Planting question

[Ben.MN/WI]

I just had some bulldozer work done on my land today to cut back some banks on dry run type drainage ditches in SE MN that are typically dry most of the year. The new slopes on these crossings are gentle enough that I could drive my truck across them. This year we've had some odd rainfall in bunches and I waited a little longer than I wanted to get the work done. Everything was dry and the work is done and now I'm wondering if I should put down any seeds now or wait until spring. The first area is essentially a field road with 3/4 sun exposure that crosses the dry drainage that I had widened. Deer usage isn't a concern here, so erosion control is the main goal.

The second area is a different dry run that is on the back side of my property in the woods and after the work was done I would say there's good sunlight for a woods crossing/plot, meaning there is an open canopy above the crossing and trees within 20 feet of the crossing. Erosion control is the primary goal on the sloped area and then I'm planning on adding some type of perennial on the area that the spoil was deposited. I'm thinking clover would be a good long term choice in the new open area on the flat ground here (perhaps with adding a nurse crop if that will be helpful), but what about the slope?

On these two areas do you guys recommend doing anything this late in the season or just wait until next spring? I have an open partial bag of winter rye, oats, clover and alfalfa so those would be easy to put in now if there would be any benefit this late in the year. Let me know what you think. The woods crossing should turn into a very good deer crossing location where I am planning on putting a few stands. I'm just trying to balance the benefit of planting anything there now versus the drawback associated with messing with anything during hunting season.

Any information you can pass along would be appreciated. Thanks-

Ben

 

[tooln]

WR ASAP would be your best bet for erosion control for both this fall and spring. Come next year it will give you time to come up with a better plan.

 

[ruskbucks]

Ben, I would do as tooln said. I am a heavy equipment operator, all our jobs are required to be seeded after we respreads the topsoil. They usually use ww as a cover crop. We have even seeded in January before, but I would do it asp.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Thanks for the feedback. The rock should be spread today and I picked up a 50 pound bag of winter rye for $15 last night on the way home from work. I'll probably just broadcast the seed and pull a drag over the area and hope for the best. Maybe I'll run a cultipacker over it if I have the time.

My rye over seeding into my standing soybeans didn't seem to work too well but I think this will work better since I can run a drag over the seed. I broadcast the seed into my standing beans a month ago and I can't see any evidence of much germination. I know the turkeys were working that area pretty hard, so perhaps they cleaned them out. Maybe I'll broadcast a little more rye into my soybeans if I have some leftover from the erosion control project.

What's the shelf life on winter rye seed? I think turkeys were the reason I don't have any rye growing how, but is it possible that year old seed is bad?

 

[tooln]

I've kept WR for a few years & have had no problems. I keep it in a plastic tub, dry and dark, I see no reason why it won't keep for several years. Broadcast before a rain if possible, then you won't need to pack it.