Winter Rye longevity

[coolbrze0]

How long does WR last if not sprayed w/ Gly? Does mowing it down kill it off?

 

[Creek chub]

How long does WR last if not sprayed w/ Gly? Does mowing it down kill it off?

Once it finishes setting seed, it will start dying out

 

[Chipdasqrrl]

If you wanna kill it with mowing, you’re gonna have to wait until it starts setting seed. If you mow it before that it’ll keep growing


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[Elkaddict]

Rye puts out enough biomass that removing it becomes a real pain to plant the next crop (I don’t have a no till drill). I always terminate it when it’s done it’s job of being a cover crop and is no longer being used by the deer.

 

[Creek chub]

Rye puts out enough biomass that removing it becomes a real pain to plant the next crop (I don’t have a no till drill). I always terminate it when it’s done it’s job of being a cover crop and is no longer being used by the deer.

Have you ever tried throw and mow/roll?
I had real good luck last year broadcasting buckwheat into standing winter rye then pulling a drag harrow over the plot. I got great germination

 

[X-farmerdan]

Mature rye in central Virginia, May 14, 2018 (correct).

 

[Elkaddict]

I have. However, I usually rotate to brassicas after a rye/clover fall planting which requires significant nitrogen. If I don’t disc it in, I loose too much. Because I live 3 hours away, I can’t count on spreading it before a good rain. Also, I’ve found letting the rye mature results in way too much volunteer reseeding that really competes for the nitrogen. I need significant brassica growth to get my deer through at least mid winter. If I was primarily focusing on build soils, I think throw/mow/rowing with rye, buckwheat and red clover would work well.

 

[coolbrze0]

I planted WR last Fall in 2 of my clover plots & the Rye is hammering away now, starting to shade out the clover. I've mowed it twice so far this Spring but the clover is starting to get tall enough that I don't think I can mow it again. Guess we'll see what happens...

 

[weekender21]

I’ll be interested to see how this turns out as well. WR, WW and CC visible now. There is some MRC in there too.

Planted mid September 2018; pictures taken April 30th 2019. I don’t have an option to manipulate it other than late June and possibly early September when the fall crop is planted. I’ve considered letting it go completely just to see what volunteers.

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[dogghr]

I've let my WR or WW self terminate for 10 years now , whether it be an overseeded perennial or rotational crop. Simply rotate seed into standing dead grain following fall and mow or pack. Great soil builder and weed/grass suppressor and turkey and deer love it. No need to waste time, chemical, sweat and fuel costs.

 

[Creek chub]

I’ll be interested to see how this turns out as well. WR, WW and CC visible now. There is some MRC in there too.

Planted mid September 2018; pictures taken April 30th 2019. I don’t have an option to manipulate it other than late June and possibly early September when the fall crop is planted. I’ve considered letting it go completely just to see what volunteers.

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Another option you could go with is broadcasting a summer annual like buckwheat in to your standing clover and rye in the next couple of weeks. That’d help suppress summer weeds, build soil and feed deer and turkeys

 

[weekender21]

Another option you could go with is broadcasting a summer annual like buckwheat in to your standing clover and rye in the next couple of weeks. That’d help suppress summer weeds, build soil and feed deer and turkeys

I’m planning to broadcast BW on a few other plots that are probably 50% weeds at this point. I might add some to this plot as well.


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[X-farmerdan]

I’ll be interested to see how this turns out as well. WR, WW and CC visible now. There is some MRC in there too.

Planted mid September 2018; pictures taken April 30th 2019. I don’t have an option to manipulate it other than late June and possibly early September when the fall crop is planted. I’ve considered letting it go completely just to see what volunteers.

I guess I'd be tempted to leave it alone. Do you see an issue?

 

[weekender21]

I guess I'd be tempted to leave it alone. Do you see an issue?

