Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Frost seeding and cold?

loneranger

Well-Known Member
was thinking of frost seeding some bare ground today but with temps still seen to stay in the single digits some days? Will cold temps like those hurt the seed?
 
Not this late into winter, in my opinion. Ideally, you'd put down in the morn when it's cold and you'll get a minor thaw in the afternoon, but I still wouldn't hesitate.
 
Won't hurt at all I put the brillion seeder on today and plan to do about 35 acres of switch and clover. That is on about 10 farms in 3 county's.
 
Brillion is an awesome way to "meter" out just to right amount of seed .....and in nice even rows....when frost seeding. Great implement!! Good luck.
 
My reply was to Hans1. But for smaller areas, and actually more often than not, we usually seed either by hand-seeder or via ATV-mounted seeder. However you do it, just want to get as even a spread as possible. We usually go N-S, then E-W, covering each area twice just to be thorough. Works great when put on anytime from now through about end of March.
 
Do any of you frost seed fertilizer? I thought about trying this on my yard that we newly planted last fall? Also do you fertilize your clover,also planted last fall ?
 
Magnus the ability to meter the seed is why I use the brillion combined with the tractor gps it does a really great job. Small or hard to get to I do by hand. Also makes for easy shed hunting.
 
Fertilize now. Or fertilize last fall. Ok, the 2nd is impossible of course ;). you need to do it asap. Potash especially takes a while to break down (essentially rock). Sooner the better. mine is all done. folks putting down P&K in summer, etc - it's great and I'd do it but realize most won't be utilized until following year. Which, once you've had several years of that, doesn't matter cause you've got P&K going strong by then from previous year.
 
Fertilize now. Or fertilize last fall. Ok, the 2nd is impossible of course ;). you need to do it asap. Potash especially takes a while to break down (essentially rock). Sooner the better. mine is all done. folks putting down P&K in summer, etc - it's great and I'd do it but realize most won't be utilized until following year. Which, once you've had several years of that, doesn't matter cause you've got P&K going strong by then from previous year.

What do you fertilize clover with?
 
Without a soil test..... Pelletized lime (can get anywhere, like Menards, whatever) - let's say it was soil with lots of cedars around or neglected.... 200-300 lbs be nice (not expensive). Then, ACTUAL, PER ACRE RATE ON P&K (so, ACTUAL means what you ACTUALLY are putting down.... if you have 100 lbs of 6-24-24.... That means you are actually putting down 6 lbs N, 24 lbs P and 24 lbs K per 100 lbs). BALLPARK, ACTUAL that actually gets in, I'd want about 50 lbs P and 50 lbs K. Be fine with that. You likely can get away with less BUT it's not like you're doing 10 acres or something, I'm guessing it's smaller amount so cost at least isn't as bad. You can mix your clover with your P&K and lime and spread all at once.
 
Without a soil test..... Pelletized lime (can get anywhere, like Menards, whatever) - let's say it was soil with lots of cedars around or neglected.... 200-300 lbs be nice (not expensive). Then, ACTUAL, PER ACRE RATE ON P&K (so, ACTUAL means what you ACTUALLY are putting down.... if you have 100 lbs of 6-24-24.... That means you are actually putting down 6 lbs N, 24 lbs P and 24 lbs K per 100 lbs). BALLPARK, ACTUAL that actually gets in, I'd want about 50 lbs P and 50 lbs K. Be fine with that. You likely can get away with less BUT it's not like you're doing 10 acres or something, I'm guessing it's smaller amount so cost at least isn't as bad. You can mix your clover with your P&K and lime and spread all at once.

My clover plot is 1acre and surrounded by cedars in CRP grass, I plan to add 1acre of soybeans and 1/2 acre of brassicas this year. So 200-300lb of pelletized Lime and 100lb of 6-24-24 now or wait for thaw?
 
My clover plot is 1acre and surrounded by cedars in CRP grass, I plan to add 1acre of soybeans and 1/2 acre of brassicas this year. So 200-300lb of pelletized Lime and 100lb of 6-24-24 now or wait for thaw?

If you've got a 1-ac clover field already established, I'd wait until thaw and get soil samples and then apply what you need based on those results.

But if you're thinking of establishing a 1-ac clover field, with the 1-ac bean field, and 1/2-ac brassica right nearby, my advice would be to skip the beans and either go all-clover or split it between brassica & the Doubletree rye mix. Reason being that if you have any kind of decent deer density, a 1-ac bean field is never going to amount to anything. Deer will eat them just as fast as they try to grow. Only way around that is if you plan to put electric fencing around it. As said, I'd skip the beans and just plan to establish half in rye mix and other half in brassica this summer.
 
If you've got a 1-ac clover field already established, I'd wait until thaw and get soil samples and then apply what you need based on those results.

But if you're thinking of establishing a 1-ac clover field, with the 1-ac bean field, and 1/2-ac brassica right nearby, my advice would be to skip the beans and either go all-clover or split it between brassica & the Doubletree rye mix. Reason being that if you have any kind of decent deer density, a 1-ac bean field is never going to amount to anything. Deer will eat them just as fast as they try to grow. Only way around that is if you plan to put electric fencing around it. As said, I'd skip the beans and just plan to establish half in rye mix and other half in brassica this summer.

As Magnus said, a 1 acre bean plot is not going to last. But...you could plant beans this spring knowing that they are going to get decimated while still green and then plant the Dbltree rye mix in early September on that 1 acre.

I have done something similar a couple of times with fair to good success. But again, no way does that 1 acre of beans, unfenced at least, last past even probably August.

Also, you could lime now no matter what you are going to do and I don't think you can hurt your cause.
 
Hans1- what model of Billion seeder do you use??? What seeds do you plant in it?? Thanks

Finished all my frost seeding project just before this snow. The model I have is the SS-8. It is an 8 foot 3 point with the large and small seed boxes really great tool for all the small seed.
 
Top Bottom