It’s Time to Frost Seed!

By Victor Shelton

February is quite often a good month to catch up on work, at least it is for me.  I’m finally used to the cold by now and unless it’s snowing or some other form of frozen precipitation, or too windy, I’m probably going to be outside working on something.  The wind is the main deterrent for me, and my dog sidekick will agree.  An uncle of mine used to say, “Wind can ruin the best of any day,” and he was right – it can make any day dustier, colder or it can just be annoying.

Yes, it’s time to get any frost-seeding done!

In February, the ground “usually” isn’t frozen that deep, if at all, and therefore makes it a good time to build or repair fence.  Posts drive into the ground quite nicely and you don’t have to fight as much vegetation putting up wire.

I find this to be a good time to spend checking fence lines, trimming limbs back as needed and finishing sawing up any trees or limbs that fell during summer storms.  That seems to be a job that never quite gets finished.  I also find that it is a good time, if I can force myself to do it, to cut and remove any woody and or briars from fence rows.  Doing so makes it a lot easier to gain control over them once the growing season is here.  If the dead growth is removed, it is a lot easier to tackle any new shoots later.

It is also the time frame for frost-seeding clover onto fields that need it.  If you paid attention during the last season, you should know what fields are lacking sufficient legume.  I like to see at least thirty percent of the stand being legumes.  Legumes, such as clover, increase the quality of a pasture and can also fix nitrogen to help the grass component of the pasture.  When fertilizer is expensive, you want as much natural nitrogen produced as possible.

Red and white clover both are fairly easy to frost-seed this time of year and generally that is the least expensive way to enhance legumes in the pasture.  It is basically the process of broadcasting the legume seed onto the soil’s surface during the winter dormant months.  I usually say the ideal time is somewhere between Christmas and Valentine’s Day, but it’s usually a little bit longer than that.

Occasionally in the southern portion of the state we are a little more limited with the most ideal conditions to really “frost” seed – that is not the case this year.  Frost seeding relies on the freezing-thawing action of the soil, which is honeycombing of the soil’s surface with ice crystals.  This causes the soil’s surface to expand and contract, thus allowing the small seed to find a route into the ground.  It is important that the seed have good seed-to-soil contact.

When I really have my choosing, I’ll wait until there is a light snow on the ground and then do the sowing.  The snow serves two good purposes.  One, it helps “catch” the seed and transport it to the ground and two, it serves as a great marker for the tractor or ATV.

It is best to plan ahead if you decide to frost-seed.  You may have wanted to graze the pasture down a little shorter than normal to reduce competition and help that seed find its way to the soil easier.  If the field is being stockpiled, you can either wait until after it is grazed or broadcast it just prior to grazing and let the seed be “hoofed” in.  If there is too much cover then it makes it hard for the seed to reach the soil and also makes it less likely to thrive.

I usually recommend slightly higher seeding rates for frost seeding than for conventional seeding.  White clovers can be seeded at 1-1.5 lbs. per acre, remembering that it is a much smaller seed than red clover and will be around longer.  You can get it on too thick and yes, I know, it’s hard to seed that small amount!  I’ve found that mixing it with another seed as a carrier is good.  A little Coke or any soda pop (whichever you might have on hand, but not diet in any case) mixed in with it to get a little sticking action going also really helps.  You can also mix the seed in with fertilizer or some pelletized lime, but spread immediately – don’t let it sit, especially with much nitrogen.  Red clover should be seeded at 6-8 lbs. per acre; birdsfoot trefoil at 5 lbs. per acre and common lespedeza with hulled seed at 10 lbs. per acre.

All legumes should be inoculated with the appropriate inoculants (rhizobia) for that species to insure proper bacteria, good germination and growth.  Coated seed, when available, can solve lots of problems including seed size, the inoculants and it can even help the pH for the seedling.  Coated seed should be used the same year that it is purchased, mainly due to the inoculant – it has a shorter storage life.

I think the main points for a successful frost seeding of legumes are grazing the pasture down before seeding to lower the amount of litter and spring competition, seeding during freezing and thawing conditions to help move the seed down into the soil, and then keeping the grass growth under control during early spring to give the seedlings plenty of sun and a fighting chance to survive.

If you do plan to do any frost-seeding or any seeding in the next few months, it might be a good idea to check with your seed dealer and get your order in.  Several species are in short supply and prices have increased in a lot of cases also.  Multiple bad production years in a row out west where most of it is grown, coupled with inflation, higher packaging expenses and more costly shipping are the main reasons.  Knowing exactly where you need to add more legumes and only adding where needed this year may be important to your pocketbook.

February is one of my biggest reading months of the year.  Now don’t get me wrong, I read a little almost every day, but some months just lend themselves as being more primed for reading than others.  I tend to spend more time reading during the winter months and can easily find myself losing track of time.  There are usually several books and magazines covering the small table by my easy chair which I find to be the best way to keep up to date with all the latest in grazing management.  I can stay awake a long time reading, but I can’t stay awake more than ten minutes into a TV show and often hear my wife say, “you awake?”  I do believe it is only the subject matter.

The way we now receive information and news has sprinted fast ahead into almost instant information right at our fingertips.  The biggest problem with this growing and huge amount of accessible information is, “what can you believe?”  I find myself spending time explaining why something that was found on the internet somewhere else in the country or world, won’t work here.  Just because it was successful in New Zealand, doesn’t mean it will work the same here!  You must consider soils, climate and a host of other things.

Social media can be “interesting” to read, but it is harder to decipher or separate out fluff or bovine dung from the truth.  If something is printed in a book or magazine it is at least a little more likely to be trusted, but not always.  I generally read material from well-known authors that I know have done the walk or the research.  If it is backed with a white paper, it is generally more persuasive and believable.  Though I do read quite a few of those research papers, a book based on that information is usually a better read and certainly more relaxing.

I always encourage producers to keep learning – reading, observing, and asking why to both positive and negative things.  Inquisitive minds want to know – just always remember to verify the source and take it all with a grain of salt!

Remember, it’s not about maximizing a grazing event, but maximizing a grazing season!  Keep on grazing!