Fall seeding — a great time to get a head start on next year
By Contributor
This is a great time of year to do some seeding.
When doing late fall seeding it is best to try and wait until just before the snow comes.
You don’t want the seed to germinate right before winter as it will die and you don’t want the birds to eat your seed off the ground. Select which area you want to seed and take into account what you want to use that piece of ground for. Lawns require a very different seed mix than a pasture.
You can also use different seed mixes depending on if you are seeding an area that will be used for grazing as opposed to an area that is just for enjoyment. If an area is not going to be grazed you may want a seed mix of low growing grasses to help lower your fire risk. A well established stand of grass is a good way to prevent invasive plants from taking hold. If you have any bare ground or any disturbed soil this is a great time to put some seed down.
You can lightly rake it in but if you don’t have time for raking don’t worry about it. When the snow melts in the spring it will push the seed down a bit. Depending on where you are seeding you may also want to consider planting some native wildflowers. Native wildflowers require no maintenance and they use less water than most horticultural flowers. Native pollinators also do better when they have a good selection of native flowers in the ecosystem.
Beware of wildflower seed mixes as they contain non native species and can become invasive. Wildflower does not equal native. You can collect your own native flower seeds or you can buy them. When buying flower seeds it is best to buy single species packages as they are less likely to be contaminated with invasive plant seeds.
We have some information on seeding on our website www.boundaryinvasives.com.
You can also contact us at boundaryinvasives@gmail.com, 250-446-2232 and on Facebook
Jen Haynes is the Education Coordinator for the Boundary Invasive Species Society. She can be reached at the office 250-446-2232.