By leaving it alone, do you suggest not adding seed this fall? I guess one thing I'm really struggling with is trying to determine how much viable seed will come from last years planting and what I'll need to add in September. The CC, MRC and cereal grain should seed itself to a point right?

 

[X-farmerdan]

By leaving it alone, do you suggest not adding seed this fall? I guess one thing I'm really struggling with is trying to determine how much viable seed will come from last years planting and what I'll need to add in September. The CC, MRC and cereal grain should seed itself to a point right?

Oh! I was focused on the wheat and rye. I thought maybe you were concerned about it getting heavy since that was the subject of a couple of other posts made in response to the original post. I don't know your objectives for the plot, but I always over-seed. Mother Nature is grand, but she seems to have a mind of her own, and doesn't always agree to my plan!

 

[Chainsaw]

Here winter rye produces many many seeds and they germinate pretty quickly upon getting covered. Some years we have mowed after the seeds have matured and then the cycle of seeds germinating and new rye growing again begins very quickly. We used to mow sometime in very early August, mid to late July would have likely worked also. Just letting it stand we got some germination but not good enough; the birds eat a lot of it if left standing.

These days my farmer harvests the rye and or winter wheat seeds in July and plants new seeds in August; He is going for maximum weed free tonnage.

 

[dogghr]

I always spread more grain in the fall. Have never had too much reseeding previous crop. I have cut back to 25-50#/ac for nurse crops or overseeding perennials n fall. I think deer prefer WW slightly more but crop rotations easier w WR as it doesn’t tiller as much as WW thru the year. Actually I usually just do a 50/50 mix any more. Unless I was doing a summer planting I simply see no reason to terminate grain for any reason. It does the work for you. Be lazy.


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[Mennoniteman]

I always spread more grain in the fall. Have never had too much reseeding previous crop. I have cut back to 25-50#/ac for nurse crops or overseeding perennials n fall. I think deer prefer WW slightly more but crop rotations easier w WR as it doesn’t tiller as much as WW thru the year. Actually I usually just do a 50/50 mix any more. Unless I was doing a summer planting I simply see no reason to terminate grain for any reason. It does the work for you. Be lazy.


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One major advantage with fall planted cereal rye is the weed suppression. Last fall I had a plot that I divided with half brassica and half brassica with rye combo. Then the brassica only side got seeded in early spring with wheat, barley, and oats in three separate sections. The major difference by May is that the fall rye is totally weed free, while the oats, barley, and wheat is overrun with a cocktail of weeds, both sides had a weed problem that I only disked down when I planted in the fall instead of using herbicide. What I'm learning more and more is that fall rye feeds deer over winter up north, and saves herbicide use.

 

[Chainsaw]

One major advantage with fall planted cereal rye is the weed suppression. Last fall I had a plot that I divided with half brassica and half brassica with rye combo. Then the brassica only side got seeded in early spring with wheat, barley, and oats in three separate sections. The major difference by May is that the fall rye is totally weed free, while the oats, barley, and wheat is overrun with a cocktail of weeds, both sides had a weed problem that I only disked down when I planted in the fall instead of using herbicide. What I'm learning more and more is that fall rye feeds deer over winter up north, and saves herbicide use.

And hides fawns very well here come June.

 

[weekender21]

One major advantage with fall planted cereal rye is the weed suppression. Last fall I had a plot that I divided with half brassica and half brassica with rye combo. Then the brassica only side got seeded in early spring with wheat, barley, and oats in three separate sections. The major difference by May is that the fall rye is totally weed free, while the oats, barley, and wheat is overrun with a cocktail of weeds, both sides had a weed problem that I only disked down when I planted in the fall instead of using herbicide. What I'm learning more and more is that fall rye feeds deer over winter up north, and saves herbicide use.

My exact observations this year. Fall (September) cereal Rye and CC was 15-20" by May while my March planted Rye and MRC was just getting started, maybe 3-5". Almost no weed competition in my fall plot and plenty of weeds in my spring planted plot.