Rye · Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
When to plant rye in Edmonton
Main outdoor window
15-29 Aug
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
13 May
In Edmonton, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jul - 31 Aug
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Edmonton
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Drill or broadcast the seed
15-29 Aug
Four to six weeks before your first frost, so roots form before the ground cools.
Harvest
1 Jul - 31 Aug
Rye through the year
Against the frost risk in Edmonton
Why these dates
Sow in autumn up to and even slightly after the first frost - rye germinates at soil temperatures near 2C, which no other grain will do. As a cover crop it must be cut before it sets seed or it becomes a weed.
Survives to -25C or lower with snow cover. There is effectively no temperate winter that kills established rye.
Rye are anchored to the first autumn frost rather than the last spring one, so the planting window on this page counts backwards from the end of the season in Edmonton instead of forwards from its start.
This is a two-season crop, so the dates above describe a sowing in one year and a harvest in the next. The plant spends the winter in the ground as a small rosette, which is why the frost-free season in Edmonton does not limit it the way it would limit a tomato: it is not trying to finish before the cold arrives, it is trying to be well enough rooted to sit through it. Sowing too late is the real risk, because a plant that goes into winter undersized often fails to flower at all the following year.
Also in Edmonton
Other grains to time
Growing rye in Edmonton
When should I plant rye in Edmonton?
Aim for 15-29 Aug in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 2-16 Aug - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will rye be ready to harvest in Edmonton?
Expect to start picking around 1 Jul - 31 Aug, based on 240 to 300 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will rye tolerate?
Survives to -25C or lower with snow cover. There is effectively no temperate winter that kills established rye.