Questions about Growing Winter Rye

[N1ST]

I think I want to grow winter rye this fall, but it's new to me. The local Agway sells it. Is this a grain or a grass? I understand it can be cut at about 12-16" and tilled under to improve the soil. If it's a grass, can it also be used as hay for animal feed? If it's a grain, can it could be used as human food (cereal, bread making, etc.)? Any info you can share about this would be appreciated.

 

[Podunkadunk]

I plant it for the horses and deer during the winter months. I plant rye grass. There is also plain rye, or cereal rye which is a grain crop, but I've never planted it before.

Easy to do. It'll almost grow on concrete. You can till, but don't have to really break it up much...just enough to expose some dirt. Add some 13-13-13 in with it and scatter. No need to cover up. It'll come up quick. Plant when still warm, before you're already having cold snaps.

I don't know why you COULDN'T bale rye grass...the only problem I can see is how would it ever dry out after fluffed and before baling, I mean it being winter and all, not a lot of good hot sunshine, etc....

A lot of farmers plant rye grass around here in their fields in the winter. It helps alleviate erosion of an open field and it also replaces nitrogen in the soil.

Podunk

 

[Bird]

When I was just a kid, my dad used to disc an area and sow rye grass and vetch seed for winter pasture for our milk cow and my horse. The vetch blossoms also provided winter food for our honey bee hives.

I've not personally known of anyone harvesting rye for the grain, but I've known lots of folks who used it for pasture, and I'm among those who cut and baled a lot of it for hay in more recent years.

 

[EddieWalker]

Don't know about your part of the world, but here in East Texas, we spred rye grass out in our bermuda grass just after Holloween so that we can have green lawns all winter long. Just toss it out and it will grow.

I've heard that people who raise cattle have to be careful about letting their cows get into it, since they will eat too much and it will kill them. Something about digesting it, but except for seeing dozens of dead cows on the news and them saying it was from the rye grass, I don't know any more then that. I've tried it in food plots, but never seen anything eat it. Again, that might be a local thing.

For winter food plots, winter wheat is supposed to be good. My goal it to try it this year and then plow it in before plainting cow peas in the spring.

Eddie

 

[Bird]

Eddie, I had neighbors who sowed winter wheat or winter rye for pasture just depending on which seed was cheapest at the time. As for killing cattle, I think the only problem would be the same as with Johnson Grass. You know we used a lot of Johnson Grass hay and we had cattle grazing on Johnson Grass, but if the cattle were not accustomed to it and happened to get into it when it was pollenating, it could bloat and kill them. I don't recall hearing of rye hurting any cattle, but would guess if it happened, it was pollen that caused gas and bloating.

 

[TedLaRue]

N1ST,

I'm in northern WV which is south of you, but we're only at most one plant-hardiness zone different from you. What we call "winter rye" is generally used as a cover crop. It is a cereal rye, not a grass, and it will produce grain if you let it mature.

I plant Wheeler Rye (one of the winter ryes) as a cover crop in my vegetable gardens in the fall. By early March it is usually only a few inches tall, but when it's time to plow it's usually 12" to 15" tall.

I once let a small section of it mature, and it did produce grain which was quite tasty. I ate quite a bit of it just shaking it out in my hand every time I passed by, but it was more like a casual treat than "human consumption".

The cereal ryes supposedly have an allelopathic property which suppresses weeds. I'm a believer in that because last fall I didn't manage to get the rye sowed, and I was fighting weeds all this spring.

Of course if you till it in, it improves the soil.

One negative thing about it is that it keeps your soil damp/wet and probably cool in the spring. Wet soil could delay plowing. Cool soil isn't good for seed germination. I usually try to mow off the rye a few days before I want to plow to let the soil dry out.

As others have said, it's easy to grow. I usually till lightly in the fall, and then I spread the rye, but sometimes I just spread it without prior tilling. Rye will germinate at only a few degrees above freezing, but one extension-service website recommends sowing by October 1st in north-east USA.

