Early Frost Warnings

[pandiana]

In anticipation of a frost before I can get my grain silage under cover (waiting in line for custom silage and rain to stop) I am trying to look at options.
Most fields are ripe or ripening quickly, about 25 to 30 % green and very heavy (Oats have continued to grow in this cold weather and are now over 5 feet tall). I am not to worried about nitrates etc in these fields but I have one field that is very green (oats & barley) as it was planted late. Would it be better to try to swath this before frost and take your chances on the rain, or just wait and see?

[grassfarmer]

Not too sure on that Pandiana but I was interested to see the local colony swathing a canola through last night and all day today. We had 1 3/4" of rain over Wednesday night/Thursday/
Friday so the ground is really soft and the crop sodden.

[blackjack]

...hoping to get my barley swathed tomorrow but the fields are very soft down here in the Spruce View area...the frost is really hard on the quality and the test weight... don't sell barley but it is nice to have 48 lb plus...there will be a lot of swathers out on the canola this weekend as it needs 3 days before a frost in hopes of grading no 1...

[pandiana]

Of course, you are right. I should have said assuming you don't sink up to the axles getting into the field. It does dry quickly, however, if we get a couple of days. I heard someone say the long range forecast is for unsettled weather to the 15th of Sept.

[cowman]

On tv they are predicting a hard frost for the 8th (minus 9) so I guess it is pretty imperative to get that canola in the swath. Maybe if we get a hard frost the weather will clear up? That often seems to happen?
This has sure been a strange summer to say the least? Cold and damp. And yet I don't think I've ever seen things grow like they have this year? The tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries really did well this year.
We had a killing frost on May 6 so if we get a killer on September 8th that will mean we got 4 months of frost free weather! I sometimes wonder why we even try here in the darned Artic!
If you believe the old weather wives tale about snow 90 days after a heavy fog, it looks like it could be white early and often!

[farmers_son]

Since when has Environment Canada ever been able to predict a killing frost 2 days ahead much less longer term?

If I were a betting man I would lay money on the first killing frost coming around September 28, give or take a few days.

[blackjack]

...hope your right fathers_son ... have some oats that could use another couple weeks...looks like maybe environment Canada has changed their forecast for the Red Deer area... one thing about all the rain it sure beats a drought...

[cakadu]

You are so right, blackjack. It was only about a month ago that some were worried about crops filling out or growing any more because we didn't have enough precipitation. Just goes to show you that you cannot predict nor harness what mother nature will do.

Even with the rain that we have had, there is still much recharging of surface and ground water that needs to take place.

Let's hope the frost stays off the pumpkin for a while longer.

[cakadu]

Spoke too soon - they have a frost warning out for tonight for most of central Alberta.

[granfran]

With Oats how long after a frost till the nitrates will leave, green feed for cattle,We had a inch of rain first last weekend.