How short of work?

Driley62

Songster
Jun 8, 2021
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Chazy, NY
So I know that it won't last forever but this is my thought. I plan on in the spring laying a mix of grain grasses that I can buy by the pound at a local feed store(rye, oat and wheat are the ones specifically im looking at). In the spring after the threat of frost I plan on planting it in a 420 square foot section of my run. I also plan on in that same section making a grazing box or two for them to always have greens because again, I know it being in the ground won't last forever. I know they will turn that patch of dirt I turn into grasses back into dirt. I'm just trying to Gauge how long it'll take for them to accomplish that again.

Is it really worth planting in that whole section and locking it down to keep them away while it grows? I'd guess come may it'll only take about 2 weeks before I can turn them loose on it.

Again I plan on doing a couple grazing boxes to keep then away from the root system so they can only clip off what grows through the hardware cloth to keep the grasses healthy especially from their poo.

If this idea works out I can get away with keeping them out of that section for a couple weeks a year to let the grasses grow.

Side note: we have 20 birds.
 
I don't know if it is worth planting the grains in the 420 sq ft space you have. The cereals would be good for them but I don't know how much benefit vs what your other choices are.

If you do it, though, don't wait until the soil warms up. These are cool season grasses and won't compete well against warm season grasses and warm season weeds. Planting season for rye and winter wheat is now through onset of hard frost this fall. Oats will winter kill so it needs to be planted early to mid spring. Or you can frost seed (sow the seed as the ground is going through freeze/thaw cycles) rye, wheat, or oats.
 
. Or you can frost seed (sow the seed as the ground is going through freeze/thaw cycles) rye, wheat, or oats.
That was my plan was pretty much early early season. Right around mid April. Planting now it would survive through the harsh northern ny winter? As far as options there isn't many other options. To heavy predators so I can't let them free range without direct supervision and I can't do that as I've got too many other things to literally sit there and watch them like a hawk. I could possibly get myself a collapsible fence to use like a tractor in various parts of the yard to allow them to rotate off to allow it to recover, but again it would only be when I'm home from work to do so. That's also partly why I planned on doing a couple of graze boxes to keep a couple of spots that they couldn't eradicate completely through the year.

How long you figure it would take then to tear up that kinda space?
 
We only live on 1/3 acre to which we also have 3 dogs and soon to be(days away) 2 children. While there still is "usable" space on our property, I can't stand climbing over things to get to others. My neighbors did say we can use a part of their lot behind ours and they didn't care. They don't even use it let alone know what it looks like(their words). But it's a wooded part of their lot and don't want to remove trees and open it up especially considering its not our land. I hope to in the near future to buy that section however, but at this moment it's not in the cards nor do I know when we could.
 
That was my hope honestly. If I could get a month fantastic. But beyond the month mark was a shot in the dark. Between the birds destroying and the canopy of trees filling in I didn't really expect to last much longer.

Now the graze boxes I plan on putting in will strategically be placed so they can get 3-5 hours of direct light a day once the canopy fills in and some filtered light in other parts of the day.

I know rye grass grows just about in any conditions but im still looking for other shade loving forage for the birds to mix with it to add some diversity to the supplement. I was told white clover is good in shade. You have any ideas?
 
Yes. I'm sure. My family has been doing it for the past hundred years on various sized fields of our hundreds of acres. Probably a lot longer than that but I only know for sure back as far as my grandparents told about. In the upper midwest - so at least as harsh of a climate as even upstate NY.

Cereal rye is different than rye grass, though. We do cereal rye; I'm not sure about rye grass.

Mid April is late but still okay in some years. Better to plant as soon as the ground can be worked if you are waiting for spring - if I were you, I would watch when farmers in your area start working their fields.

In a field, fall planting is better except for oats. it will get some roots growing, then top will mostly die back (like the grass in lawns) and get a good start earlier than you can work the ground. Then it is well established before the warm season plants get started.

For what you are doing (basically growing greens rather than trying to harvest the grain from it), I would plant now, let them graze it down, plant again later this fall, let them graze it down, plant one more time if the snow isn't too deep, let them graze on it as soon as it greens up in the spring, plant again. Anything they work under instead of eating is great feed for your soil. I think it is a great idea!!!! Even if you just plant once.

I don't know how long it takes chickens to work over a plot; I haven't had chickens long enough and mine don't free range. I believe the others who have answered.
 
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Yes. I'm sure. My family has been doing it for the past hundred years on various sized fields of our hundreds of acres. Probably a lot longer than that but I only know for sure back as far as my grandparents told about. In the upper midwest - so at least as harsh of a climate as even upstate NY.

Cereal rye is different than rye grass, though. We do cereal rye; I'm not sure about rye grass.

Mid April is late but still okay in some years. Better to plant as soon as the ground can be worked if you are waiting for spring - if I were you, I would watch when farmers in your area start working their fields.

In a field, fall planting is better except for oats. it will get some roots growing, then top will mostly die back (like the grass in lawns) and get a good start earlier than you can work the ground. Then it is well established before the warm season plants get started. It can be

For what you are doing (basically growing greens rather than trying to harvest the grain from it), I would plant now, let them graze it down, plant again later this fall, let them graze it down, plant one more time if the snow isn't too deep, let them graze on it as soon as it greens up in the spring, plant again. Anything they work under instead of eating is great feed for your soil. I think it is a great idea!!!! Even if you just plant once.

I don't know how long it takes chickens to work over a plot; I haven't had chickens long enough and mine don't free range. I believe the others who have answered.
I didnt ask if it's grass or cereal but I will ask if it's either or. I'd imagine it's cereal because I specifically mentioned it for my birds. To help it to I could keep them away too for say a week at a time throughout the year to let it recover as well so I don't need to continuously plant the entire section.

Didn't doubt your opinion by the way. I'm new at this specific aspect and didn't think of the difference between cereal or grass and didn't ask them specifically what it was.

What's your current temp right now in the upper Midwest? Ours at night is hovering in the 50s and day low to mid 70s.
 

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