Seeding date — The ideal time to plant annual ryegrass is from the middle of August to the end of September, after harvest. Seeding up to mid October is possible but more weather dependent, especially the further North you are.
Annual ryegrass will germinate in days with sufficient soil moisture. Dry soil conditions will delay germination. Ideally annual ryegrass needs 60 days of growth before a hard killing frost.
This provides optimal seed to soil contact. Broadcasting — Mix seed with fertilizer and use an airflow truck. Running a fluffing harrow like a Phillips or Phoenix harrow after the airflow will throw some residue and soil over the seed, improving the seedbed and increasing the likelihoood of germination. Seeding Annual Ryegrass with a Rolling Harrow.
Mixing annual ryegrass seed with fertilizer and broadcasting it using a spinner truck or buggy is an option, but annual ryegrass seed is lighter than fertilizer and will not spread as far with a spinner.
Grass species are matched to appropriate turf growing zones, rather than the U. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones that are used for most other plants grown by home gardeners.
When you plant grass seeds, it is important to match the grass species to your local climate and plant the seeds at the correct time and rate. To get a rough idea how long for your lawn to get established, add 30 to 45 days to the germination time. Ryegrass germination time is consistent between species, with annual ryegrass Lolium multiflorum and perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne seeds both germinating in five to 10 days according to the University of California's Integrated Pest Management IPM site.
Rough bluegrass Poa trivialis seeds take seven to 10 days. Tall fescue Lolium arundinaceum seeds germinate in seven to 12 days. In some years wet spring weather may prevent timely field operations, resulting in larger amounts of rye residue than desired.
Rye plus Legume. During the fall and winter, cereal rye protects the soil, scavenges soil-N, and acts as a nurse crop for the legume. In spring, rye provides structural support for the climbing legumes. When growing a winter rye and legume mixture, the rate of winter rye seeding should be reduced to no more than a bushel per acre to allow space for the legume to grow. A seeding rate of about 20 to 30 pounds of hairy vetch per acre is recommended. The mixture should be sown several weeks before the typical first fall frost date to allow time for the legume to adequately establish so it can survive the winter.
In winter hardiness zones 6 and above, about 10 pounds of crimson clover can be added to the mix above, or the clover can be sown at 15 to 20 pounds per acre in place of the vetch. In fields where they have not been grown before, legume cover crops should be inoculated with the proper Rhizobium bacteria to be sure that root nodules are formed and nitrogen fixation takes place.
A mixture of hairy vetch plus rye can produce a lot of biomass that can enhance soil quality while providing a significant amount of nitrogen to a subsequent crop. If a fine seedbed is needed the following spring, it may be better to mix hairy vetch with oats, which winter kill in northern locations, since there will be less plant residue to deal with than will be the case with mature rye stems Allelopathic Effects.
Cereal rye produces several compounds in its plant tissues and releases root exudates that apparently inhibit germination and growth of weed seeds. Rye can be easily established and if the population is dense enough it will outcompete weeds.
Some of the weeds that it will suppress are redroot pigweed, velvetleaf, chickweed, lambsquarter, and foxtail. Rye also has an allopathic effect on some weeds including dandelions and Canada thistle. Rye can also be used as a feed source for livestock. Rye is also excellent at helping build soil organic matter. The biggest challenge for using rye as a cover crop is terminating the plant in the spring.
As rye grows it will pull nitrogen from the soil and hold it in its stem. Unfortunately the release of the nitrogen from the plant as it decomposes is slow and not quickly available. Rye will also utilize any moisture in the soil, so if it is a dry spring a late killing of the rye could have negative effects on the following crop.
To maximize the benefits of the rye terminate the crop before it matures.
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