Broadcasting Rye Grass Seed before the rain

This morning I had to be in Houston for work in my 'real' job.  That meant I had to wake up earlier than normal.  At 3:30 am I rolled reluctantly out of bed, showered, dressed and my bride handed me a big cup of coffee and a kiss as I headed out the door at 4.  At 6:57 am I was in downtown Houston in four lanes of traffic with red tail lights shining for miles and cars bumper to bumper all doing 20 miles an hour. I finally made it to the office, got my stuff done and exited the concrete jungle with the quickness!

I got home in record time and was happy that there was daylight remaining.  I put on my 'work' clothes and headed back out the door.  There was work to be done.  It hasn't rained here in 26 days, and then it was only 0.3 of an inch.  We're dry.  Real dry.  But this weekend, there is a strong chance of rain and high chances of rain for the days that follow.  I've been waiting on this as it is (past) time to plant rye grass.

I basically used THIS GUIDE for seeding rates but changed up the ground preparation for planting.  In advance I purchased some quality rye grass seed and got my spreader ready.

100 pounds of rye grass seed

I filled the little spreader with seed and adjusted the setting so that it matched the seeding rate.  We have a very small operation, so rye grass planting is a manual thing.  Last week I put the cows on the paddocks that I'm going to plant and let them eat it down.  Today I was able to just broadcast the seed with my spreader, pushing it up and down while watching the seeds scatter evenly across the pasture.

Spreading the rye grass seed on the pasture

When planting rye grass without plowing to work up a seed bed, it is very important to ensure that the seed comes into contact with the ground.  So once I've finished broadcasting the seed, I get on my riding lawnmower and set the mower deck to the second lowest setting and mow the pasture.  This shakes the seed and forces down to the level of the soil.  It also spreads the grass clippings on top of the seed, acting as a light mulch.  Once it rains this weekend, it will wet the seed and encourage germination.  The grass clippings will keep the moisture on the ground from evaporating.

Mowing over the seed as the sun goes down

Finally I was finished planting one of the two bags of seed.  It got too dark to do any more.  I'll finish planting the final bag and mowing it in tomorrow.

Getting it done until you can't see anymore

Once it is planted, there will be nothing else to do besides wait for the rain to come. I'll broadcast some chicken litter over it later to encourage growth.  As I drove the mower back to the house, I looked up at the moon and the stars and the quiet peace that is country living.  And I counted my blessings, appreciating country living and the ability to work outdoors.  If the rye grass comes up, our cows will be grateful for that as well.