FROST SEEDING?

Yes, before we left for vacation i had just enough time to frost seed the pasture.  I've been wanting to do this for years just never had the couple hundred dollars to buy the seed in the winter since most of my income for the farm comes from the farmer's market - which is in the summer.

Frost seeding involves the hand spreading of grass or pasture seed in the early, early spring when there is still snow on the ground but the days get a little warmer, things melt and then the nights are still cold and freeze.  This concept is that you don;t have to prep the ground like normally, but the constant freezing and thawing allows the seed to get deep down int he ground on its own and be ready to burst into life when the sun starts shinin'!

I found the money this year to buy the seed and it has been perfect weather to do this.  SO i traipsed (i notice i use that word a lot lately) out to the pasture and started spreading the seed.  The horses are so cute they always are so curious when i go out there, i think they think that it may be time to go to pasture and eat grass!  Not yet, my friends!

One thing handy about sleds is that they are REALLY handy in the winter when you gotta move things around - like manure or 50 lb bags of seed.

Here's how ya do it!

1. Take the sled and fill with bag of seed

2. Take the spreader and spread over the snow as far as the seed will go, for me this was almost the whole pasture. But i thought this was ok, since i haven't tried this before i can see how well it really works when summer comes and i see all the new green grass growing where i frost seeded.

3. move down the fence line and keep going.  Waling through even two feet of snow is some places, at first dragging the sled behind you.  Then realizing you don;t have to drag the sled all the time because you can leave it one place and just go back for more seed when the spreader runs out.








4. When done, be grateful that your horses will have a better pasture come summer and be grateful that you have just burned off 700 calories by walking several miles in deep snow (sometimes dragging 50 lbs behind you).  Again - see why farmer's don't need gyms?