Winter rye vs winter wheat

Creek chub

Active Member
I’ve had pretty good success with winter rye but was wondering if winter wheat is just as good for plots?
I’m pretty sure that nobody close by plants it so I’m a little concerned the deer may not flock to it like they do the rye in late winter. I’m willing to try it if others have had success though
 
I like winter wheat better than winter rye. It is very much preferred by deer in the area I live and it also has soil building properties similar to winter rye. It does not have the allelospoly or allelopoly properties of rye and it does like nitrogen... but the nitrogen is somewhat of a wash as wheat does not need fert to produce a green field during winter, just to produce large bushels of grain per acre (which rye growers don't really care about so it isn't a relevant comparison). If you are interested in summer protein you can plant an awnless variety that produces a very attractive and high protein grain in June and July. With all that said; I still have uses for rye and plant it every year, just not for attraction.
 
Dang. You sold me. I’ll give it a shot on a plot or two as a trial and see what our deer think
Most on this site will tell you rye all the way, so make sure it's an experiment to you are ok with in case it doesn't do what you want.

Do some research online. I suggest targeting non-deer plot sites to see actual studies for grazing wheat or cover cropping it.

Here is a decent read from a reliable source describing wheat.
https://www.sare.org/Learning-Cente...xt-Version/Nonlegume-Cover-Crops/Winter-Wheat

Buy certified "Awnless Wheat" seed as it's cheaper than both regular wheat and winter rye, and provides grain benefits that the other two don't. Do you have CO-OP's where you are from? I think I paid around $12/bag for it last year.

And remember; just because I'm professing it's benefits I haven't moved completely away from winter rye, it's useful also.
 
I agree w Cat. I see more attraction slightly of WW for deer. Slightly more grass and weed control w WR. If rotating w tillage I find WW tillers [its growth I speak of]more making it harder for tillage. WR tills really nice.
So what’s a person to do?? I simply mix the two and plant both together or alternate fields. For overseeding perennial plots and fall planting of wooded micro plots I use WR since it will grow anywhere.

I will say there ain’t nothing prettier than the miles of golden wheat fields in June in the great state of Kansas. With the exception of my WV mountains of course but that’s another discussion.


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Most on this site will tell you rye all the way, so make sure it's an experiment to you are ok with in case it doesn't do what you want.

Do some research online. I suggest targeting non-deer plot sites to see actual studies for grazing wheat or cover cropping it.

Here is a decent read from a reliable source describing wheat.
https://www.sare.org/Learning-Cente...xt-Version/Nonlegume-Cover-Crops/Winter-Wheat

Buy certified "Awnless Wheat" seed as it's cheaper than both regular wheat and winter rye, and provides grain benefits that the other two don't. Do you have CO-OP's where you are from? I think I paid around $12/bag for it last year.

And remember; just because I'm professing it's benefits I haven't moved completely away from winter rye, it's useful also.
We have southern states Co-op. I called a local other mill today and I think he called his ww bin run non certified seed though. I think he said about $8 a bag and local corn farmers use it after harvest
 
I agree w Cat. I see more attraction slightly of WW for deer. Slightly more grass and weed control w WR. If rotating w tillage I find WW tillers [its growth I speak of]more making it harder for tillage. WR tills really nice.
So what’s a person to do?? I simply mix the two and plant both together or alternate fields. For overseeding perennial plots and fall planting of wooded micro plots I use WR since it will grow anywhere.

I will say there ain’t nothing prettier than the miles of golden wheat fields in June in the great state of Kansas. With the exception of my WV mountains of course but that’s another discussion.


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I’m in the mountains of SW VA not too far from Roanoke. I’m assuming our soil conditions are similar. Have you tried WW in non pasture plots?
 
I’m in the mountains of SW VA not too far from Roanoke. I’m assuming our soil conditions are similar. Have you tried WW in non pasture plots?
My first plots which were WC were planted with WW in fescue fields and they performed great for years. I really didn't know what I was doing but it worked great.
 
May have misunderstood your question. In my so called kill plots off the main fields I only use WR. That is mixed w a RC and anything from winter peas and brassica all thorn in and planted early sept w few bags of lime and 19-19-19. Good luck


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I’ve planted wheat for years, even before I knew anything about soil tests, tailoring your fertilizer to the soil, etc. I always got a decent plot and it always attracted deer. I still consider it my “go to” crop for fall plots.
 
Winter rye and oats for me, along with clover and a forage radish. I might add wheat to it this year just for kicks.
We’ve never had a problem with attraction, but we fertilize everything heavily in order to compete with all of the crops around us, including many acres of winter wheat.
 
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I’m in the mountains of SW VA not too far from Roanoke. I’m assuming our soil conditions are similar. Have you tried WW in non pasture plots?
I only said to research pasture purposes due to that's primarily how a wheat plot will be used. There is also a lot of info out there on how to grow it for grain production but it's kind of irrelevant.

But, here is a field that is used as cattle pasture during the winter to reduce hay feeding. We pull the cattle in the spring in time to let it head out and produce grain, which gets bailed for the next winter's feed.
b509c2201e0a9fdbda1d7ee0824a1405.jpg


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The same plot the day I planted beans in it and how they look now. Once the bean's leafs turn yellow I'll start it all over again with overseeding wheat, clovers, brassicas, etc.

And he is right... miles of golden wheat rippling through the wind is a beautiful sight!
d58e72a1aa9c289a1736bf846aa3a5fa.jpg
3b8b6f4bd9371d643d594ef39bd1be24.jpg
6db3b7533863fe27191aed1a250ab1e4.jpg


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Winter wheat definitely the better of the two for deer. Rye is good but not like wheat. One indicator---deer won't eat rye heads but will WEAR OUT wheat once it makes seed.
 
You guys have me intrigued with this awnless wheat. Is the seed hard to come by and is it expensive?
I got mine for $17/bag from a big cover crop dealer. Green cover seed can ship a pallet pretty cheap, whether it's got one bag or 40 on it. I had my first bag of winter wheat muled up to me from Green Cover's warehouse in Nebraska. Took two guys to get it to me, and I still drove 300 miles round trip to get it. I've since sourced it and my barley closer.

If you can grow it, I'd do the legwork to find it. I can't grow it because my ground is too wet in the spring for it to survive. To get as close as possible to this, I tried awnless spring barley this year. I might get my first peak at if the deer figured out how to use it this weekend. Three weeks ago I had full seed heads, and plenty of them to know if they are going to like them.
 
You guys have me intrigued with this awnless wheat. Is the seed hard to come by and is it expensive?
Go to your local CO-OP and ask them to order you a bag. It will be cheaper than regular seed wheat as there is less demand for it. I think I paid $12 a bag last year.

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I like winter wheat better than winter rye. It is very much preferred by deer in the area I live and it also has soil building properties similar to winter rye. It does not have the allelospoly or allelopoly properties of rye and it does like nitrogen... but the nitrogen is somewhat of a wash as wheat does not need fert to produce a green field during winter, just to produce large bushels of grain per acre (which rye growers don't really care about so it isn't a relevant comparison). If you are interested in summer protein you can plant an awnless variety that produces a very attractive and high protein grain in June and July. With all that said; I still have uses for rye and plant it every year, just not for attraction.
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
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