Cold Seeding

The overseeding of a turfgrass sward during the autumn and late winter period, typically from late October through to March, however, mid-December to mid-February would be less likely for this approach of applying the seed, unless located on the south coast of England, or where warmer winter micro-climates exist in the UK. The aim being to get the seed into the ground before really cold weather arrives, or to get it in a month or two before a typical spring overseeding, but it will vary according to location.

A suggested benefit of this approach, which is actually as a complement to the more traditional times for overseeding in the spring and end of the summer, is that seed is present, but dormant, and ready to germinate, albeit more slowly, as soon as soil temperatures are suitable and that a resident seed bank is present ready to take advantage of this. Some disadvantages of this approach are that seed rot can occur, especially on soils which retain water for any length of time during the winter period; where the seed hasn’t been adequately incorporated into the sward base and profile then this will act as feed for birds, and if less seed is available during the main overseeding periods, and assuming the same annual quantity is applied but spread over an additional one or two applications, the actual establishment and resulting benefit of increased coverage of the more desirable grass species, in competition with for example Poa annua, may not actually materialise. A grounds manager will weigh up the pros and cons for their particular site and make an informed decision as to whether this is an appropriate approach for them or not.

Where undersoil heating and also supplementary lighting is present, for example in stadium environments, then cold seeding is an approach that would be well suited to the artificially managed environmental conditions. This activity is also called Dormant Seeding.