We’ve all heard that old expression, ” It’s like watching grass grow”. We’ll that’s kind of what this blog post is about. No, wait, that’s exactly what this post is about. Not to worry though, I’ve done all the boring work for you by watching that grass grow. So there’s no need to click away from here yet.
The grass I’m talking about is the rye I planted in the garden last fall as a cover crop. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back a few pages in this blog and you’ll find a couple of posts about it.
Just by looking at the rye, not much has changed visually except much of it was grazed by geese, rabbits and other small animals. That won’t hurt it though. It’s not as bad as animals grazing on your lettuce for example.
Although you can’t see it, the rye has undergone a major transformation. Because of the effects of the cold winter temperatures, the plants have experienced a process called “vernalization”. This cold period radically changes the internal processes of the plants enabling them complete their lifecycle by growing flowers and eventually forming seeds.
The tender leaves of young rye plants were enjoyed by various grazing animals this winter.
Without those several days of freezing temperatures, rye plants would not be able to reproduce. Other cereal crops like winter wheat and winter barley require similar vernalization. Oats on the other hand are not winter hardy therefore don’t require vernalization to form seeds.
I had a discussion with a soil conservation technician last fall. He mentioned this was one of the few times he’s come across a garden with a winter cover crop. Maybe he has not been looking in the right places, I’m sure many readers of this blog use cover crops in their gardens. You’re welcome to share your cover crop experiences with other readers in the comment section below
To me watching grass grow is not boring at all — watching paint dry, well, that’s a whole different story.
Bob