rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Others can voice their opinion, but you may as well go back to the source they always refer to: dbltree aka lickcreek aka Paul Knox
His advice was
Cereal rye is always my first choice over wheat or any other grain because it is higher in protein, requires no fertilizer, will grow on low PH soils, has alleopathic chemicals that discourage weeds, is a nitrogen scavenger and a root system that breaks up soil hardpan and improves soil.
If you want mine the wisdom of 64 pages of talk about cereal grains and cover crops go here
https://iowawhitetail.com/forum/threads/cereal-grains-and-cover-crops.15879/
Edit: Wow just noticed the photobucket crap is on dbltree threads on that site too. A real shame since he took lots of pictures with all his time to do the explanations. His tree planting thread was another good one that is getting that stuff too but has some other pics that do show.
His advice was
Cereal rye is always my first choice over wheat or any other grain because it is higher in protein, requires no fertilizer, will grow on low PH soils, has alleopathic chemicals that discourage weeds, is a nitrogen scavenger and a root system that breaks up soil hardpan and improves soil.
If you want mine the wisdom of 64 pages of talk about cereal grains and cover crops go here
https://iowawhitetail.com/forum/threads/cereal-grains-and-cover-crops.15879/
Edit: Wow just noticed the photobucket crap is on dbltree threads on that site too. A real shame since he took lots of pictures with all his time to do the explanations. His tree planting thread was another good one that is getting that stuff too but has some other pics that do show.
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Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
X2 on Winter Rye over Wheat ... so many advantages plus very inexpensive.
WR will germinate and start to green up in temps as low as 32 deg F. It is a great early spring green up when you plant in the prior fall. WR will surface germinate without any tilling, not sure about wheat.
I have WR & clover plots that are almost grass & weed free for past 2 years. Never mow or spray. All I do is spread some WE seed early September, and maybe every couple of years frost seed clover.
Nearly maintenance free.
I can't speak from experience but I've scoured over Paul's posts for years, and due to the benefits that he discusses, I've not messed with wheat. Rye is dirt cheap, it grows anywhere, and whenever I decide to break the cardinal rule of food plotting (gasp) by not getting a soil sample, i know it is going to at least grow
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rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Planted wheat early one yr when co-op did not have rye in yet but I had a window to plant. I will say wheat seed heads seem to attract more wildlife than rye. Had a family of cranes stick around for a week the next summer when I rolled it down to release the clover underneath. First and last time they showed up by me but are around in general. Rye when still growing deer eat just fine, easy to grow and better on the poor soils most of us deal with
