Someone asked about what to plant on a woods road. what was it?

[Bill]

There was a post a while back where someone was asking what to plant on a woods road in the shade. I can't find it.
Friend of mine is having an access road fixed that goes to his property in a week or so. Because its late in the season and there should be more sunlight I'll hit it hard with rye to slow erosion.

Whats the best long term planting solution? The road won't get used much. Me in the spring with a planter and sprayer. then a couple times a summer to spray and mow.

 

[Telemark]

I think the popular opinion was Dutch white clover.

 

[Bill]

I think the popular opinion was Dutch white clover.

Thanks!

 

[omicron1792]

There was a post a while back where someone was asking what to plant on a woods road in the shade. I can't find it.
Friend of mine is having an access road fixed that goes to his property in a week or so. Because its late in the season and there should be more sunlight I'll hit it hard with rye to slow erosion.

Whats the best long term planting solution? The road won't get used much. Me in the spring with a planter and sprayer. then a couple times a summer to spray and mow.

Bill. What state is road in and is it gonna be used for hunting or just erosion control?

I use wheat, ryegrass, crimson clover, and vetch in winter, and Bahia and browntop millet in summer.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

High sugar rye grass would work great on a shaded woods road. Deer do eat it as well, it is hard to kill, and it will spread, but just don’t plant it in or near a food plot.

 

[omicron1792]

High sugar rye grass would work great on a shaded woods road. Deer do eat it as well, it is hard to kill, and it will spread, but just don’t plant it in or near a food plot.

I’ve used some of that. Deer creek has 50lb bag of perennial. Lots of annual varieties.

That said, I don’t really want deer on my roads that much.

 

[Bill]

Bill. What state is road in and is it gonna be used for hunting or just erosion control?

I use wheat, ryegrass, crimson clover, and vetch in winter, and Bahia and browntop millet in summer.

North Central Missouri. It will just be an access road not hunted over but if deer eat whats planted on it, it won't hurt anything. The road won't see much traffic but there are some hills and it is currently eroded pretty bad. We can get a side by side down it but would like to be able to get the tractor, planter and 10 foot mower down it once in a while. I've actually navigated it with a tractor and planter but there is to much pucker factor with the ditches in it. It's actually an abandoned public road.

 

[Bill]

High sugar rye grass would work great on a shaded woods road. Deer do eat it as well, it is hard to kill, and it will spread, but just don’t plant it in or near a food plot.

Not opposed to high sugar rye. It's in the timber so it wouldn't likely escape the area. I know nothing about it. Does it need warm weather to germinate or is it like cereal rye?

 

[omicron1792]

Not opposed to high sugar rye. It's in the timber so it wouldn't likely escape the area. I know nothing about it. Does it need warm weather to germinate or is it like cereal rye?

It’s like any ryegrass. So plant in fall or spring. That said, it’s more bush like and less carpet like. Maybe mix a low mat forming diploid like lowboy with some annual and perennial high sugar. In Missouri it’s tough because ryegrass might not give you full season coverage. It certainly won’t here in Alabama.

Browntop millet is a fast growing grass in warmer seasons if you need coverage. I would probably grade it with a blade, then plant rye, ryegrass, and any cheap legume this winter. Then see how long it lasts you into summer then decide if to put a (perennial or annual or both or none) warm season grass

Just add any legume you have seasonally for N and deer browse. But the grass is what will hold the dirt and road. It’s best long term imo to get a perennial growing.

 

[Kdog]

Just note if you plant rye grass on the roads leading to the food plots you will eventually get it in the plots as well. Then you will wish you never planted it.

 

[FarmerDan]

Consider crown vetch for the long term side of the issue?

https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_cova2.pdf

 

[omicron1792]

Good call farmer. I use vetch on roads, just a bit expensive. I’m hoping More and more volunteer comes back yearly. Planted last year but not this year. Will see how much pops up

 

[omicron1792]

Just note if you plant rye grass on the roads leading to the food plots you will eventually get it in the plots as well. Then you will wish you never planted it.

Great point. If you use these high sugar Tetraploid not necessarily a bad thing. This is a good mix for roads or hidey hole plots if you don’t want to mix your own.

Products Wildlife - Sucra Seed

Products Wildlife: Hunters and wildlife managers across the US are turning to Sweet Spot to create high-nutrition food plots that deer simply cannot resist...

sucraseed.com

They make a northern and southern mix

 

[omicron1792]

A lot if my reading says ryegrass is probably the best soil enhancer you can plant as cover crop. Deep thick roots. You just have to kill with gly the next year before goes to seed. Not a bad idea to use that once every 5 years or so in a plot

 

[4wanderingeyes]

A lot if my reading says ryegrass is probably the best soil enhancer you can plant as cover crop. Deep thick roots. You just have to kill with gly the next year before goes to seed. Not a bad idea to use that once every 5 years or so in a plot

Dont use it in a plot. I had a mix of it one time right after I made this food plot, I have sprayed it with gly several times, and have disced it several times, it is hard to get the disc to penetrate it. I have about 1/3 of my plot in High sugar ryegrass right now, and I planted it in 2014. I have since just gave up on that section, and just stop it from spreading any further into my plot.

It really isnt a bad thing, the deer eat it, and actually most deer stand in this section and eat over the rest of my plot, and it comes back every year, so free plot food, but I dont really want it.

 

[omicron1792]

I guess the question is, with all you said above, why not?