By Nick Frillman
October signals harvest time across Central Illinois, with some fields already picked by late September. In years where corn harvest is early enough, farmers have ample time to plant a cover crop before soybeans next year if they choose. Cereal rye is the most popular option because it establishes relatively easily with a bit of moisture, tolerates winter conditions, and resumes growth in the spring.
Cereal rye growth – if established well and terminated correctly – can generate substantial biomass. It scavenges residual nutrients from the soil profile, reduces soil compaction, increases organic matter, improves soil aggregation, and helps protect the soil from erosion during heavy spring rain.
Those factors – “if established well and terminated correctly” can be some points of hesitance for grain growers – rightly so. It may not rain after seeding. Flown on cover crop seeds rather than drilled seeds need a higher application rate to account for lower germination rate on soil surface. And yes, termination of cereal rye especially via burndown chemical management can fail especially if applied when temperatures, windspeeds, or plant growth is sub-optimal.
Home gardeners, however, have more tools in the toolbox to make sure that cereal rye establishment and termination are successful – and can therefore expect to take more regular advantage of a cereal rye cover crop’s potential benefit.
Consider sowing cereal rye this early October for a healthier, more productive garden soil ready for the growing season ahead in 2027.
How to establish a cereal rye cover crop test plot
Purchase 4 pounds of cereal rye seed per 1000 feet square of garden test plot area at a local garden center. The only additional equipment needed for garden cover crop seeding is a rake and a sprinkler. Optionally, gather straw, compost, dry cut grass, etc.
If the target plot has warm weather plants still growing, it may be necessary to sacrifice a few weeks of production for this technique to work. If in a tomato patch, cut the plants off at the base so they don’t shade the soil, and let the green tomatoes ripen on the counter.
Rake up the soil so the seeds have little pockets of disturbed soil to fall into. As evenly as possible, broadcast purchased seed across the area. A denser seeding of cereal rye is desirable, due to the potential for some germination failure. 4lbs per 1000 sq. ft. is sufficient for this goal.
If straw, compost, dry lawn clippings, etc. are on hand, add ¼” of any similar material on top of broadcast seed. If no material is on hand, no matter. Irrigate the test plot with a sprinkler every 48 hours for 15-20 minutes until cereal rye is 6” tall. At that point, plants can generally tolerate rainfed-only conditions – unless drought conditions persist – until winter.
Source : illinois.edu