My established clover snapped back, but last August's seedings generally got zapped. I think the December warm up followed by below zero temps and no snow were the causes.
Now would be fine. you aren't that far out from July 4th, and I know a few guys who seed their fall plots over the weekend of the 4th. We planted that early some years in our spent brassica plots. And have a couple buddies in Juneau Co that plant that early as well with good success. One of them has land in central Sawyer Co, so he is about the same approximate latitude as you and he gets great plots most years planting the weekend of the 4th..
The rye is just starting to turn. I walked the plot and broadcast my leftover extra brassicas some ppt some radish and a clover mix with chicory. Now that the rye is thinning I can see that there is more clover growing from my frost seeding than I originally thought. I'll keep everyone updated on the progress of this plot. I know that I need to spread urea as a soil test from adjoining ground showed low N. Good news was the ph came back at 6.3. I wasn't expecting that with my sandy soil.
I've got rye to the top of my head (6'4")...it was cheap, field rye from a local co-op. Most of it is a bit over 5.5', but there are spots where it is a foot taller. Must have been more left over N from last year's brassicas in those spots
What if I strapped a 10 foot 2 x 12 on my wheeler at 3 feet and drove quickly to whack the rye and spread some seed. Road is wet for tractor and my wheeler will overheat pulling any implement. No fan.
I think that would work just fine. After spreading our brassicas, we even ran ours down with the riding mower(deck up and disengaged) a few different times just to knock the rye seeds off the stalk and get them to the ground while leaving a good amount of the residue standing.
Got back up to the property today and I was surprised when I looked at my still standing WR plot from last fall. The clover and chicory I frost seeded has exploded in most spots in the plot. I will be back up in 2 weeks. My plan is to then broadcast a 50lb/ac of new WR seed and then drag down the stalks with my drag teeth up. It's too thick in there to see if any of the brassica I broadcast germinated. Thoughts?
I could also mow it down instead of just knocking it over but my riding mower only has a top hight of about 4 inches. Not sure if that would be too short.
Would you be able to roll it to get the voluntary rye seed on the ground and wait 2 to 3 weeks to check for germination of the rye and then come back and seed more if needed? Some of the "experts" recommend a "layered" planting schedule for things like fall plantings of cereal grains. This is essentially what you would be doing by waiting for the volunteer to come up and not risk overseeding out of the gate. I have never tried it on purpose like the "experts", but I have planted into sparsely germinated failed plantings of rye 2-3 weeks after the initial planting because I had to.:oops:
Great advise from all!! I think I might wack it down with my weed wacker if I feel really ambitious. Otherwise I plan on knocking it down with my drag teeth up. Broadcasting WR first but at a reduced rate. I can always broadcast some more a few weeks later if needed. Right now I'm leaning towards the drag route.