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winter rye grass

14K views 35 replies 13 participants last post by  corey4671 
#1 Ā·
Does anyone put rye grass seed down for there customers in the winter I have been doing it for 4 years make the lawns look great all winter long.
 
#3 Ā·
Easy service that you can make quick money at for sure. I have done it in the past and most likely do some this year again for patchy lawns.

Just make sure you do not go too heavy as you main turf will be fighting for the same resources after it comes out of dormancy.
 
#8 Ā·
Really no need to do that, it dies very quickly as the temps rise in March and April.
Is that both Perennial and Annual Rye that dies in March???

Fl-landscape has both a slit seeder and a Hydro-seeder. In winter he has also planted Fescue in the winter. He should be back today from his frozen hunting trip in Maine. Maybe he will weight in.

.
 
#11 Ā·
Will be planting perennial Rye this week at a stable that is occupied Jan - April.
Looks great, but is a N hog so constant feeding is required or else it gets rust fungus pretty bad. It starts to check out in late april-may. It hangs on longer if kept moist/shade.
I don't like to overseed St A, because the rye gives too much competition.
 
#13 Ā·
Will be planting perennial Rye this week at a stable that is occupied Jan - April.
Looks great, but is a N hog so constant feeding is required or else it gets rust fungus pretty bad. It starts to check out in late april-may. It hangs on longer if kept moist/shade.
I don't like to overseed St A, because the rye gives too much competition.
I have not had a lot of Over seed experience. Our St Augustine turf stays pretty green all winter long. We have a year round growing season. I have heard that 4 pound of Rye per thousand sq ft is the over seed rate that doesn't chock out the Perennial turf.

Years ago when I lived in Louisiana and I did Over seed my pasture with Feed Oats not Seed Oats. Feed Oats will germinate about 65% and Seed Oats about 85% so there was no advantage to buying Seed Oats. I used standard Race Track Oats which means they are clean oats. Cost wise Oats were a great saving over Rye and my horses Ate it the same as Rye. I never fertilized the Oats but then I had Gumbo Mud and didn't fertilize any thing. BTW Deer loved the Oats better than Rye. PS.. Oats are more yellow in color than Rye.
 
#14 Ā·
Kind of off subject, but how much seed can a bird eat? I had one of the banks call after I put down rye and asked if I had put bird seed on their lawn because there had been birds everywhere. Well Sat I saw what they were talking about. We had to put out 11 yards of mulch and the whole time we were there hundreds of birds were all over the place. It just got me to wondering in a weeks time how much of the seed could they eat?
 
#15 Ā· (Edited)
Kind of off subject, but how much seed can a bird eat? I had one of the banks call after I put down rye and asked if I had put bird seed on their lawn because there had been birds everywhere. Well Sat I saw what they were talking about. We had to put out 11 yards of mulch and the whole time we were there hundreds of birds were all over the place. It just got me to wondering in a weeks time how much of the seed could they eat?
Turf

I might be wrong but I believe Birds eat their own weight each day.

In Edit

Bird Control is a skill all by it's self. Just the other night was a story on the News about Birds roosting on a Telephone Tower. The problem was all attemps to chase them had not worked. They even had a Horn go off every 15 minute that drove the town's people Crazy. Nothing seems to work. I know this small town and it has had that problem for years.
 
#16 Ā·
I have an account that I overseeded it with ryegrass the day I aerated it. Got a great stand in some spots and not so great in others. I've been hesitant to use ryegrass simply because the few times I've overseeded with it, I've gotten patchy results.
 
#17 Ā·
I have an account that I overseeded it with ryegrass the day I aerated it. Got a great stand in some spots and not so great in others. I've been hesitant to use ryegrass simply because the few times I've overseeded with it, I've gotten patchy results.
What was your base turf? how old was the seed? What was the day and night temp when you seeded? How much did you water? Did it get pithium? What soil prep did you do besides verifying?
 
#18 Ā·
Will be planting perennial Rye this week at a stable that is occupied Jan - April.
Looks great, but is a N hog so constant feeding is required or else it gets rust fungus pretty bad. It starts to check out in late april-may. It hangs on longer if kept moist/shade.
I don't like to overseed St A, because the rye gives too much competition.
Plantculture

I have a customer who's daughter is having a wedding in March at his home. His turf is the typical Bahia weed patch we get here because of our high pH soils. He is planning on over seeding with Rye just for the wedding. He really isn't concerned with recovery of his turf. He lives on acreage and is happy with green weeds except for this wedding in his yard with Tents etc.

So Not having a lot of experience with over seeding, are you applying heavy N because of heavy forage by the horses?? Or will I be able to keep perennial rye green with Iron and Nitrogen?? Is Rust fungus typical of Perennial? or are you causing it by high Nitrogen and needing to apply more N to grow out of the Rust caused by the N? In other words are you causing the rust problem by trying to feed the horses??
 
#19 Ā·
Ric,

On your selection of rye. You may want to try an intermediate rye. It grows a little taller than the perennial, so it is better seen over taller established turf. It is also a lot less expensive per pound. Make sure to get a good clean variety such as Froghair, or Lesco's Midway. Want to make sure that weed seed is not in the bag.

Rye is also a water hog, so if there are still major watering restrictions in FL, be careful.
 
