What are the benefits and limitations of each?
I'd like the ability to seed a variety of seed into an existing crop, i.e.' clover, today I'm broadcasting with ok results but if something was available just want to understand what I'm looking for.
With a planter am I basically limited to Corn & Beans?
In addition, does anyone have a Ferminator? Looks like a niche food-plot item.

I have a firminator. I like it and feel like it does a good job on plots that dont require precise seed amounts per acre like corn. I would love a no till drill. I just dont have the money to drop on a no till and dont plant enough acreage to justify it so I stick with what Ive got.

A vanbrunt drill or something of the sort would probably work for you if you have access to a disk or tiller already

I like a 3pt pto tiller...
*deep till
*broadcast
*light shallow till / stir
*broadcast a top coat again
*run over and compact it. cover it in tire tracks.
*warm rain.

then till your path to the stand so its more quiet.

catch me on the right day and you'll see a leaf blower clearing my path too.

Anyway, thats what I do.

I have a no till planter. A genesis. It’s fantastic. There are two drawbacks though: 1. Cost 2. Got to have a big enough piece of equipment to use, and a trailer big enough to haul it all.

Outside of that though, it’s fantastic. Super easy to calibrate. Plants a wide variety of seeds, and saves on seed costs through efficiency. Saves on fuel. Saves on wear and tear. Saves your soil. Can plant through pretty much any type of weeds or grass. And really easy to clean out. And it can be used for more than just food plots. My dad uses it for seeding some in hayfields and pastures. It cut our planting time down to 1/3, and just 1 guy can handle it all by himself if need be.

If money is no restriction = no-till drill.

Roto-tiller and broadcast (3pt pto spreader or shoulder bag spreader is good)...get you a 3pt cultipacker (15" plus wheels) to go over after you broadcast. Does great job.

Planter = limited seed options. No go for cereal grains like rye, wheat, oats an small seeds like clover.

I have a 4' Firminator...it has a 6" cultipacker which is useless in very sandy soils...cultipacker won't roll...just pulls sand. Cultipacker don't roll then Firminator don't dispense seed. I'll sell you mine for $2500...like new...come to Ga to pick it up. Can pull it with ATV or use 3pt hitch.

I have a great plains 7' no-till drill, with a small seed box for clover, a box for beans or whatever, and a warm season grass box. It has huge tires for uneven ground and works great. It is also heavy enough to get the job done when the ground is hard.

Here is my no-till drill.

A seed drill is imo best for rye, oats wheat and similar. Like Flipper said, you need a small seed box for clover and other fine seeds.

Thats a beast- how many HSP to pull it?

I have a New Holland TN65 with front wheel assist. It's a utility tractor, not a compact.

My Kubota 3902 is a lawnmower compared to that

You could Google to see if there are places that will rent out the smaller no-till drills, that can be pulled by a 4-wheeler. I have seen the NCRS or soil and water conservation staff in the past using 5 foot width no-till drills around wildlife ponds. water ways etc. I don't know if they owned them or leased them. Could be several counties may share some equipment. No-till would be my preferred option. The key with no-till is making sure the slot where the seed falls stays moist enough to germinate the seed. Legume seeds like alfalfa, clover etc. are hard seeds and won't rot like some of the grass seeds do.

Bryce

My buddy done lost his mind he picked up a rock rake and tiller at an auction last week plus I gave him a spike drag and he has a blade for doing the road to his house. The 3 food plots we have now might total 1 acre I just shake my head.

L O used a big no till drill planting round up ready alfalfa. Never knew they made such a thing.

From perspective of an old farm kid, the answer revolves around a couple questions. What crops and how many acres?

For seedbed prep, the tool of choice is a disk.

For up to 1 acre, all that is needed are hand tools. A broadcast seeder for fine stuff like clover or turnips, or even an Earthway seeder for stuff like corn, soybeans, sunflowers, radish, etc. Beyond that, a grain drill. All things considered, the best of the best would be an old JD Van Brunt model B grain drill, with large and small box seeder. Those were perfect tool for the job. Problem being, even the smallest of them was made for doing 10 acres or more per day. There are some clever guys who are buying these drills and cutting them in half, and selling them to guys for making food plots. A drill with mechanical lift (and drive) about 5 to 6 feet wide and able to be pulled by 4 wheeler, side by side or smallest tractor.

There are some modern era new food plot drills being offered, but from what I've seen, starting price is at least $5k and up. Some as high as $10k and more. You gotta be pretty mad a the deer to justify that.

our local feed mill rents a no-till that you can pull with a small tractor, they also rent the small tractor. rent both for 150 for have a day or 300 for all day

I use a disc, fertilizer spreader (like you pull with lawn mower) behind the 4 wheeler and a drag harrow with good results

I have an old JD drill that I am freshening up and a 2 row JD flex planter that I intend on using too.

I would like a 6-8' cultipacker but they are rare as hen's teeth around here and quite pricey when you do find one (for no more than I would use it)
I have considered building one. You can find all the parts you need

I had a 4' plotmaster that I used behind the 4 wheeler. It did all right but was a huge load on the 4wheeler and I could cover more ground quicker with the tractor

Often your local NRCS offices have no-till drills available for rent.

I make a deal with a farmer to Trap for free