The Fields Are Calling Him!

The time has almost come for my husband to be back in the fields. Once the end of March rolls around (usually) he will be out in the wee morning hours, frost seeding fields with Red Clover, using his Quad.

Frost seeding is quite the process to get all ready, but once the quad and seed are ready to go, the seeding itself is quite quick. The seed spreader spreads 28 feet and is able to spread 1 bag of seed every 6-8 acres, which takes him roughly 25 minutes to do.

In early spring when the weather is still cold enough to frost at night, but warm enough to thaw during the day, is best for frost seeding (hence where it gets its name 'frost' seeding) because when the seed is spread onto the cold ground it helps the seed fall into the cracks, and when thaw comes around, the seed then is able to germinate as the ground has now absorbed the seed, covering it.

Red clover is great for our soil. It is not only a great ground cover, but it takes Nitrogen (N) from the air and puts it in the soil, which then in turns saves the farmer money or gives the farmer $35 - $70 worth of Nitrogen, which in turn saves the farmer from having to purchase Nitrogen for his corn crop the following year.

So far he has over 1000 acres to seed, and will usually get a lot more. We usually get calls the beginning of March, but because it has been so warm early this year, he has already had the early birds calling, and will be starting within the next week , so we are trying to spend as much time with him as we can, before he starts his 16-18 hour days.

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