The Great Green Machine

Some people spend money on spas or jewelry; I like to spend money on inventions and experiments. The latest is the green machine to roll down rye. Even appropriate technology has trends and fads and the newest is rye roll down. There are advantages to conventional no-till agriculture. The soil is not disturbed; there is less erosion etc. Much of it depends on using herbicides to kill the existing plant cover. When you grow winter rye and roll it down in the flowering stage, it dies. Jury is out. Much of the university research on this is being done where the spring and summer are longer and the rye matures early enough to then plant crops into the rolled down rye. The rye suppresses the weeds and adds organic matter to the soil. This takes some heavy metal to crimp and kill the rye. The green machine fills with water to add weight to it. Transplanting into the flattened rye is tricky too and I have yet to get my transplanter set up well enough. Spending more money is inevitable. Some of my experiments are successful and some are not. The local welder often shakes his head at the equipment he builds. Is it worth the money? Yes! American farmers have long been the innovators of the country developing all kinds of new technology.
How is the experiment going? In the fall, I planted rye and then when it germinated, I used the small rototiller to make rows without rye. This allowed me to plant the pumpkins and winter squash before the rye was ready to roll down and I could use my regular transplanter. Drip tape was laid as the plants were transplanted in case of dry weather. I rolled the rye and hairy vetch mix. It killed the rye but not the vetch and I will hit it again with the green machine. If the vetch does not die, I will need to mow several times and the plants will be at risk of being smothered by this aggressive plant. Next steps: work with the welder to attach a trash coulter and chisel tooth to the transplanter to allow it to plant right into the rye. I'll keep you posted.