Farmall Cub

Maybe someone has covered this, but I haven't found it. Maybe there isn't as much interest as I would think, but it seems to me on the topic of planting with a cub, we are lacking info here. To me, cultivating and planting are the main reasons I bought a cub. We have access to tons of great manuals, but not a lot of updated info on what members use to plant their garden seeds these days with. I have a duplex hopper and a Poax hopper. I grow organic vegetables to sell and would like to use the planters for more than corn, peas, and beans and beyond that, be able to more accurately plant those as well. Anyone else think this would be a good project to compile?

I'm interested in the various versions of toolbar-mounted planters, there seem like a lot of numbers and models, I don't have a handle on it.

At this point I'm not doing any field crops, only small vegetables planted 3 rows to a bed (@ 12", 5' bed centers), and I think it'd take a large amount of the same thing planted at a time, a number of instances over the season, for tractor planting to make more sense than a push planter. A few years go a I had a frame for 3 Jang seeders, but spent longer putting the seeds in and out and changing seeder settings than I did driving. Now I just mark rows with the Cub, and walk the seeder up and down three times for each bed. Not much slower, and much less hassle. As beds get longer, of course, it gets more reasonable to drive. I might get into some corn/beans eventually (harvesting for seed?), and for that I'd want to drive, for sure, but what planter. Also squash, what works for that?

For vegetables, I like the Jang seeder, which appeals to my desire for precision and control, though all the seeders have their benefits and drawbacks.

-David

I'm with David, I have a Planet Jr. I had offset mounted on the Cub.
For drilled crops in wide rows I removed the tractor mount and made it a push planter.

Virginia Mike wrote:I'm with David, I have a Planet Jr. I had offset mounted on the Cub.
For drilled crops in wide rows I removed the tractor mount and made it a push planter.

Mike...do you have pictures of the Planet,Jr mounted up. I have a NOS one, never had seed in it.
I also have a farmall runner planter that I am going to get around to finishing. And using. I planted corn by hand last year but did cultivate which I enjoy doing.

Hope there are a lot of responses to this post!

I have no pictures of the Planet Jr. Mounted. It is a 300A I think.
I did not use a mid-mount that Farmall made, I mounted to the drawbar using an 90 degree mount that bolted in the holes. I let the drawbar pivot up and down as with a plow, only on the rear. I ran a chain up to the rear lift to raise the unit.
I could shift the planter unit left or right by moving the mount in the drawbar holes, thus I could plant a row, turn around, and run in the same tire tracks to plant a double row.

I made the mount from angle iron and strap, but I have since cut it up for other projects. As I said, I found some mule-plow handles an removed the planter from the floating frame to make a push planter.

The small seed the Planet Jr. handles did not fit well in my truck garden. Planting large quantities of radishes, turnipes etc. is great if you are contract growing, but small "patches" planted a week or so apart do better for the roadside stand or U-pick.

In my experence, "U-pickers" seem overwhelmed by a large plot of vegies. I don't know if they don't want to walk, or what.
I found that anything over about 1/4 acre was too big. Of course in flat land the game will be different.

I still use the Planet Jr. to plant my turnip patch, but on the whole, I would rather have a MX12 for big seeds, and due to cost, plant radishes and carrots with one of the small Gardenway push-planters.

Mike...I was thinking of doing the same thing with my planet jr. adding handles and using it that way. I am helping the people at a University of Massachusetts community garden and it probably would make more sense to let them use my Earthway push planter and mount handles on the Planet Jr for planting. I was just curious what the set up you had looked like. Chris

Mike...I was thinking of doing the same thing with my planet jr. adding handles and using it that way. I am helping the people at a University of Massachusetts community garden and it probably would make more sense to let them use my Earthway push planter and mount handles on the Planet Jr for planting. I was just curious what the set up you had looked like. Chris

Here are some pics of a Circle Cub with a Planet Jr. mounted. I no longer own the Cub and these are the only pics I have of the mounted planter.

You're looking for more of the HOW-TO part of planting, right?

The Planet Jr. does beat the Earthway for lettace and small seeds. But the Planet Jr is 3-4 times the cost.
By making it a push planter you can sow a triple or more row every week keeping lettace in peak shape.
Adjust row lenght to satisfy demand. In my experence you will have too much, or too little.

Matt...I think he was asking what people use to plant their gardens with. There are a lot of posts of people using Cubs to plant. Sonny has quite a few posted on Youtube. Mike has a post about planting potatoes in the the Cub Book of Knowledge section under in the field. Maybe this spring I can get Bob Perry to film some planting videos and post them.

Mike...easy enough to thin out an over planted row.

CapeCodCubs wrote: Mike...easy enough to thin out an over planted row.

I ment produce, not plant population. That being said; thining wastes seed money.

I normally plant a small garden 10-12 rows, 60-70 feet long. Too small for the cub. I saw a fellow using a golf cart the other day, driving slowly along and dropping seeds. That got me to thinking so today with scrap 3/4 PVC and a short 1 1/2 PVC I rigged up something to drop seed while moving slowly along with a garden tractor. I hope to try it out Friday unless it rains. I fastened a horizontal 3/4 piece across the tractor frame behind engine. This goes into a 3/4 tee about 1 foot outside rear tire, pointing vertical. From top of tee a 45 degree 3/4 fitting with 2 feet of PVC going to where driver is seated. To this a funnel is attached. From bottom of tee is a bushing going from 3/4 to 1 1/2 PVC The end of larger PVC where seeds will drop is cut at a 45 angle. My soil here is loose, almost sand when dry and the PVC will "plow" a furrow. As the seed drops and tractor moves along the furrow will fill in behind, covering seed. I don't think anything will be needed besides this but may have to add a small chain to assist covering. If all works well I will cement joints. This should make for faster, more even rows, and no back bending planting.

Regwal,
Sounds like a tractor mounted "Planting Bugle". They look like the air horns on old trucks or the horns they blow in knights in armour movies.
You don't see the old antiques any more, they were tin, and got mashed.I have made them from a funnel and a piece of tubing.
They do good to plant seed without stouping.
They are real good when it is windy.

Mike, thats a great idea...I love the garden but the old back kicks my butt at times...I will confab a no-stoop seed planter thanks to your post...Thanks Dave