2016 was the first year we planted and rolled Rye in an attempt to form a sufficient weed barrier underneath our corn and soybeans. Along with providing a weed mat we are also hoping that we can increase the amount of organic matter and nutrients within our soil.
Rolling Rye and No till drilling soybeans
We acquired a sprayer from a very kind extended family member the summer of 2017 and were able to fertilize some of our soybeans and our alfalfa field. We have been using a fish based fertilizer, which doesn't smell too great, but at least you know you are breathing in something organic instead of the chemicals you usually smell when driving through farm country in the summer.
Here you can see what our pollinator buffer strips looked like at the end of June. I think the bees were happy. In the picture you can also see that this field was rolled pretty late and the rye stand wasn't as thick as one would like.
Though we continue to try and roll rye, weed pressures have been very high the past few years and our stand of rye was not sufficient to suppress the weeds. Therefore we have been doing a lot of manual cultivation. In 2022 we also hired someone to use a weed zapper on one field with minimal success (perhaps because they were already to far established.