How early for overseeding rye into Corn? Minnesota.

[BeastMode]

I was curious in hearing from guys who are located in Minnesota, zone 4, or further North.

I planted a corn plot around mid May and it’s doing well. About waist high or so and some but not terrible undergrowth. This corn will not be coming off until next spring when I will cut rye and corn stalks so rye will never be in full sun. For northern guys who have done this when did you plant and what height did you reach? For reference food plot is +/- 1 acre and deer browse is somewhat heavy I would say. However there is a lot of ag in area to divert pressure until mid October when almost everything else will be combined. I will be out of state August 10-25 on an elk hunt so right now my thoughts are starting august 1 going for it when I see a good rain and if no rain before I leave spreading it the day before I go.

 

[Skeeter]

I don't have plots that are just corn. I don't measure my rye. However, I am in zone 4 in Minnesota and I do overseed my plots with rye. I start looking for rain around August 20th. I put out about a bag per acre at around two week intervals as moisture allows for 3 applications. It's likely more than needed, but works and doesn't cost that much since I only do two acres. It may be a bit earlier than some like but one of my goals is to have a strong stand in the spring, and again, it's worked well for me.

 

[BeastMode]

Skeeter what crops are you over seeding into? Is the rye getting good light from the get go in your set up?

 

[Skeeter]

It varies from plot to plot and year to year but overseeding rye is done every year no matter what is in the plot. I generally try to have at least one or two varieties of plant from 3 to 4 plant groups in my plots.

 

[Brian662]

Is your corn row planted or broadcast?

I think it's better to wait until your corn starts drying down so that you'll get sunlight down to the ground. Obviously this means the corn will likely be pretty tall, so you can run through and create trails that you can overseed into or use the edges and broadcast rye as far as your seeder can sling it.

I'm in MN and use rye every year. I start putting rye down mid Sept through mid Oct. Just depends what you want from the rye but if I were to only do one application it would be the last week of Sept in SE MN.

 

[swat1018]

Wait till it yellows and the leaves hang down, opening the canopy.

 

[nwmn]

i'd wait until september when fall rains come. i drilled winter rye last fall around october 20th and it was still good going into spring, at 6' tall before rolling it

 

[bwoods11]

I might try this in my plot , maybe around August 28-30 range ? We seem to always get a decent rain around Labor Day !