Frost Seeding the Pastures

Frost seeding pastures utilizes the power of Mother Nature to plant new seeds across our fields. The weather in February was just about ideal for frost seeding: a couple of inches of fluffy snow (so I could see my tire tracks and have a line to follow for even seed distribution), not too cold (for driver comfort), a gradual thaw without rain ( as the snow slowly melts it carries the seeds down into the soil), followed by a couple of days of freezing and thawing (to cause the soil to heave and move, thereby increasing seed to soil contact). Our frost seeding set-up is quite basic. From left to right and top to bottom: homemade rack that fits on the back of the ATV, wiring to the ATV battery to supply power to the seed spinner, seed spreader on back of ATV, 50# of seed in the hopper, a close up of the seed-the bigger grains are rye and the small round ones are clover, little craters in the snow where the seeds landed.

was just about ideal for frost seeding: a couple of inches of fluffy snow (so I could see my tire tracks and have a line to follow for even seed distribution), not too cold (for driver comfort), a gradual thaw without rain ( as the snow slowly melts it carries the seeds down into the soil), followed by a couple of days of freezing and thawing (to cause the soil to heave and move, thereby increasing seed to soil contact). Our frost seeding set-up is quite basic. From left to right and top to bottom: homemade rack that fits on the back of the ATV, wiring to the ATV battery to supply power to the seed spinner, seed spreader on back of ATV, 50# of seed in the hopper, a close up of the seed-the bigger grains are rye and the small round ones are clover, little craters in the snow where the seeds landed. Below the photos is a video of me spreading the seed in the sheep pasture