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West Central Illinois | Here in western IL we've been in some form of D1 or D2 drought continuously since September of last year. We are very dry for this time of year we never really had any softness to the ground when it warmed up. I typically frost seed 1/3 of my acres every year on a 3 year cycle with red clover. My question is, should I just do it now and hope for the best? Or should I wait until closer to greenup so the seed doesn't have to sit on top of the ground as long? I plan on dragging all my pasture in the next few weeks with a chain harrow. Will that help get the seed at least through the grass to at least contacting the ground? I would say I have at least 3 or 4" of residual stockpile fescue everywhere. Drilling won't be an option for me the only no till drill I could access would be the NRCS drill that's only 7' and I don't have a few days to spare to run that little drill over that many acres.
Also I typically shoot for 7 lb per acre of red clover in a normal year with good frost seeding conditions. How much should I bump the rate up to account for the seed that doesn't get good soil contact? | |
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Frost Seeding Red Clover without Frost
