New guy needing some cereal rye advice

[willett0218]

I'm not new to food plotting but I do need advice on a plant date for cereal rye. I live in southern Ohio and have about an acre and a half I'm going to plant in LCs mix with some slight alterations. My average first frost is mid October and know the normal planting dates are early September. I was just wondering if I could plant mid August to give the forage radish a better start without my rye getting too mature for the deer to eat? I have alot of deer in this plot every year and it's hard to keep up with browse pressure, but with the deer mainly in the beans right now I'm not sure if they will keep the rye under control until the fall? Anybody with good experiences planting rye early?

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[MoBuckChaser]

Sure you can seed it early! Or seed your Brassica, then over seed your winter rye later right before a good rain!

 

[Buckly]

If you have a lot of deer that use the plot I wouldn't worry about planting too early. They will keep it mowed down. There are preferred planting dates but, a week or two really won't make much difference. I have corn all around me so the deer leave the LC mix alone for most of September. Once the Corn is cut in early October the deer have no trouble eating down the 8 - 10 inch high rye down to the ground. Then it just keeps on growing back up.

 

[willett0218]

Thanks alot guys!

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[Tree Spud]

"cereal rye" ... What is that? I am familiar with Rye grass and Winter Rye ... can you clarify?

Winter rye around here is planted as a late season over winter crop.

If you are planting Rye grass, you will have a mess on your hands in 2 years as it will take over everything and be very hard to kill.

Is this seed from a local feed mill or a pre-packaged seed?

 

[wiscwhip]

Winter rye and cereal rye is the same thing..........

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center...Text-Version/Nonlegume-Cover-Crops/Cereal-Rye

 

[willett0218]

"cereal rye" ... What is that? I am familiar with Rye grass and Winter Rye ... can you clarify?

Winter rye around here is planted as a late season over winter crop.

If you are planting Rye grass, you will have a mess on your hands in 2 years as it will take over everything and be very hard to kill.

Is this seed from a local feed mill or a pre-packaged seed?

Cereal rye is winter rye.. I live in winter wheat country and If you ask for "winter rye" you will likely get rye grass from the feed mill. I don't buy food plot seed with the deer on the bag, I just go to the local feed mill and put in an order.

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[wiscwhip]

2 weeks isn't going to make a difference either way, and deer not eating rye because it is too mature in the fall is a stretch at best, I've never seen it happen. Maybe if you planted winter rye in early spring during the time one would normally plant spring rye, then you may see a noticeable drop in usage. Many times we let our rye seed out and either drop on its own or we mowed or rolled it down in late July, and our deer ate those plots all fall just as well as ones we planted in mid September.

 

[yoderjac]

2 weeks isn't going to make a difference either way, and deer not eating rye because it is too mature in the fall is a stretch at best, I've never seen it happen. Maybe if you planted winter rye in early spring during the time one would normally plant spring rye, then you may see a noticeable drop in usage. Many times we let our rye seed out and either drop on its own or we mowed or rolled it down in late July, and our deer ate those plots all fall just as well as ones we planted in mid September.

It happens more in the south. Deer love the young succulent WR and planting a little later keeps it this way a little longer into our season. You are right that any change in attractiveness due to maturity is small compared WR the following spring. In a small plot with higher deer densities, I wouldn't sweat it. If browse pressure is as high as suggested by the OP, I'm not sure how much tuber size he will get with radish. Deer seem to hit radish forage early compared to PTT. If tubers are desired for late season, that may be a better option.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Tree Spud]

Cereal rye is winter rye.. I live in winter wheat country and If you ask for "winter rye" you will likely get rye grass from the feed mill. I don't buy food plot seed with the deer on the bag, I just go to the local feed mill and put in an order.

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Ok, thanks, just wanted some clarification. I plan mid September frost is begging to affect other vegetation, the stands up well and offers fresh young shoots 4-8".

 

[yoderjac]

Ok, thanks, just wanted some clarification. I plan mid September frost is begging to affect other vegetation, the stands up well and offers fresh young shoots 4-8".

Just to provide more clarity for new folks, ryegrass is often found in BOB mixes because it really hard to screw up and inexpensive. Novices plant the mix and see something green and think they were successful. Deer will eat ryegrass but it is not high on their preference list. Ryegrass can become invasive in many areas. It is one crop most should avoid. It can be hard to get rid of. There are some highly experienced guys that have successfully incorporated some forms of high sucrose ryegrass into their programs but they really know the specific ryegrass they are buying and how it performs in their specific area and soils.

Winter rye is a cereal grain like Winter wheat, Oats, barley, and triticale. It is sometimes called cereal rye to differentiate it from ryegrass. Winter Rye (Cereal grain) is an key crop for most managers. It is an attractive plant when young that deer love like all cereal. It overwinters in most areas and bounces back in the spring. It is a great nurse crop for clover. It has allelopathic effects on weeds. It is a great soil builder. It surface broadcasts better than other cereal grains. It loses attractiveness as it ages the next spring but if you let it head-out, deer and adult turkey will use the seed heads. Winter Wheat is often used for turkey because it does not grow as tall and younger birds can reach the seed heads in the summer.

It is too bad that these very different crops have such a similar name. One I avoid and the other is a staple!

Thanks,

jack

 

[Tree Spud]

Just to provide more clarity for new folks, ryegrass is often found in BOB mixes because it really hard to screw up and inexpensive. Novices plant the mix and see something green and think they were successful. Deer will eat ryegrass but it is not high on their preference list. Ryegrass can become invasive in many areas. It is one crop most should avoid. It can be hard to get rid of. There are some highly experienced guys that have successfully incorporated some forms of high sucrose ryegrass into their programs but they really know the specific ryegrass they are buying and how it performs in their specific area and soils.

Winter rye is a cereal grain like Winter wheat, Oats, barley, and triticale. It is sometimes called cereal rye to differentiate it from ryegrass. Winter Rye (Cereal grain) is an key crop for most managers. It is an attractive plant when young that deer love like all cereal. It overwinters in most areas and bounces back in the spring. It is a great nurse crop for clover. It has allelopathic effects on weeds. It is a great soil builder. It surface broadcasts better than other cereal grains. It loses attractiveness as it ages the next spring but if you let it head-out, deer and adult turkey will use the seed heads. Winter Wheat is often used for turkey because it does not grow as tall and younger birds can reach the seed heads in the summer.

It is too bad that these very different crops have such a similar name. One I avoid and the other is a staple!

Thanks,

jack

Jack ... Thanks for expanding on the question ... everyone is "experienced" until they do the wrong thing.

Rye grass is clearly dominant and hard to kill.