# Roller v. Cultipacker



## Kevin D (Apr 30, 2004)

I'm about halfway through Ed Spin's new book, which talks about the benefits of using of a cultipacker. It's the one piece of equipment I don't have in my arsenel. What I do have is a big platic lawn roller that fills up with water and weighs at least 500 lbs when full. I've been using this to roll the plots after broadcast spreading and it seems to work fairly well, although it probaby doesn't work the seed down as deep as a cultipacker would. I'm trying to decide whether it's worth spending the money on a cultipacker, or whether my results will be the same as with the roller?


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## Nimrod1 (Apr 26, 2004)

Kevin,
I think your results would be pretty close to the same. I would suggest that you just keep your eyes open for a cultipacker. I picked up an old one last year for $40. They are around, you just have to keep looking.


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## Jeff Sturgis (Mar 28, 2002)

In my experience the results are not the same. I used a 30-gallon roller for about 6 years and although adequate, germination rates increased substantially for me when I went to a cultipacker.

What would happen is that the seeds would grow best in the tracks from the ATV, as opposed to the higher, flatter rolled portion in the middle. It's not necessarily about how much the seeds are "pushed" down, but instead the many grooves that are the result of the cultipacker that are allowed to hold moisture to create an attractive envirnment for growing the young plants. I like to cultipack first, and then broadcast the seeds if they are small, like brassicas, chicory, or clover, and with the larger seeds that can be covered more(oats, rye, wheat), I like to seed first, and then cultipack.

Big differances though and my roller has been sitting for almost 3 years now, collecting dust.


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## johnhunter (Jun 17, 2000)

My opinion - generally speaking, a cultipacker will get you better results than a roller. That said, if you're working with superb soil, the difference will not be overwhelming. With lesser soils, you will see a noticeable difference when using a cultipacker v. a roller; you may be able to compensate by going to a slightly higher seeding rate.

I *love* using my cultipacker; after a long, hard day of planting, nothing says *done* like finishing up with the cultipacker, and looking at those lovely grooves in the ground.


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## chevyjam2001 (Feb 14, 2002)




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## Jeff Sturgis (Mar 28, 2002)

Good point FL! Another thing to consider is moisture. I have had some GREAT plantings that were "rolled" in pretty wet soil, but others in dry conditions where the percentages of germination would have been significantly higher if cultipacked, instead of rolled.

What I eventually started doing with the roller and ATV was to double my ATV tire tracks, so I experiecned higher germination rates. 

But boy...the cultipacker is sure nice!! This "beauty" has 5' rollers (6' wide with ends) and could probably be pulled with a large ATV. My outside tractor-tire width is 66"...so 3" of the tires on either side act as an "extension" to the 60" wide cultipacker rollers. Love it, love it, love it!!


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## halfczech (Nov 27, 2004)

I put my first plots in last year and i used a lawn roller that you filled with water. It worked great. I had excellent germination. Now my soil is a heavy clay loom and it was early spring and very damp so that helped.


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## BEARKILL (May 2, 2001)

Here is one for sale in Michigan. Get it for cheep $75.00
just click here 
http://www.tractorshed.com/cgi-bin/...lay_db_button=on&db_id=127869&query=retrieval


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## Kevin D (Apr 30, 2004)

Thanks everyone for all the info. My soil is not great, so I think I'll go ahead and get one. 

Bearkill, that 9 footer looks a little bit too much for pulling with a Polaris 700 and the tight spots/small plots I'm doing. 

NorthJeff, what/where is that 5 footer in the pic? The construction looks very similar to the disc I bought a couple years ago.


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## Live2Hunt (Nov 23, 2004)

That looks like a good deal Bearkill. I thought I did good when I picked up an old 6 footer today for $50. It was close to home and will work great in the small plots with my tractor or ATV.
I used a roller the past two years but look forward to using the packer.


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## jig head (Jan 13, 2003)

my food plots are in sandy soil.
since I purchased a cultipacker my plots get a much better start.
you guys looking at those large cultipackers it is easy to shorten them up to pull behind a atv.


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