Wicked Tuff Turf Winter Rye + Chicory Seed Mix

Want ground that’s working for you almost all year — cover in the cold months and forage in the heat? This two-species blend is built to hand off from one season to the next.

Old Cobblers Farm™ Wicked Tuff Turf Winter Rye + Chicory is a purpose-built blend of two complementary species. Winter rye (Secale cereale) is a cold-hardy cover crop — a plant grown to protect and build soil — that establishes in fall, holds the ground over winter, and produces heavy growth (biomass) in spring. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a perennial forb (a broad-leaved, non-grass plant) that comes back each year and hits its stride in summer.

Together they give you a “living root” in the soil in nearly every season. Chicory’s deep taproot (3+ ft) mines minerals (pulls nutrients up from deep soil) and breaks up hardpan (the compacted layer that blocks water and roots), while rye’s fibrous roots build topsoil organic matter. Rye is also allelopathic — it releases natural compounds that suppress weed-seed germination (a plant trait, not a herbicide product) — and chicory’s canopy shades out summer weeds. For wildlife, you get multi-season attraction: rye in fall and winter, chicory in spring and summer.

Key Benefits

•     Near year-round cover: cold-season rye plus warm-season chicory keep living roots in the soil across the seasons.

•     Two-depth soil building: rye’s fibrous mat plus chicory’s deep taproot improve soil at different levels at once.

•     Deep mineral mining: chicory pulls deep-soil minerals upward and breaks compaction.

•     Natural weed suppression: rye allelopathy in spring, chicory canopy in summer.

•     Multi-season wildlife: browse and forage from fall through summer.

Best Uses

•     Year-round cover crop and soil-health program

•     Multi-season deer and wildlife food plots

•     Pasture renovation and forage diversification

•     Soil compaction relief and mineral cycling

•     Regenerative and no-till systems

Important Notes

•     ⚠ Agricultural forage & cover-crop blend, NOT a residential lawn: rye reaches 3–5 ft and chicory is a forage plant — this blend has low foot-traffic tolerance and is not a turf lawn.

•     ⚠ Plant shallow: the blend includes small, light-favoring chicory seed — sow ¼–½ in. deep; do not plant deep.

•     Rye allelopathy is a natural weed-suppressing trait, not a herbicide product.

•     Terminate rye in spring (roll-crimp, mow, or graze); the chicory continues below.

•     Seed only — not a fertilizer.

Why Choose Old Cobblers Farm™?

Every bag of Wicked Tuff Turf seed is selected for high purity and strong germination — uncoated, with no fillers or dyes. We test for purity and germination so each bag performs consistently for farmers, hunters, and land managers who expect real results.