#20 Ā·
Ric,

On your selection of rye. You may want to try an intermediate rye. It grows a little taller than the perennial, so it is better seen over taller established turf. It is also a lot less expensive per pound. Make sure to get a good clean variety such as Froghair, or Lesco's Midway. Want to make sure that weed seed is not in the bag.

Rye is also a water hog, so if there are still major watering restrictions in FL, be careful.
Tillerstick (Sail Boater??)

Thanks for the education. I never heard of intermediate rye.

The problem here is the customer is getting his seed from a golf course. A lot of it is last years seed that wasn't used. Wedding are super expensive and he is trying to cut costs as much as possible. I have a bunch of Brass impact sprinklers from my old nursery that can be hooked up by hoses. The customer has a well so Watering costs and restrictions are no problem since he has 5 acres agriculture zoned. However Fertilizer costs are a major concern as is any money he must take out of his pocket. After this guy contacted from a Networking lead, I found out I was friends with his older brother way back in the day. Therefore He is getting special pricing or friendship deal.

BTW I already burned off the existing weeds so there should be very little competition. There shouldn't be a need for a Higher growing rye.
 
#21 Ā·
Ric,
I like the Perennial rye because of the very dark green color and finer texture than intermediate.
In regards to rust, Its shows up on the areas that are lean on N.
Same idea as managing dollar spot. Last year i got a little lean and i would notice my shoes would be orange after walking around. Avoid moisture stress and N deficiency. In our climate, it should basically be always growing and dark green.

I don't apply N to push growth for the horses although they munch it down to fairway height if you don't rotate where they graze. These horses are show horses and are not roaming a pasture. They are fed like kings in their stables.Since I can't apply any herbicides or fungicides, due to not wanting to take any sort of risk or being blamed for any sort of illness in a horse that cost 7 figures, I seed at a pretty heavy rate to reduce weed competition, do my best to get good seed to soil contact, and water the piss out of it the first 4 days to be sure I get good germination. Then back off pretty quick. I feed it after it gets a couple leaves and mow it once it gets to be about 4-5 inches and slowly lower the height so that you don't rip the seedlings.
 
#22 Ā·
Ric,

Correct on the sailor. That's the reason we escaped Atlanta for the GA coast.

When are you planning on seeding? Rye germinates very quickly but does take a while to have a stand that can handle traffic.

I would recommend using Umaxx 47-0-0 once the turf is up. At a pound on N per thousand, you will get 23500 square feet from one 50# bag. This will also give you a 12-16 week release. For the money and longevity, it is pretty cost effective. It also breaks down very quickly so you are not sucking up the granules if you/they are bagging this area. I do recommend bagging rye as it is a pretty aggressive grower with a lot of clipping.

Hope this helps.

Fair Winds,
Kevin
 
#24 Ā·
Ric,
Be careful with using old seed. I put some out 2 weeks ago at my house, it rained for 3 days straight and got no germination.
Plant

This is a learning Experience for me. We are far enough South that Over Seeding is not real popular.

The customer is getting all the seed for free from the Golf Course. I really don't have a say in what he uses. My part was Killing out the weeds, Fire Ants and two Feral Bee colonies. Fl Landscape is doing the slit seeding but the customer is supplying the seed and what every fertilizer is used. The game plan is to use the new seed on the Party area and the old seed else where until used up. We are waiting for the Golf Course to finish doing their over seeding before getting the leftover seed.

The Customer has a Shooting Range and part of our deal for doing the work at cost is the right to target shoot any Sunday. I sighted in my old 22's and Fl Landscape shot his new 9 MM that is very actuate.

Kevin

Many Years ago I had a Flying Dutchman. It is one of the most complicated One design Sail Boats ever made. I could adjust the Genoa Cunningham or any number of sail tweaking while hiking port or starboard. My boat weighted 265 pounds and had 395 sq ft of sail with the Chute up. I never mastered the art of sailing, but enjoyed it for many, many years. The Olympics dropped the Flying Dutchman in favor of the 505 and I believe the Dutchman is not real popular any more.

.
 
#26 Ā·
Ric,

Never have had the privilege to sail a Flying Dutchman. Have seen them and they look like a lot of fun. I am currently restoring a Kittiwake 23. She is an ALberg design. Full keeled, very similar to Cape Dory.
Kevin

I believe the South Coast 23 was a Albery Design also. While I have never sailed a Kittiwake 23 I have sail a South Coast 23 many times. The performance level will never meet a Dutchman but it is a lot closer than many other boats. It has been many years since I have swung from a Trapeze wire in white capped water. The Dutchman Planed at 14 knots of wind. I used to one man my Dutchman from the wire with a Tiller extension. I had to be real careful not to capsize one man because righting a Dutchman with the sails up is a hard two man job and impossible for me alone.

I am into Motor Boats now. I have 4 boats right now but only two have trailers or are actually being used. My bass boat and Aquatic spray boat are on trailers. I have a project small Pontoon Boat which is a Paddle wheel peddle driven. BTW I posted pictures of it in Off Topic. I just finished Cleaning it up. It had Cement splashed all over it. I am still looking for a way to power the Paddle Wheel. I don't plan to keep the Paddle wheel boat and hope to use it as Trade Material for some other project. I got to keep something to amuse me.
 
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