frost seeding clover

just a reminder

March is a great time to frost seed clover into existing plots that are in need of some tlc. Usually mid to late march is the best time for this. Use 1/2 of your normal seeding rate and you will be rewarded with a nice stand of clover shortly after green up

So Bob,.. Help me out on this. Are you broadcasting over existing clover – or are you drilling it in?
If the clover is 2 or 3 years old, is it worth it, or should I just replant totally?
I have been replanting after a max of 3 years, depending on how thin it is. …Just wondering if this might be better.
Thanks.

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So Bob,.. Help me out on this. Are you broadcasting over existing clover – or are you drilling it in?
If the clover is 2 or 3 years old, is it worth it, or should I just replant totally?
I have been replanting after a max of 3 years, depending on how thin it is. …Just wondering if this might be better.
Thanks.

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Using this method of broadcasting clover seed during the melt / thaw cycles that we have in the spring works very well in thinning clover plots. we can usually expect 5-6 years between a total replant. one thing that we do is to completely kill the clover and weeds in the late summer /fall and then go in in march and broadcast clover seed at full rates right on top of the dead grass and clover. the results are amazing

Splitshot – Until this year, I actually waited until the 3rd year to frost seed because the 2nd year was when I had the best/fullest stand. We were able to maintain 5yrs of full thick clover in our good plots by frost seeding on yr 3 and 5 and we never tried past that as we tilled it up yr 6-7 and made a change to beans. Nevertheless, if you can control the weeds, and keep nutrients in the soil, there is no reason you should have to do a total kill for many years. But, as Bob said, weeds may overtake so this year I am actually going to try the diluted Glyphosate method to see how it does.

With Frost Seeding no drilling necessary, the frost/thaw cycle will work it into the ground for you.

I tried something else a little different this year and we will see what happens. We had a bean plot in the CWD zone that we are changing over to clover and we didnt want to deal with it this year so we frost seeded it out at regular rate and chopped the beans over it for additional cover also. We will see what happens. It cost me $30 total so far so not too big of a risk, but more an experiment. This plot is surrounded by Pines so it has not been a weed producer in the past otherwise I wouldnt have tried it. We shall see in a few months.

Thanks for the info. One more question on clover though. Is it worth drilling in clover seed over the top of an existing 3-4 year old plot? I know that with grass (lawn), the cutting (slit seeding) of the root system can stimulate additional growth of the existing grass root/lawn. Is this true of clover, or is it better to broadcast (frost seed) over the existing plots? …I can easily do it either way. (If I can, I’d also like to avoid premature tilling/cleaning of the field as you would with a total replant – just to save $$$/time too.)

For what it’s worth, when you are talking “clover,” are you talking the AG types of clover seed, or are you talking the genetically produced types of clover specifically designed for food plots, such as Biologic, Frigid Forage, RJ Hunt, Evolve, etc.? Would this even make a difference?

Lots of technical questions by me, but if any of you have experience with this, I appreciate your input. As you know, experimenting can be very costly

Thanks.
Splitshot

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Thanks for the info. One more question on clover though. Is it worth drilling in clover seed over the top of an existing 3-4 year old plot? I know that with grass (lawn), the cutting (slit seeding) of the root system can stimulate additional growth of the existing grass root/lawn. Is this true of clover, or is it better to broadcast (frost seed) over the existing plots? …I can easily do it either way. (If I can, I’d also like to avoid premature tilling/cleaning of the field as you would with a total replant – just to save $$$/time too.)

For what it’s worth, when you are talking “clover,” are you talking the AG types of clover seed, or are you talking the genetically produced types of clover specifically designed for food plots, such as Biologic, Frigid Forage, RJ Hunt, Evolve, etc.? Would this even make a difference?

Lots of technical questions by me, but if any of you have experience with this, I appreciate your input. As you know, experimenting can be very costly

Thanks.
Splitshot

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As far as seed goes there are many great seeds on the market. for small plots I would suggest that you buy the small bags of a good name brand Something like whitetail institute. for larger plots I buy seed in bulk from local seed dealers. I would stick with a white clover mixed with some ladino. If your plot is more than 50% grass I would do a total replant this fall. if it is less than 50% I would broadcast seed now and then in June I would spray the plot with 1 pint per acre of roundup and add about 2# per acre of clover seed at that time. the dead grass will cover and protect the seeds/ seedlings until they are strong enough to handle the elements.

Thanks for the info Bob.
My plots are small (4 areas all 1/2 acre to 1.5 acres).
Splitshot