Planted winter rye

[catskillkid]

    Since all the turnips have been devoured in one of my main plots, I decided to plant rye this past weekend. The ground turned over easily, no frost. I'm not sure if was too early to plant or if the seeds will even germinate. I'll just turn it over again in August for the nitrogen before the turnips get planted again. Does anyone have any idea if this planting will grow if planted this early?

[SplitG2]

you can plant in the spring but not ideal.  it just wont grow as well. 

[dmandoes]

why plant rye?  the deer only like it when its young and tender.  give them something to grow big antlers all summer.  i love rye in the fall and winter as long as it not planted to early.  rye is great at germinating  at low  temps, you shouldn't have any problem with it growing.    

[catskillkid]

It's an attempt to build up the soil when not producing turnips. I'll turn under the rye in August. I'm sure the deer & turkeys will benefit from the rye until then. The field will grow two crops in one year. I guess it can't hurt to try.

[bigpaul]

I planted mine back in September and the deer have been using it all winter.  It's really greening up now.  I planted it for the same reason, ground nutrients.  Good luck!

[catskillkid]

Hey Bigpaul

Where are you in Delaware County?

[sailinghudson25]

Rye roots deep to bring nutrients up and help break soil down deep. Great for choking out weeds too.

Buckwheat is a good summer forage and weed killer as well as red clover.

You have a good mower deck?

[tuckersdaddy]

it's worth trying... not a bad combo. with this odd weather you may be just fine... and early green feed gets them started early in your plots.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[catskillkid]

Rye roots deep to bring nutrients up and help break soil down deep. Great for choking out weeds too.

Buckwheat is a good summer forage and weed killer as well as red clover.

You have a good mower deck?

[catskillkid]

Yes, have a rotary mower. I can cut the rye if it gets out of control

[Ford]

I use winter rye a lot, but plant it in the fall. The deer keep it mowed down in the early fall/winter.

 

Once spring hits, it grows rapidly, and either the deer cant keep up with it, or it is not a prefered food in spring, I dont know.

[G-Man]

A little early,ground is pretty cold, unless it's in full sun and spring stays dry, it may rot. You could of over seeded the turnips in the fall in mid to late sept.. giving the plot a double draw in fall, the surviving plants would of brought turkey in in the spring, while providing biomass when plowed under for this year's crop of brassica..

[catskillkid]

I thought it was too early to plant but I was not able to get to the camp for another 2 or 3 weeks. The field does face south so it gets fun sun all day long. I'll just cross my fingers.

[Berniez]

If you are going to plant rye in the spring use a spring variety such as Gazelle or Common and NOT a winter variety (which should be planted in September),   FY:I try a triticale/field pea mix or a spring barley (this can be planted now as barley germinates at 40 degrees and ignores frost).  Triticale/pea an be planted in a couple of weeks.  That draws in many deer in june July august and adds lots of nitrogen and has a high Protein content.  Then in September plow under and get you other stuff in. IF you overseed with Clover when planting in the spring..... you only have to do it once and have a great green crop for the fall..

good luck and let us know how you did

[catskillkid]

I checked on my early spring rye planting this weekend. I guess with the recent warmer weather the rye is now germinating nicely. It's up 3 - 4 inches. It's fun to experiment.