Cereal or Winter Rye

Cereal or Winter Rye

Secale cereale

Cereal or Witner Rye can be seeded later in fall than other cover crops and still provide considerable dry matter, an extensive soil-holding root system, significant reduction of nitrate leaching and exceptional weed suppression. Inexpensive and easy to establish, Cereal Rye outperforms all other cover crops on infertile, sandy or acidic soil or on poorly prepared land. It is widely adapted, but grows best in cool, temperate zones. Taller and quicker-growing than wheat, Cereal Rye can serve as a windbreak and trap snow or hold rainfall over winter. It over-seeds readily into many high-value and agronomic crops and resumes growth quickly in spring, allowing timely killing by rolling, mowing or herbicides. Pair Cereal Rye with a winter annual legume such as Hairy Vetch to offset Cereal Rye’s tendency to tie up soil nitrogen in spring.

Varieties: