Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Rye (Grass)
Cereal rye (
Secale cereale
) is my favorite grass for cover cropping. It's an annual that
grows well pretty much anywhere in North America other than the very Southwest. It can
handle infertile soil and can be planted fairly late in the fall and still do well. It prefers
lighter soils, but grows in clay, and can tolerate both dry and very wet soils.
Rye is the absolute best when it comes to retaining soil nitrogen, makes a huge amount
of organic matter, and is great at controlling weeds. It also controls predators and attracts
beneficials. It grows big and can get a high carbon to nitrogen ratio that can tie up carbon
in the spring, so I combine it with a legume. I often use hairy vetch, which the rye protects
over winter, at a 1:1 rye to vetch ratio by weight. You can also use it with clover at the
same ratio.
An alternative for farmers and gardeners to deal with the carbon is to cut down the rye
early in the spring, but in areas with high rainfall, your soil may get too wet after that and
you may lose a lot of nitrogen. Keeping the rye growing longer would suck up the spring
rains. A much better option for home and market gardeners who get a lot of spring rain
would be to cut it down much later and just remove some of the clippings for our compost
bins. Then we get the benefits of the grass staying in the soil longer — less nitrogen loss
and drier soil — and we get to use all of that biomass.
Seed rye in late summer to autumn in hardiness zones 3-7 or even as late as mid-winter
in zones 8 and up. The seed prefers to get down into the soil one to two inches so some
light cultivation will be beneficial, but broadcasting on top of the soil is possible. While it
depends greatly on your region and goals, a good time for most of us to cut it in the spring
is when it's 12-18 inches tall, before setting seed. Wait three to four weeks to seed veget-
ables and at least a week before planting transplants.
