ideal for that soil. Something else going on here? Pull a soil test and check pH, likely needs lime, in my experience. Planter type will not matter if the seed cannot grow. What you did last year should have worked. As to the drill, check openers for wear and bearings, wear in pivot points on opener frames, seed box and flute condition, flute adjustment for tightness or seizure. Drills are basically all the same and fairly simple machines. Rob.

The old Deere Van Brunt drill I have won't notill. It doesn't have much down pressure on the single disk opener and it covers the seed with a drag chain, not a press wheel so seed to soil contact is not great. It did plant oats and alfalfa for me for years in tilled ground.

My farm notilled got mellow and didn't require extra down pressure on the planter after a few years of notill. But at this latitude notill delayed planting in the spring because of corn stover slowing the ground warming up to germination temperature and drying enough to not smear the seed trench. Tools in this soil wet make concrete.

There are notill drills made, the Van Brunt aren't them.

Gerald J.

We just replaced a John Deere Van Brunt drill ( I think an FB?) with an 8350 this spring. It was a good drill, but ours was just plain worn out. To fix it would have taken more money than it's worth. We don't no-till here, but I doubt it could have- it didn't have much down pressure.

I had one years ago it was a good drill.

Thanks folks. The intent is not to use the drill "no till". Problem is the soil is so sandy-goes down at least 5 ft with yellow sand--and it's been sprayed enough, that there is not much organic matter left on the surface. Dad plowed it and the renter put it oats over alfalfa about 7 years ago. He took the oats off early, dry year and the alfalfa burned up. He went back to no till and beans the next year, and didn't get much out of it. Right now you can get hung up in the sand pulling a 6 ft disk. Nothing holding it together, and I'm trying to get organic matter built up in it without sinking a lot of cash in fertilizer. I'm going to play around with it for a few years, and if it doesn't improve, plant it to red pine.

Parts availability is a problem. We had a hard time finding the seed cups, the metal drop tubes (Had to get creative there), and even the disk openers. But, for the age, you see a fair amount of them in service still....

My dad bought our John Deere Van Brunt drill in 1954.  It still works great.  15 inch Rubber drive tires and steel press wheels.  

Steve A wrote: Thanks folks. The intent is not to use the drill "no till". Problem is the soil is so sandy-goes down at least 5 ft with yellow sand--and it's been sprayed enough, that there is not much organic matter left on the surface. Dad plowed it and the renter put it oats over alfalfa about 7 years ago. He took the oats off early, dry year and the alfalfa burned up. He went back to no till and beans the next year, and didn't get much out of it. Right now you can get hung up in the sand pulling a 6 ft disk. Nothing holding it together, and I'm trying to get organic matter built up in it without sinking a lot of cash in fertilizer. I'm going to play around with it for a few years, and if it doesn't improve, plant it to red pine.

Any kind of tillage and you destroy organic matter. That's what tillage is for. Do you have a dairy or some livestock operation that has manure with straw (as opposed liquid manure) that might be willing to spread some on your land. That would be the fastest way to add some OM and improve fertility.

Otherwise try Sorghum-Sudan grass or other "green manure" crop and try vertical till or a light disking to work it in but don't plow or your wasting your time.

Trying to establish and grow a crop in sand without irrigation is pretty tough without good rainfall. Crop residue left from no till is the OM your looking for and managed properly will help your ground hold more moisture. One you plowed it the OM is broken and buried and decomposes quickly.

Fertilizer won't add OM to your soil and in sandy soil a lot of nutrients leach out of the root zone and eventually into the water table.

The best thing may be to plant the trees, some ground shouldn't be crop land