The old cereal rye growing in bed of pickup….

[4wanderingeyes]

August seems extremely late or early depending on if this was meant to be a spring of fall planting?? Why did you choose to plant in August?

Well my first frost is mid September, and temps can really change up here. I dont really plant it for a draw, even though it does. I plant it for a companion crop to what ever else I plant. Last year nothing grew. I did replant in September, but still no rain until late October last year, and by then days are short, and temps are cool.

 

[Mortenson]

Had a bunch of brassica seed sprout like that in the back of the truck one year. Sure stunk to high heaven when it began rotting. Couldn't figure out what the smell in the garage was. Was looking for a dead animal everywhere.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

August seems extremely late or early depending on if this was meant to be a spring of fall planting?? Why did you choose to plant in August?

? August is pretty standard date for cereal planting in zones 3 or 4 if you're wanting the plot to be palatable during Oct-Nov. 3-5 weeks before the first frost in mid-late sept.

 

[b116757]

Seems way early to me and I grew up in zone 3

 

[bueller]

I've planted anywhere between mid-August through mid-september but usually around Labor Day. I've found the problem with planting in September is often times we get a dry spell and therefore see very little growth before the weather changes, especially on my sand. This year I planted into moist ground this past Saturday and got a real good rain last night. I'll be weeks ahead of a typical early September planting yet late enough to have a very attractive plot during the hunting seasons.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I'll be broadcasting 100#+/acre tonight on top of existing brassicas and Peas/Oats/beans that has lots of duff covering the soil. Then drilling into a different plot with virgin ground on labor day. Will be interesting to compare and contrast the results.

 

[Rit]

I have thousands of acres of beans and corn around me. WR has no drawing power until mid December unless it’s a year like last year where 1 mile North I had a 600 acre corn field standing until almost February. Probably not by design it was just too wet. Even years with an early harvest WR is just not a great draw. From what I have noticed it’s oats, wheat, any other grain, then WR. Zone 6A.

 

[bigboreblr]

Used to have problems in heavy clay.

Spread 1/2 your rye, do a light till, disc, narrows, toothed tire drag. Give the seed a chance to take root. Also, I think heavy tillage in heavy clay is good. Get the organic residue down low quickly. Like every 2 years, then every 3rd.

Any organic material you can add will help. Leaves, wood chips, manure. Even adding some sand and mixing it in can help on heavy clay.

Clay folks should be in love with daikon radish. Made a huge difference in my year 5 or 6 of doing a clover plot.

 

[bigboreblr]

Also, heavy clay guys......

You have to give the seed a push start with some loose material up top. Discs can work good like cultipacker passes. You spread 1/2 the seed, disc once lightly, then spread the other half The loose seed on the 2nd half of the sprading falls in the lower spots.

Other good light tillage is spring harrows. Another great light tillage tool is to take a york rake and remove every other tine.

The light discs dont clog up like sprng harrows or the york rake though.

Also, check your local soil and water conservation district and AG co-op. You can rent seed drills from them.

Tractors and implements are definitely handy. However, find a local hay guy and make a deal with him. Pay him to plant a quality forage area, let him harvest the hay. Might be worth their while...... Quality forage hay can get 2-3x the price. I live right in the middle of 3 major racetracks.

A retired guy I know in western NY has his own AG equipment. He makes high quality hay, usually rye, clover, alfalfa. He plays around like folks on here do. He makes fields with specific nutrition mixes too. He does this for horse race folks, organic meat farmers, and sometimes does stuff for organc farmers too. Not only seed their fields, but does batches of barley. He does both organic and uses fertilizer. Ontop of that his friends and family get great hunting, and he leases other tracts too.

I drive past a traveling hunter every morning. He works for a major utility in NYC. He went in on some land on the edge of a small rural town with his brother. About 5 years ago, did a complete rebuild of the field. Plow, disc, lime and fertilizer, and reseeded. The field is perennial rye and legumes. Deer pik throug hwhat they like, every monring turkerys pick through bugs and enjoy the seed heads.

MY brother in law does AG services and a dairy farm for a living. He does bean and corn rotations with an appication of winter rye and clover. Folks from NYC offer his land for free, and he brings in the wildlife for them, and reaps the profits. He put down lime and fertilizer on his own dime. Corn and beans more or less go on the boat for export. The rye he uses for his dairy farm.

 

[momatt]

This is some I spilled when loading the drill in my gravel driveway.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

This is some I spilled when loading the drill in my gravel driveway.

it appears to work for beans and brassicas too.