Frost Seeding

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Winter is playing a cruel joke on most of the country, but especially in New England (maybe I feel that way because I live here). It is leaving as it came in—slowly and without a care. Sure, that was ideal on the front side of winter. But when it’s the second week of April and the thermometer doesn’t creep over the 40F mark for days on end, you can’t help but want to give winter a kick in the bum on it’s way out. Luckily, winter’s lingering helped me learn a new term: frost seeding.

You know when you take the dog out for a walk first thing in the morning and the lawn feels crunchy? That is the result of frost heaves. The top portion of the soil—somewhat warm from the day before—freezes as the temperature drops at night. The freezing causes expansion, essentially creating crevices and cracks along the ground’s surface.

How to Frost Seed

Scatter seeds on frost-heaved soil and you have something called frost seeding. The multiple days of soil expansion and contraction help to wiggle those seeds deeper into the soil. Is the ground too hard to dig a seeding trench? Well, the frost heaves will help you get those seeds into the soil.

A little bit of research about frost seeding shows me that frost seeding is popular with no-till organic farmers, since they limit the amount of digging in order to keep the soil’s biota intact. It’s also typically done for pastures and spring-planted cover crops. I’m experimenting with frost seeding this year. I cordoned off a corner of my garden plot and scattered seeds of radish, baby kale and cold-hardy lettuce over the top. We will see what emerges as the soil warms up.

Just a quick word of gentle warning: If you are obsessed with quaint and clean rows of veggies, this isn’t for you. Those crevices in the ground are in no way going to allow for a straight row. Think of what comes up as a cut-and-come-again garden salad.

Meet Ellen Wells

When you’re raised on a farm, you can’t help but know a thing or two about gardening. Ellen Wells is our expert on edible gardening.…

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