The prize for most cold hardy annual in most gardens goes to rye.  Not only will the plants grow during warm spells throughout the winter, they'll germinate right down to one degree above freezing.

With that exciting data revving me up, I might have gone a little overboard on my rye cover crop planting, making it more of a commitment than an experiment.  I sent Mark to the feed store with "10 pounds of rye seeds" on the list, and he came back with a 50 pound bag --- I guess there weren't enough farmers buying smaller quantities to make it worth their while to break apart a bag.  So I planted and planted and planted, filling up about half the vegetable garden, gaps in the forest garden, and even a bit of bare ground in a chicken pasture.  Yes, I used all 50 pounds.

The rye seedlings look beautiful on frosty mornings, but I'll be in quite a bind if the plants aren't easily killable.  I planned out my garden rotation early to make sure I'd have non-rye spaces for all of the earlier spring plantings, but I'll need those rye beds by June 15 at the latest.  Keep your fingers crossed!