This one made me drop my tools. This is “annual rye grass” purchased online. It’s not Annual as far as I can tell, unless I missed the date to mow it back. Nor did my cardboard covering work perfectly. The area cleared was under cardboard, and easy to clear of “Kentucky Bluegrass” from the lawn, and who knows what else. (Thus far, that is no one.) The Bobcat scraping must have spread the seed…perhaps.
I have alot of work to do…yes?
Back to the Grass …and why we get lost when we try to do the right thing in our yards.
So. Last year I learned alot about grasses. I think.
I chose a large patch, cleaned out plants and roots, and covered work cardboard for the season.
Come fall, I had dirt.
I started contacting all of the seed sellers I could find about what to do next. I certainly couldn’t fill the entire area with plants…due to budget…I didn’t want to use mulch, since it is the entry area to the woods, and I want sure if tall grasses would be appropriate for the moderately sized area. More on mulch, later….
Responses ranged from…your choice…brush for weed suppression (brush?) …ask your CISMA…to plant annual cover crop until you decide.
Annual cover crop, by the way, is anything but a one-step fixall solution…
After learning that I was being a pest by asking the seed sellers too many questions, I decided on annual cover.
I read, read, read…getting more confused with each article. (Don’t get discouraged if you do as well! Sometimes trial and error is the best path toward success.)
In this case, my takeaway was Annual Rye.
I chose a company that was very precise with the knowledge they shared, and went with annual rye, planted in the fall.
I remembered it had to be mowed when it seeded.
Now it’s May and the annual rye is all over the place. And it has seed heads. Wait. Didn’t I read that this seeds in the Fall?
So, next step: Google “when to mow annual rye.”
Answers all pointed to “when the seed pods start to drop and are at, or before, the milk stage.”
I watched videos closely and tried to take the pollen head, find a seed, and squeeze it for milk.
I couldn’t even see what I was supposed to be milking.
Starting over: Picture this is identifying the Annual Rye as PERRENNIAL rye.
Did the company send me the wrong bag of seed?
Do I mow it now?
Am I going to have a hill of exotic rye grass all summer, and for the rest of my lifetime?
I have no clue. But the words “controlled burn” certainly sound like a great idea right now. Let it all fire up, and leave the ashes and fertile soil behind. Unfortunately, we can’t, in our area.
Probably a good thing, too.
The only certainty is that I intend to spend most of my time out here, so no reason to be frustrated. I just need to figure out what to do now.
Since it’s Sunday and everyone is off until tomorrow, I’m going to start pulling.
Otherwise, all I have thus far for certain is absolute confusion.
My only hope for answers is our amazing local CISMA. They have been incredibly patient with my never-ending questions.
