My Deer Garden

Planting Cereal Rye for deer

Secale cereale

Cool season

Deer hit this hard. That is the point.

Seeding rate
100 to 120 lb
per acre, broadcast
Minimum plot
0.25 acre
smaller gets browsed out
Plant
Late summer to mid fall

Rates are broadcast figures. Drilling runs roughly a third lower. These are starting points from extension guidance and have not yet been re-checked against a second source per record, so treat them as indicative and soil test before you buy seed.

Type
Food plot forage
Hardiness
Zones 3–9
Light
Full sun
Height
24–48 in
Maintenance
Low
Family
Poaceae

About Cereal Rye

The crop that is hardest to fail with, and the one to plant if this is a first attempt or the soil test came back bad.

Cereal rye germinates in cold soil, tolerates pH down to 5.0 where clover will not establish at all, grows on ground that has never been limed, and survives winters that kill oats outright. It will produce something on almost any site.

Note that this is Secale cereale, cereal or winter rye, not annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). They are different plants and the seed bags look alike. Annual ryegrass is cheaper, less palatable, and hard to get rid of once established.

Broadcast at 100 to 120 lb per acre. That is heavy, and so are the bags, so budget for it.

Deer preference is moderate rather than high, and it drops further once the plant matures and goes stemmy in spring. It is a reliable crop rather than a preferred one, which is a fair trade on difficult ground.

Protecting Cereal Rye

Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.

  1. 1How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
  2. 2What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
  3. 3Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
  4. 4Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.

Soil and care

Soil pH
5 to 7
Drainage
Average garden soil
Water
Low
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Low

Where Cereal Rye grows

Hardy across every state on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Cereal Rye

What is the seeding rate for Cereal Rye?
Broadcast 100 to 120 lb per acre. Drilled rates run roughly a third lower. Soil test before buying seed, because pH matters more to the outcome than the rate does.
When should I plant Cereal Rye?
Late summer to mid fall. It is a cool-season crop, so the window is set by your average first frost rather than by the month.
How big does a Cereal Rye plot need to be?
About 0.25 acres as a realistic floor. Below that, deer graze the crop faster than it establishes and you get bare ground instead of forage. Local deer density moves this number more than anything else.
Do deer actually eat Cereal Rye?
Frequently Severely Damaged on the four-step damage scale, which measures how heavily deer feed on a plant. On an ornamental that is a warning. On a food plot crop it is the specification.
What hardiness zones does Cereal Rye grow in?
Cereal Rye is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
How big does Cereal Rye get?
Mature height is roughly 24–48 in. Growth rate is fast.

Browse from here

Every list Cereal Rye belongs to.

Deer favorites·Full sun plants·Food plot crops

Hardy in these zones

Zone 3·Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .