Planting- no till- wheat and other grains

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
Now is a great time to sow grassy grains. Just throw seeds out onto the ground. Some will avoid getting eaten by predators. Some will germinate, and grow a little bit all winter long, and be ready to have a good shot at out-competing the existing vegetation in the spring. The sooner they get into the ground (after about September) the better chance they have of getting ahead of the weeds.

I really like grains that grow 4 to 6 feet tall in no-till settings. Not many weeds will be growing taller than them... Winter rye is my favorite for growing in non-tilled areas which on my farm are called the wild-lands.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
I wouldn't expect a tarp laid on the ground to do much killing of grass before spring. Is the grass currently dormant? My wheat and rye are currently growing, even under snowcover.

I'm not an advocate of no-till farming, and I especially wouldn't plant anything into a grassy lawn, but I observe plenty of wild rye growing in the wildlands. It sprouted with the fall monsoons in about September, and has spent all that time getting ready to out-compete the slower growing grasses in the spring.

Nick Kitchener wrote:So I ran phase 2 of an experiment this year growing small grains directly in my lawn. Unfortunately our landlord sold the house and we had to move out before all the harvest came in, but it was a largely successful season. The yield looked like is was less than my control plot, but I couldn't say for sure by how much.[/quote

Nick,

I will direct seed some rye and vetch in the lawn too, just to test it out.    Thanks for the info.

Regards, Scott