Frost-seeding is the practice of broadcasting seeds of improved varieties of red clover, white clover, birdsfoot trefoil or some grasses in late winter across grasslands. You may need to frost seed grasses and legumes separately due to the seeds’ differing shapes. then make sure to follow these decades proven frost seeding techniques… Topic: Best Time to Plant Switchgrass: Hi Bill, I am looking to increase my bedding cover on my property by planting a 5-6 acre patch of warm season grass specifically switchgrass. Should I prepare the soil this fall by working it up in late summer and spraying for what ever weeds come up late in the year so I am broadcasting on bare dirt, or should I plant something there this year and just broad cast on top of it come Feb-March. Clover and switchgrass are two common seeds that can be successfully frost seeded. It can be seeded singly or in mixtures for warm season forage production or as a wildlife habitat planting. Equipment for frost seeding can be as little or as big as needed. All switchgrass seed has some dormant seed which if frost seeded is not a problem but sowing the seed after the weather warms up can make for erratic germination. Do you need to frost seed your food plots or grass plantings this year! Do a search for "dbltree" he has a tremendous post about switchgrass with very specific directions on approach to frost seed… When used as part of a mix, ensure that the mix consists of not less than 1.0% and not more than 50.0% of the total. Cave-n-Rock switchgrass is a perennial, warm season native grass that grows an average of 3-5 feet tall, but in some regions, can reach up to 6 feet tall at maturity. Forestburg Switchgrass is a perennial native grass that grows 3-5 feet tall. Menu. You really don't need all that much equipment to plant a successful food plot. It is most commonly found in prairie lowlands, but will grow under wide range of climatic conditions. Switchgrass Planting Instructions. Although this is the most common planting time, there are other successful planting options. Approximate seeds per lb: 259,000 Seeding Rate: Expect to apply about 8 lb per acre. Frost Seeded Switchgrass Screenings. Fall applications can include glyphosate and 2-4 D to control grasses and broadleaf weeds. It provides excellent nesting and winter cover for pheasants and other birds. It also can occur by aging seed for 1- 3 years but then the number of viable seeds per pound can begin to drop as well. Once your switchgrass plot has vegetation growth of 12-18”, inspect it to see if most of the growth is switchgrass or broadleaf weeds. If the seed won't germinate in an ideal environment like a "ragdoll," then don't expect much success when the seed is dealing with all the hazards found in a field situation. Planting times and techniques vary and range from frost seeding in late winter to no-till drilling during the early summer months. It can grow from 4’-6’ tall and is adapted to a wide range of soils and climate … You can get a mostly weed free plot if you spray 3 times this year and frost seed in a little over a year. Available bedding choices . *Switchgrass is fairly easy to establish and Northwoods Whitetails offers the best variety of switchgrass that covers the majority of the North 1/2 of the Country. The goal of frost seeding is to get seed on bare soil. This method is popular in areas where it is difficult to get a tractor to during the spring months. You can use anything from a tractor or ATV broadcaster on down to throwing out the seed by hand to distribute the seeds. Frost-seeding or no-till drilling can be done with no ground prep on sites free of other live vegetation, particularly cool season grasses which will out-compete switchgrass and hinder its establishment. Any time that you can broadcast switchgrass seeds from late September thru March onto the exposed soil, make sure not to miss out! To be successful, good seed-to-soil contact needs to be accomplished by grazing or clipping pastures close to … Other legumes, such as white clover and birdsfoot trefoil, also can be frost seeded but with less success than red clover. And the grass with the darker seed head has lots of long individual hairs like the pictures of bluestem but if course it's not bluestem. I am going to try and frost seed some switchgrass next Feb-March. I checked the ligule on the what I think is foxtail and it looks just like switch ligule photos. Grass seeds germinate and grow best if you can avoid frost. If grasshoppers become a concern, there are two main ways you can deal with the problem: Dust the switchgrass with flour. Most people would not even be aware but assume because some is growing that it all has germinated but little do they know that some seed is still dormant and most likely will not germinate until the following spring. Do you recommend frost seeding only for this product or could I see similar success by planting in the spring on a freshly worked seed bed? If it does, put animals in those areas now and allow them to graze the area closely. ... From Roundstone Native Seed you only pay for viable seed and this can be a huge difference. The timing can certainly vary year-to-year depending upon how long Old Man Winter hangs around, but as a general rule of thumb, the best time to frost seed is when there are approximately four to five expected remaining frosts. One of the key considerations involves the effects of the temperature on the seed and the newly sprouted grass plants. On the RWWP website Don has a comparison between his switchgrass blend and CIR. 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