Todate we have merely field cultivated it under, and in those cases where it has gotten away from us------in the early years when I thought I knew everything--------we had to disk the crap out of it.  (One year we let it get away from us------wet spring, etc etc--------and the stuff got as high as the roof of my Suburban..........disked that stuff every direction on the compass.......five times.)

Now we just get out there earlier.................and don't try to keep the allelopathic effect in force right up to planting and beyond.

The current rage is the use of rollers such as in the post above.  One "consulting" outfit we deal with tried that..........and told me it was a disaster.  The timing of the kill is crucial.

Rodale Institute I THINK is the one who started the deal...........but it is entirely possible they merely promoted the idea more than others........don't know.

They used a "rolling crimper"-------same theory as the Buffalo in post above-------mounted in front of the planter tractor..........but they were using either a two or four row planter.  (I'd lose my entire crew if I said we were going to four row units)

The theory---------- wait until the rye is just heading out, crimp it at time of planting soybeans, the rye begins dying, and by the time it dies fully, get some ongoing weed control effect from the coverage of the trash, and the rotting of the roots.   Leave the cultivators in the shed.........plant, combine, bank the cash.

We tried that in some wet ground one year.......but we drilled at 7.5 inches, using the drill for the crimping effect..........planted half the beans one way, and then  planted the other half per acre the other way, cutting/crimping the rye bent over by the first pass..............bad seed to soil contact.........p-poor emergence......a lot of rye escapes that sucked moisture and nutrients for the rest of the season............still got 25 bu at 18.00...............although that combine huffed and puffed.

The problem I see with the current fad--------- killing the rye at planting time.  Planting has to wait until the rye is ready, else crimping won't kill it............so planting ALSO has to be timed just right.  Further........planting has to wait. 

(This past year we had such problems with emergence due to dry seedbed that the foxtail in the row has just engulfed the beans.  The ground that we finally tore up and replanted, albeit so damned late that the beans are still as green as grass today..........have been weed-free.......one cultivation.........and look really good..........if they ever dry down.)

And..........who wants to drag a 12-row crimper around with the planter, ahead of the planter, behind the planter........whatever..........could be real interesting crossing waterways, even if multiple gangs.

And.........they have had poor seed/soil contact when running the crimper ahead of the planter--------too much trash for the shoes................recall the rye is still growing and rooted.  Running it behind the planter-------I wonder what that weight would do to beans planted one inch deep and hit by the crimper blade?

So...........my proposal................with the hinge-point problem being knowing the growth habits of the rye plant well enough to predict the heading out time (which seems to be more of a problem than just a minor one, I'm finding out).................... plant early, into standing rye, at a point in time when the beans would be about 2-3 inches tall when the rye heads out-------ie at the killing point.  So, if the rye is going to head out about 05/31...........and it takes beans about 2 weeks to get to 3 inches..........plant at about 05/15.

At 5/31 go in and sickle mow the rye, just below the heads...........but obviously above the beans................killing the rye for sure.........and leaving say 1-1.5 ft of rye stalk standing, while the rest is laid neatly over into the standing stalks.............which could only happen if sickle mowed, as compared to rotary mowed.

Wait a few days.........if rye is not dying, (not logical).......or if the weeds are coming thru to a detrimental effect.....(very possible)..........remember this is organic......................disk it all under and replant.

But, If the rye dies, and weeds are not many.............get continuing weed control from the standing rye stalk and laid-down stems........ie shading...............and the rotting of the rye roots------allelopathic effect.

And the bean plants are still not tall enough/old enough that the rye has sucked moisture and nutrients out that the beans needed..................for the last several years, our part of Iowa has been a wet mutha for the last half of May.

Go watch television for the rest of the summer, and sharpen the bean head cutters 'cause there's going to be a lot of trash going thru the combine that fall.

Now, frankly, I attribute most of the above to the Alabama boys, who posted some pictures for me of planting beans into stripped wheat..............that ongoing standing plant for shading seems to be most appropriate, whereas the crimped rye will lay over the rest of the year, per the guys with whom I have talked and who have crimped..................the standing plant seems to control the weeds better.

My method gives the rye plant longer to do its job of providing toxin to the bad guys, and provides more of a window for getting the work done.

I talked at length with one PhD-type researcher from the north who supposedly is a leading "expert" in this crimping "technology" (based on articles and consumption of govt grants)----------according to what he said, anyway, he had not thought about the sickle mowing.

Now........do I believe in this enough to put a thousand acres into it?        Uhhh.........no.

Why?....................small gonads and inquisitive bankers.

We will be putting maybe 100 acres to it this spring.............and on land which is not so wet.

I think this concept would be a helluva deal for the conventional guys..............not a lot of costs involved, compared to their current structure.

I just have to find someone who can provide me with the growth stages/time of the rye plant..........I will do that research this winter.