I know frost seeding is traditionally done in the early spring, but has anyone done it like now? In NW IL we're having a winter heat wave. Weather is upper 30's to mid 40's w/ a bit of rain. The top inch or 2 of soil has thawed out. Could I seed now and just let the seeds sit dormant until spring or should I wait?
Frost seeding is most effectively done in the Upper Midwest from late January to mid March. When one puts seed down this time of year it's best to be called dormant seeding. Native grasses, clovers and some grasses can be frost seeded now but i'd want the ground to be less slopped and i'd also only do it in an area where there is very little chance of an extended period of warm weather. A number of years ago i helped a client frost seed 50 acres. The problem was spring came earlier than normal in Wisconsin. But, with most wildlife, pasture and grazing seeds, one only needs 1 or 2 pounding rains to do the trick. I also have had clients manure seed..... I have also had people airplane seed.... I have also broadcast seeded and ran animals through the pasture when the ground was slightly soft and let them help incorporate it from hoof traffic. This isn't ideal because of compaction issues but it's been done before.
^ Still patting yourself on the back and giving info that don't pertain to the original message. Typical though.
i come on sites posting science and accurate information.. not ditties like oxides are more available than sulfates...etc etc...i do recall sitting in a meeting where mr orange tried enlightening the audience with that dittie... So, your problem is what specifically?
Problem is you pat yourself on the back each time you oost. How does letting cows out in the pasture pertain to a guy asking about frost seeding a food plot? Not saying you got bad info as you know your stuff. But you got to sift through a half of page of "my client this, on a grazing program that, on a pasture this or on this farm back in 1999" You didn't last too long after being called out on qdma forums I see against some of the big names.
Well for right or wrong, I seeded down about 2 acres on Saturday. The big-n-beasty plots I planted looked like cattle yards and were worked up to bare mud. Should have very good seed to soil contact. Temps in NW IL are flirting w/ 70*. Hoping the clover comes up nice and gives them something to munch on for the spring/summer.
The best time to frost seed is once your temperatures go above freezing in the daytime and below freezing at night. I just made a video explaining this today as I Frost seeded a clover plot today. I am currently uploading it to you tube and it should be ready in a couple hours. It's an 8 minute video explaining how to frost seed and then I actually frost seed a plot.
We've had a foot+ of snow on the ground since Jan up until a week ago. I'm frost seeding Saturday or Sunday. Like WLM said, it's good to have temps above freezing during the day, and below freezing at night. Around here, that means your window closes around mid April. This year, I bet you will have a little longer.
Look at your 2 week forcast. If the temp is going to dip below freezing then the frost seeding will still work good. If the temp is staying above freezing then you are just broadcasting seed into a field (likely for the birds). You need that frost/thaw action to work the seed in naturally.
Yeah, the extended forecast here is perfect. We finally got the warm days we needed to melt off the snow in my highest plot, so that's getting frost seeded soon. With those temps, you're good to go.
My frost seeding is all done. Even got a slight rain the other night to push them seeds in. Now I sit and wait for warm temps.
Did a small section today. Had far more leaf coverage than I anticipated and didn't come prepared. Decided to frost seed about 1/2 of the area I wanted to.
If you missed the "traditional" frost seeding time frame, don't worry. You can still establish a great plot using the early spring rains to push in the seed.
