RenoHuskerDu
Songster
I hand spread winter rye over about 200 sqft to cover where I'd worked with an excavator. The AgriLife adviser recommended it to add nitrogen and avoid mud all winter. "Don't let it grow too tall and go to seed" was her advice.
Imagine my surprise to see that the chickens are keeping it mowed. It's spread well, and our 10 hens are eating it down as it grows. They have plenty of developer/layer feed in two feeders, so it's not that they're overly hungry.
It sure looks better than the dead brown grass we usually have all winter in Texas. I spread some more further out where I had not disturbed the soil, and it's coming up there too after 2 weeks.
So if you have free rangers and you want to keep your yard a bit greener in the winter, you might give winter rye a try too. And leave the lawnmower stowed away.
Note that if you have a watered lawn with a summer grass, rye is noted for competing and causing issues. We do not water our "lawn" - which is just native grasses.
Imagine my surprise to see that the chickens are keeping it mowed. It's spread well, and our 10 hens are eating it down as it grows. They have plenty of developer/layer feed in two feeders, so it's not that they're overly hungry.
It sure looks better than the dead brown grass we usually have all winter in Texas. I spread some more further out where I had not disturbed the soil, and it's coming up there too after 2 weeks.
So if you have free rangers and you want to keep your yard a bit greener in the winter, you might give winter rye a try too. And leave the lawnmower stowed away.
Note that if you have a watered lawn with a summer grass, rye is noted for competing and causing issues. We do not water our "lawn" - which is just native grasses.
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