Have You Considered Frost Seeding?

by Don Baune

   Now is a perfect time to think about dormant seeding your pastures with a legume. Dormant seeding, or frost seeding, is accomplished by broadcasting seed across the frozen ground. The natural heaving of the soils in the winter works the seed into the soil. When temperatures warm up the seed will germinate and begin growing. In the past, the most prominent legume specie used in frost seeding was red clover. Grassland Oregon has introduced Frosty Berseem Clover, Fixation Balansa Clover, KY Pride Crimson Clover and AberLasting hybrid white clover that can also be sown in this manner.FIXatioN Balansa Clover is an excellent choice for incorporating into pastures. FIXatioN has shown very good performance and features crude protein levels and digestibility that exceeds that of most other legumes. While FIXatioN is an annual clover, it is capable of re-seeding itself and thus, will remain part of your pasture for years to come. FIXatioN thrives in heavy clay soils that can become waterlogged and offers the best performance of all clover species in acidic soils.