Winter rye (Secale cereale L.), also known as cereal rye, is the most winter hardy and drought tolerant of all small grains. Winter rye performs best in sandy loam, well-drained soils compared to fine textured soils with poor internal drainage. Soil pH for optimum growth ranges from 5.6 to 7.0 but rye can tolerated pH as low as 4.5 and as high as 8. Expect winter rye to be more productive than other small grains on infertile, sandy soils. Winter rye will continue to grow until late fall, overwinter, and resume growth quickly in the early spring.
The aforementioned attributes explains the popularity of winter rye as a cover crop/green manure in both organic and conventional production systems. Other primary uses of winter rye are pasture/forage and grain crop.
Grand Rapids, MN
