Conservation Tillage: Cover Crops

Annual Ryegrass

Annual ryegrass is, as its name suggests, is an annual winter grass that establishes itself through reseeding. This grass is a very advantageous beginner's cover crop, easy to seed and maintain. It germinates quickly, making re-establishment faster and easier. Annual ryegrass is a vigorous grass and highly competitive. It tolerates acidic soil pH (above 5.5), low fertility conditions and poor drainage. Despite poor conditions, annual ryegrass will nonetheless form a dense cover and may even create short-term planting issues because of thick growth, especially in favorable conditions.

Seed 25-32 lb/A. Mid-August through mid-September.