Overall, I think the positives outweigh the negatives as far as using it for a cover crop.

This website lists a lot of forage and cover crops with information about them (this is a commercial website but has useful information).

The "Cover Crop Database" also has a lot of information (non-commercial .edu site).

 

[Egon]

I plant winter rye all the time on the Play Farm. It does act as good deer feed. In the fall and early winter they will grazed it down to ground level. As it grows next spring they again graze it down and then move on. The rye recovers and grows into a cereal crop which I work under to increase the ground tilth. I have no means of harvesting other than a scythe.

There may come a day when just enough gets harvested so I can grind some flour for bread!

 

[charlz]

There are two general types of rye grass: perennial rye grass and annual rye grass. Perennial rye grass is what you would find in lawns and annual is what you use for a cover crop. With 'improved' varieties that line is getting grayed out but pick the right one for what you want to do.

 

[Charlesaf3]

I plant annual rye for green mulch up here with good results. Looks like grass the way I treat it - mow occasionally, and then till under. Stops erosion and the weeds getting in as well.

I pay $1.02 a pound for 50 pound bags - how bad a price is that, anyone know?

 

[Podunkadunk]

I plant annual rye for green mulch up here with good results. Looks like grass the way I treat it - mow occasionally, and then till under. Stops erosion and the weeds getting in as well.

I pay $1.02 a pound for 50 pound bags - how bad a price is that, anyone know?

I paid roughly 38.00 bucks a bag (50lb) last September for annual rye. That included tax. The stuff I got was harvested in Oregon. I'm wondering how much it's gone up since I bought last year. It's the fertilizer that has skyrocketed!

Podunk

 

[Charlesaf3]

Hmm. When you consider how much extra we usually pay for everything in Mass, I guess I'm not getting hit that bad. Our stuff comes out of oregon also - seems like all grass does. They don't have much of an irrigation issue out there I'm thinking!

And yeah, fertilizers up, diesel for shipping is up, diesel for tractors is up... So makes sense ag stuff will be up.

 

[Bird]

Our stuff comes out of oregon also - seems like all grass does.

In August, 1991, we were gradually coming south from Alaska, living at that time in a 32' fifth-wheel travel trailer. I saw in the local news that the grass seed producers usually burned off the fields after the harvest to get rid of any weed seed, but that they were in the process of changing to new methods because of the air pollution (smoke) that the burning caused. We stopped for a few days at an RV park that was out in the country and surrounding by farm land. I had just washed the truck and trailer, so they were nice and clean, and the weather was such that we could have had the windows open. No such luck. They were using the new method, which was a vacuum machine with a big enclosed trailer behind a tractor. And you could barely see that trailer for the cloud of dust all around it. We had to keep our windows closed and within an hour or so had a thick layer of dust on the truck and trailer. Couldn't blame the farmer, of course, but if we'd have known, we sure would not have stopped there.

 

[Highbeam]

Perennial ryegrass is all I plant these days. This makes a nice dark lawn and most importantly the wetland guys tell me that this is the one grass that is not a "wetland indicator". I had planted plain old K31 tall fescue for the wildlife and it turns out that I created a wetland by doing it. "Till that under and plant rye".

 

[N1ST]

Thanks for all the information guys. The ucdavis web site is a good source of information. The Agway near me said a 56 lb bag of winter rye is $17. I'll believe it when they have it in, in August.

I have a hand spreader. It's bigger than the kind you hold with one hand. It has a strap that goes around your shoulder and it holds about 20 lbs of seed. So I plan to spread the rye with that, then drag something behind my tractor. What do folks use for a drag? ...would a piece of 6ft x 6ft chainlink work or should I go bigger?

About cutting.... I have nothing that will do that, so what can you suggest for a scythe? Is there a size or type that's best? What price should I expect to pay?

Once it's cut, how about bailers? Are there small bailers available for 25 hp tractors, that aren't junk? The size of the bale isn't an issue for me. Is there an alternative to a bailer? ...I suspect a bailer isn't cheap.

