Every fall after the growing season, I like to put the vegetable garden to bed for the winter with a cover crop of winter rye.
Broadly speaking, a cover crop is a crop that covers the soil with a protective blanket of closely growing plants that protects the soil from erosion and halts the growth of weeds. Another term often used for cover crop is “green manure.” Although they are not technically the same thing, they usually serve the same purpose. Green manure is grown for the express purpose of tilling the crop into the soil before it matures and produces seeds. Some farmers call this a plow-down crop. Tiller Hitch
Green manure feeds earthworms and soil microorganisms that in turn excrete byproducts that feed plants. It also improves the physical condition of the soil known as soil tilth. In addition, more organic matter is built up allowing the topsoil to hold more water and nutrients for garden crops.
Often field crops such as grains are used for cover crops, the most popular being winter rye or cereal rye. Rye is not the same as ryegrass — they are two distinct species that happen to share rye in their names. Rye is a grain crop that can be harvested for food while ryegrass is an actual grass species.
One characteristic of rye that makes it such a good winter cover crop is its ability to germinate in cold soil. For that reason, I’m usually able to plant my rye during the last week of October but sometimes, if the weather doesn’t cooperate, it won’t happen until the beginning of November.
Earlier planting is fine and may be even preferable but much of our garden is still going strong during early October.
The soil does not have to have a nicely tilled, clean surface before planting rye. I used to till the garden like I would in the spring before planting but now I simply spread the seed over the garden and do a quick, shallow tilling with the rotary tiller to mix the seeds into the soil surface. Rye seed germinates best when planted at depths less than 2 inches deep.
Farmers commonly use a specialized planter called a “grain drill” to plant grain crops like rye. A drill opens up a shallow furrow, precisely places the seed and covers them with soil all at the same time. You can replicate this in a garden by making furrows with a hoe and planting the seeds by hand. The furrows in a typical field of grain range from 7 to 10 inches apart.
About 2 to 3 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet will yield a nice stand of rye.
Fortunately, I was able to sow the rye just before the rain moved in this past weekend. Rain helps to firm the soil around the seeds and of course provides moisture for germination.
The amount of growth the rye will make this fall depends on the weather conditions in November. A relatively warm November will allow the rye to grow some green tops before the winter sets in.
Not only does rye tolerate cold weather, it requires a certain number of cold days in order to set seed next spring. That, however, will not concern us since we’ll be plowing down the rye crop before that happens.
I’ve had gardeners mention to me that they just leave the fall weeds in their garden overwinter. It's true, you can just leave those small fall growing weeds in your garden and they will do much to control erosion but rye has another huge advantage. A cover crop of rye will reduce the bio-mass of weeds by 80%-90% vs an area with no cover crop. Because it grows so fast in the fall, rye will smother weeds that are trying to get a foothold.
In addition, rye produces a compound that keeps weed seeds from sprouting. Compare that to a garden that is covered with small over-wintering weeds waiting to grow again in the spring and you'll see what an advantage growing a winter rye crop is.
You can't actually see it with your eyes, but soil nutrients can get washed down into the soil profile by autumn rains and melting snow far enough where it is no longer available to your garden plants. Rye can grab a hold of those nutrients as it grows retaining them in the form of roots, leaves and stems.
Another fascinating thing about rye is that it has the ability to extract usable minerals directly from raw soil particles. It then uses the minerals for its growth and development, essentially making its own fertilizer.
In the spring, the rye plants are tilled into the soil. As they decompose, the minerals the rye prevented from leaching, plus the new minerals it extracted, are released into the soil for garden plants to use.
You should begin to notice a difference in your soil after the first year of using a green manure crop. Then even more improvements will be seen in subsequent years.
At one time, rye could only be purchased in 50-pound bags. Nowadays, farm stores are becoming more willing to sell small amounts of seed to gardeners. Some full service garden centers are also starting to offer rye seed in the fall. And like everything else, rye seed can be purchased online.
Cable Laying Trencher It’s fun to know that even though you are not out there actively gardening, there is still something growing in your garden.