Frost Seeding Clover In Late Winter For Home Gardens

Joe Thomas is known as one of the greatest outdoorsmen of his time and currently focuses on both big game hunting and food plot creation. This winter, he is using frost seeding techniques to establish clover in his food plots.

Frost seeding is an effective and straightforward way to disseminate clover seeds during late winter and early spring, with natural freeze/thaw cycles dispersing and working the seed into the soil, creating optimal conditions for germination and better results.

Frost Seeding Tips

Frost seeding is an effective method to fill gaps and thin spots in your food plot, providing an extended seeding window and better seed-to-soil contact than conventional tillage techniques can manage. Frosting seeding also allows for improved control against weeds by providing early cover crops and providing early protection from them. Frost seeding works especially well on sandy soil types that don’t allow conventional tilling techniques.

Frost seeding requires specific weather conditions in order to succeed; it works best when the ground experiences regular cycles of freezing nights and thawing days near the end of winter or early spring. Starting too early could leave dormant seeds vulnerable to birds eating them or washed away by melting snow; for optimal success it’s recommended starting in late February or early March depending on your climate region.

Preparation

Frost seeding clover can be an efficient and cost-effective method of creating or improving food plots without resorting to intensive tillage. This technique involves spreading clover seeds when soil temperatures have yet to warm, usually late winter or early spring when frozen soil begins to thaw during daytime temperatures; this creates soil heave which presses the seeds directly into the ground, thus improving germination while bypassing more intensive tillage practices.

Thomas suggests using this process in areas with climates characterized by cold winters. To do this, observe daily weather patterns until your soil exhibits regular patterns of freezing nights and thawing days; this helps ensure the seed remains dormant rather than being eaten up by birds or washed away by melting snow.

Frigid Forage’s Pure Trophy Clover clover blend is the ideal solution, as its seeds thrive under diverse growing conditions while offering deer an abundance of high-protein forage. This specific mixture includes Ladino, Mammoth Red, Medium Red, White Dutch and Alsike varieties; making it suitable for open fields as well as shaded areas and woodland trails.

Spreading the Seed

frost seeding is an effective method for seeding food plots in early spring. This technique spreads clover seeds over frozen soil and allows nature to work the seed into the ground as the freeze-thaw cycle does its magic.

Filling in thin or bare spots creates a thicker stand, giving weeds less opportunity to compete and providing greater chances for germination.

Joe Thomas is known for capturing large deer or filming Reel in the Outdoors episodes with ease, but this time around he took us behind-the-scenes of his southern Ohio farm to show us his low-cost planting method to create clover food plots he uses to attract trophy bucks for decades. Watch the video above and learn about it for yourself; don’t forget to grab some Pure Trophy Clover mix if you plan to create food plots of your own – its 5 different clovers offer high protein nutrition deer love!

Germination

Frost seeding requires selecting a clover blend that thrives under cool conditions, like Frigid Forage’s Pure Trophy clover mix which includes varieties that tolerate cold temperatures while flourishing under shade conditions. This mix produces lush stands of forage in Spring while supporting deer, turkeys, and other wildlife throughout Fall and Winter.

Frost seeding can be used both to establish pastures as well as create food plots in short grasses and unprepared areas. Once broadcasted, the freeze-thaw cycle buries and integrates the seeds without any need for tilling or mechanical cover cropping.

For optimal germination, growers must purchase inoculated clover seed. Inoculated seed germinates faster, spreads wider and out-competes weeds for nutrients while fixing its own nitrogen via photosynthesis – eliminating the need for heavy chemical fertilizer applications. In most parts of the country, late February or early March is considered optimal time to frost seed clover.