Cereal Rye Pros and Cons

[@MyVisualRomance]

I haven’t tried it yet but have been told that if you mow or weed whack cereal rye back down to about 3-4 inches it will start the regeneration of the desirable young growth sprigs all over again thus extending it’s usefulness and desire to the deer.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Yeah that can work has well when I till it down sometimes it does not kill all of it and it does make young sprouts again

[@BS.-.-]

Central NY I planted Rye 6 days before a rain. On day 7 its 2in tall. This was the second week of October. I should have a nice 5-6in carpet of rye come rifle season. I plan to seed again late October.

[@MySliceOfHeavenoutdoors]

That is great information, I did not know that about cereal rye.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

I did lots of studying on different plants so I share what I found. Plus experiences I had in the pass. I may not have all the information but I will try and do follow up videos with the new findings. Thanks for watching!

[@ericl4865]

Good video! I would add another thing the the rye "plus" column - drought resistant. Just crimped my fall blend (Green Cover Seed, Fall Release) two days ago. We were in a wicked drought and the rye still got to about 5 feet tall.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Thank you! Yes you are correct it does well even in dryer conditions.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Very good video guys!!!! I’m obsessed with same topics u all are & had your channel sent to me. Very well done & I shared your videos & channel. Same on chestnut video, etc. Well done! 👍👊

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Thank you for the kinds words hope you enjoy joy the channel!

[@RipToeMountain]

I live in WV along the Ohio river, I plan on putting in cereal rye mid-Aug along with clover on top. When will I need to brush hog the rye to keep it from going to seed? My goal is to prevent weeds and eventually make the plot all clover.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

The trick I use is when the seed is in what they call the dough stage its still soft and when you squeeze it water comes out. The other option is when you see the pollinators come out of the cereal rye seed head you can wait another 10 or so days then brush hog it down. Either way it will not seed out.

[@RipToeMountain]

@@MonsterBucks1451 thanks

[@daddylee4216]

So i didn't hear a lot about attractiveness. How would you rate it as an attraction for hunting? Say compared to what, oats, and clover? Thanks

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Attractiveness is on the level of oaks but I think clover has the higher level of attractiveness. It will last longer than oats especially if your in a colder climate.

[@claytonzak948]

How long does it take for rye to break down in no till? Not knowing i let mine go, its about 6ft tall. Im afraid to mow it and end up with a giant thick windrow. Any ideas?

[@MonsterBucks1451]

A lot depends on how tall and thick it is. Plus on dry summers it will last a long time wetter summers it want last quite has long. However it should last most of the summer if not closer to fall. I straight tilled mine down it was 7 ft deep in a few spots but I had no issue with it. I had a really wet summer last year and still has some left in August not much but some.

[@Brandon-uo1rv]

What happens if you terminate it after you allow it to seed out? I assume it'll basically be part of your fall blend at that point?

[@MonsterBucks1451]

It will end up growing in the summer time and makes it hard for your summer species to work correctly. Most fall blends have a time where they work excellent during fall/ winter and early spring after that it's time to remove them. Could some of the fall blend be allowed to continue into summer? Sure it can. Any of the clovers in your mix will do fine after other species are terminated. Just certain species need to be terminated before the seeding out process happens.

[@daronsmith2229]

Another advantage not mentioned is that cereal rye grain will grow down to 38 degrees. So it continues to feed the deer through our much of the winter.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Yes you are correct! I will bring that up when I am ready to plant my fall blends this year.

[@markc2036]

Wouldn't you just broadcast your spring seeds into the rye then crimp the rye down? Great video enjoyed it

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Yes you can do that for sure. I don't have a no till equipment unfortunately. So I will be tilling this down tomorrow. I will shoot a video of that and show another way to plant. There are several ways it can be done. To me broadcasting or no tilling before crimping is the best way.

[@williamstoker8027]

Is it aggressive and take over everything? I’m trying to make light mixture of switchgrass mixture beaked panicum. , cavin rock , and weeds for rabbits and quail. Thanks

[@MonsterBucks1451]

It can be. It does produce quite of bit of seed.

[@davidvankainen6711]

If you are in snow country, keep pure blocks of switchgrass. Doesnt go flat under snow or pops up after a heavy slushy snow.

[@Owl4909]

did you explain why its bad to let it go to seed ,

[@MonsterBucks1451]

It's because it can become like an invasive weed for your summer food plots. I did not mention in the video which I should have.

[@blauer2551]

I was thinking about circling this around clover for cover on a small plot will it creep in and take over?

[@MonsterBucks1451]

I will assume you would let cearel rye seed out based on your question. If so, it can take over that way but has far has using roots to spread it will not.

[@blauer2551]

@@MonsterBucks1451 Exactly, it will become a cover wall and will seed out.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Well I think you would be alright if you notice it's trying to you can use spray to kill it off in areas you don't want to to grow.

[@BEONNEON]

Good info. I am trying to figure out ways to turn my lawn around cause weeds have taken over.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Lime will help to reduce weeds Weeds grow well in ground where your ph level is more on the acidic side.

[@miikesternberg6947]

I see clover under your rye. Is that intentional? Would the rye work as a nurse crop for clover or others? Good video.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Yes it is intentional. I use multiple types of clover to feed nitrogen to my other plants and provide food for the deer longer do to ryes short amount of time it can be eaten on. Plus I have 8 other species growing in there but the rye clovered it up. Rye does help as a nurse crop has well but the deer will not eat the seeds heads like wheat plants. My goal is to create new nutrient rich soil. Thanks for the question! Hope this helps.

[@deerslayeraudio2441]

I only plant winter rye food plots, and I allow my plots to seed out every year.

[@BS.-.-]

I have started doing this too.

[@paulvandenberg5341]

Why not let it “seed out”?

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Cereal rye forage quality will rapidly decrease during the summer. The only reason is takes so long for it to stem out is the cold temperatures keep it from seeding out so quickly. Then you would be stuck again trying to replant something to replace it. Other spring and summer species will last much longer and offer higher protein and minerals.

[@n2trkys18]

I’ve found no benefit in not letting cereal rye grow to maturity. I’ve been doing it for years and it has worked great for what I’m wanting to do.

[@NeedsMoreToys]

Always been told rye will grow anywhere. That’s not my experience. I have pH 6 but very light loam/sandy soil and it refuses to grow there. I would need to fertilize it to have any establish.

[@MonsterBucks1451]

Yes you would. In your case I think I would look up humic acid fertilizer. it helps hold nutrients in sandy soil. I will say this when I first started my plot my soil was so poor rocky and clay to boot that it did not do well at all. I stuck with it biulding better soil to hold nutrients, moisture, giving the roots better ground and now I get crazy good growth. I have another part that is very poor in the island you get to see how bad my cereal rye grew there. Eventually it will grow like my food plot.

[@jasonbroom7147]

If you can't grow cereal rye there is something seriously wrong with your soil. I would recommend a thorough soil analysis to determine where the gaps are, because winter rye, cereal rye, rye grain (all the same thing) is widely considered to be one of the easiest things to grow in a food plot. If you had a plot fail last year, where we had drought conditions in many areas, you may be reaching a falso conclusion. If your soil is very sandy, locate your closest poultry farm and buy a truck load of litter from them. Broadcast that on your plot and drag it in...don't disc it. That will help improve your organic matter and hold more moisture.