Anybody doing any frost seeding this month???

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Plan on frost seeding some more ladino clover up in Rockingham county. Might try some here in Harnett county. Anybody ever done frost seeding down in the sandhills area?
 

lbksmom

Banned
Yes, to existing clover plots, Feb.10 - 16 works best. I am going to experiment with a small non plot this year. Just make sure you have limed in the past year 2 ton/acre and 025-25 fertilizer. If not sure of your PH being 6 or lower don't waste your time/money. Clover ph 6.3 higher is good. I in sandhills, Candor, NC Good luck!
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I plan on frost seeding to overseed some Ladino clover. The mechanics of it dictate that the top layer of the soil must be holding moisture. When the ground is damp and we get a good freeze like we had this week, it pushes frozen soil up 2". It won't work if it's dry though, so I would suspect sandy soils won't work like our clay.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Yeah I am not going to do it. I will frost seed over the places I already have ladino clover up in Rockingham county. The deer eat it down to nothing. Can't grow anything up there for very long.
 

MikeBlan

Spike
I did a mix of turnips and clover last year. Is it worth trying to frost seed? Or should I just start over


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Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I did a mix of turnips and clover last year. Is it worth trying to frost seed? Or should I just start over


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Lots of factors in play here. Did your clover come up? Did it establish itself before being eaten or winter killed? What variety of clover did you plant? Was the ph of the soil ideal for clover?

IF..your perennial clover established itself in a dedicated plot of the proper ph, then yes, it's worth re-seeding. If any of the answers are "no", then it's best to just start from scratch rather than waste your time and money.
 

MikeBlan

Spike
Clover came up and established itself before winter. It was a ladino white Dutch mix. Never did a soil test, but limed and fertilized Pretty heavily. I thought is because I planted annuals such as turnips and kale. When those die off I’d like to get a head start for next year. I think you answered my question, I’m going to try to frost seed. Thanks eric!


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getTwisted

Ten Pointer
I'm still uneducated on frost seeding but the warm wet conditions we currently have are still good for over-seeding I assume, or should I wait to we get a could snap?
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Textbook time to frost seed is now but this warm wet weather may have ruined that window. I aerated my 2 acres up in Rockingham county and overseeded ladino and durana clover. No matter the weather using an aerator works every time.
Use and aerator and you will have good success.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'm showing no sub-freezing temps in the 14-day forecast right now, and that puts us through the first week of March. I bought the seed and some fertilizer for the clover, but we may be done with hard freezes. It takes 20's to really push the ground up. I will overseed it one way or the other.
 

getTwisted

Ten Pointer
If we seed now will it germinate in a few weeks like it normal, or is it best to wait a bit longer since our cold temps look to be leaving early?
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
If we seed now will it germinate in a few weeks like it normal, or is it best to wait a bit longer since our cold temps look to be leaving early?
February has always been the time to frost seed in NC.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Even if the weather is warm?


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Yes.... you will get some natural germination even without the frost heaving effect. The key to a good frost seed germination is overseeding where there is little thatch. If you have a thick thatch layer then you will not get a good germination rate.... that's why I aerate.
 
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