 

[Charlesaf3]

$17!!

Please find out if true, I'd swing by Enfield next time I'm driving to NYC.

I seeded it with a walk behind plastic rotary spreader - I'd think that would be easier?

Are you looking to cut it as cover crop, or for feed?

 

[Egon]

[so what can you suggest for a scythe? Is there a size or type that's best? What price should I expect to pay?

/QUOTE]

You realize these are hand operated cutting implements?

Mine cost about $150 for the snath and a grain blade. There are different blades for different cuttings.

 

[MrWoodChips]

I've heard that people who raise cattle have to be careful about letting their cows get into it, since they will eat too much and it will kill them. Something about digesting it, but except for seeing dozens of dead cows on the news and them saying it was from the rye grass, I don't know any more then that. I've tried it in food plots, but never seen anything eat it. Again, that might be a local thing.

The cause of deaths from rye might possibly be ergot. Its a fungus that can grow in rye. I've read that it may even have been to blame for the Salem witch trials.

Ergot of Rye: History

John

 

[TedLaRue]

The Agway near me said a 56 lb bag of winter rye is $17. I'll believe it when they have it in, in August.

I paid $40 something for 50 lbs which is close to what others have posted, but more than twice what you say they offered? There's probably some miscommunication going on.... And isn't 56 lbs an unusual weight (it's close to 25 kilograms, but...)?

I have a hand spreader....it holds about 20 lbs of seed. So I plan to spread the rye with that, then drag something behind my tractor.

I'm assuming you have a fairly small area to cover. You'll probably be inclined to put a lot more seed on than is recommended (I know I am). If you follow the recommended seeding rate (from ag extension service websites), the 20 lbs of seed in your spreader should cover an area approximately 75 feet by 75 feet if you broadcast it (I did the math). If you rake it in, you can use even less seed.

Here's an example:
Determine the length and width of your garden in feet and multiply them to get the area in square feet.

Multiply that number by 0.00344.

The result is the number of pounds of seed you need to cover your garden.

I think you'd be better off broadcasting the seed with your hand spreader and leaving it alone. If you try to rake it in with your tractor you'll be driving over the seed, compacting the soil where the tire tracks are, and then trying to rake that in. I think you'd be better off tilling first (to loosen up the surface) and then broadcasting the seed and leaving it alone.

About cutting.... I have nothing that will do that, so what can you suggest for a scythe?

I'm still not sure whether you want this to be a cover crop or an actual crop. If you are only trying to suppress weeds and improve the soil, just mow it off with your mower. If it's tall, you may have to go over it more than once, but it'll be mulched up and easier to plow/till into the soil. And it's a whole lot easier than swinging a scythe.

If you want the grain, Egon gave you a good answer about the scythe. No carbon footprint and good exercise to boot!

 

[Egon]

One bushel of rye weighs in at 56 pounds.

My mention of a scythe was sorta tongue in cheek! It is hard work.

 

[LoneCowboy]

You guys need to find a new seed dealer.
Annual rye is UP to $14/50lbs (28 cents a pound) here this year, last year it was $12. Annual rye is literally the cheapest grass seed you can throw.

Ted is right on, it's a nice cover crop, it comes up very fast (7 days germination) and helps hold the ground in place. If you plow it under, ti's a nice green manure crop.

You sow it in the fall, it takes hold, grows a few inches, winter comes, but the ground doesn't blow away. Then in the spring it explodes. (literally, like to 12-18inches in a few weeks). Rye is a cool season grass, once it gets hot (90's) it goes dormant, but it's still alive. Annual rye will typically dye all the way back, but perienial rye will stay around (dormant though)

I've also throw lots of Triticale. it's a rye/wheat mix and it works a little better esp with some heat. But again, it's mostly just a cover crop. Triticale runs about $18/50lbs.

And yeah, Rye surpresses it's competitors, so you'll end up with a lot of rye.