How to terminate annual rye grass in spring - Ask Extension
I have a small organic vegetable garden (about 30’ x 6’) that I unwittingly “infected” with a native plant (I believe goldenrod). It has taken...
Knowledgebase
How to terminate annual rye grass in spring #812687
Asked September 30, 2022, 2:55 AM EDT
I have a small organic vegetable garden (about 30’ x 6’) that I unwittingly “infected” with a native plant (I believe goldenrod). It has taken over the garden this summer despite my best efforts to remove/suppress the culprit. I am considering planting annual rye grass for weed suppression during the upcoming cold months. I don’t have good tools to terminate the grass in the spring. Could you give me suggestions on: (1) use of this cover crop—good or bad idea; (2) healthy alternatives for weed suppression; (3) how to terminate a cover crop and when without buying expensive tools. Really, really appreciate it. At 71 years of age, I’m looking for ways to enjoy my hobby without breaking my back. Thank you!!!
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
We understand and are happy to help.
Getting control of the Goldenrod would be the best first step.
How sure are you of the Goldenrod i.d.? If you have any doubts you can attach a photo to this reply and we'll take a look.
Your first step will be to remove all plants and debris from the garden.
Most of the goldenrods here are pretty happy growers, with thick, running rhizomes (roots) that have plants popping up in a row. Every piece of that root that is left in the soil can regrow. If the soil is moist you can sometimes get a lot of it up, but if it is dry, drive a garden fork close to the plant and rock it to loosen the soil a before pulling, and to sift out any remaining pieces that you can.
You have some options to protect your soil from erosion and for weed control.
As you noted, cover crops can be useful, but we do not recommend using annual rye.
Here is our page on Cover Crops:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/cover-crops
Winter Rye can still be planted now.
You would need to cut it when it's 2-3 ft. tall in mid-late April and then you'd need to cover the entire area with landscape fabric for 2-3 weeks to kill the cover crop.
You can leave the fabric on the soil to prevent goldenrod from emerging, while making holes in the tarp for vegetable seeds and plants.
(For the future, Spring oats are recommended and may fit the bill for you as they are winter killed and you can plant through the debris in spring, but you'd need to plant them in late summer, before Oct. 1st.)
As an alternative, autumn leaves make an excellent weed-suppressing and soil-protective mulch, especially when shredded. They decompose quickly but improve soil conditions in the process.
You might consider using a lightweight netting or metal fencing, easily staked at wide intervals around the bed, then pile up a high stack of leaves to degrade over the winter. Thin leaves will decompose pretty quickly on their own but thick leaves like oak will break down faster if they are broken into smaller pieces first, either by mowing/shredding or by letting bagged leaves dry and bit and then crush/roll the bags around before emptying them. They break down into a nice, organic compost.
If you choose neither of the above options you could even consider just putting down landscape fabric now and leaving it in place through the 2023 growing season, planting through it as proposed above.
Despite your best efforts, there may still be some goldenrod or other weed seeds in the soil bank. Pull or hoe new seedlings out when they are young, when they are easy to control.
Christine
Getting control of the Goldenrod would be the best first step.
How sure are you of the Goldenrod i.d.? If you have any doubts you can attach a photo to this reply and we'll take a look.
Your first step will be to remove all plants and debris from the garden.
Most of the goldenrods here are pretty happy growers, with thick, running rhizomes (roots) that have plants popping up in a row. Every piece of that root that is left in the soil can regrow. If the soil is moist you can sometimes get a lot of it up, but if it is dry, drive a garden fork close to the plant and rock it to loosen the soil a before pulling, and to sift out any remaining pieces that you can.
You have some options to protect your soil from erosion and for weed control.
As you noted, cover crops can be useful, but we do not recommend using annual rye.
Here is our page on Cover Crops:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/cover-crops
Winter Rye can still be planted now.
You would need to cut it when it's 2-3 ft. tall in mid-late April and then you'd need to cover the entire area with landscape fabric for 2-3 weeks to kill the cover crop.
You can leave the fabric on the soil to prevent goldenrod from emerging, while making holes in the tarp for vegetable seeds and plants.
(For the future, Spring oats are recommended and may fit the bill for you as they are winter killed and you can plant through the debris in spring, but you'd need to plant them in late summer, before Oct. 1st.)
As an alternative, autumn leaves make an excellent weed-suppressing and soil-protective mulch, especially when shredded. They decompose quickly but improve soil conditions in the process.
You might consider using a lightweight netting or metal fencing, easily staked at wide intervals around the bed, then pile up a high stack of leaves to degrade over the winter. Thin leaves will decompose pretty quickly on their own but thick leaves like oak will break down faster if they are broken into smaller pieces first, either by mowing/shredding or by letting bagged leaves dry and bit and then crush/roll the bags around before emptying them. They break down into a nice, organic compost.
If you choose neither of the above options you could even consider just putting down landscape fabric now and leaving it in place through the 2023 growing season, planting through it as proposed above.
Despite your best efforts, there may still be some goldenrod or other weed seeds in the soil bank. Pull or hoe new seedlings out when they are young, when they are easy to control.
Christine
Dear Christine,
Thanks so much for your information and advice.
I will forgo the annual rye grass in the vegetable gardens. I will use, instead, the thousands of oak leaves that fall into my yard from the forest on the other side of my fence. This will be a first for me.
I have attached a photo of the golden ragwort that I believe is the escapee sending runners all over my backyard property! However, I cannot be 100 percent certain this is the culprit. Later, I will send you another photo.
Best regards,
Linda
Hi Linda,
We can wait for the other photo when you are able to send it, but the pictured plants are indeed Golden Ragwort, a native though aggressive wildflower. Gardeners using natives value its ability to out-compete some invasive weeds and use it as a good alternative to invasive ornamental plants like Periwinkle and English Ivy. It may have self-seeded into the vegetable bed, though runners from nearby plants (if sited very close to the bed) could also have been the means of colonization.
Miri
We can wait for the other photo when you are able to send it, but the pictured plants are indeed Golden Ragwort, a native though aggressive wildflower. Gardeners using natives value its ability to out-compete some invasive weeds and use it as a good alternative to invasive ornamental plants like Periwinkle and English Ivy. It may have self-seeded into the vegetable bed, though runners from nearby plants (if sited very close to the bed) could also have been the means of colonization.
Miri
Thank you for the photos. Are you growing the native perennial Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata) in the yard? These volunteers resemble that species and may be seedlings too young yet to have flowered. In either case, we can't be certain about ID without flowers, which are very important in plant identification since foliage on unrelated plants can look nearly identical.
Miri
Miri
OMG! I didn’t know that this is POSSIBLY Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)!!! I thought it was golden grounsel because that was what I planted! If I have to wait until spring for flowers, then so be it. Thanks so much, Mimi!!! Linda
You're welcome.
We're not sure if the leaves are a great match, but then again, sometimes genetics, environmental conditions, and plant age can all influence leaf shape. You can send us more photos of the plants in bloom (if you're keeping them for now) next year if you would like another assessment of ID. You can use this same question thread at that point or you can start a new query referencing this question's number so we can find the foliage pictures (or just include more at that time).
Miri
We're not sure if the leaves are a great match, but then again, sometimes genetics, environmental conditions, and plant age can all influence leaf shape. You can send us more photos of the plants in bloom (if you're keeping them for now) next year if you would like another assessment of ID. You can use this same question thread at that point or you can start a new query referencing this question's number so we can find the foliage pictures (or just include more at that time).
Miri
