advice on rye please

Cuervo

5 year old buck +
OK, I finally actually got something to grow on my sandy soil in a wooded plot. the rye is now 3ft + high, and the clover I planted with it is looking good. Should I now mow the rye to kill it and let the clover go, or just flatten the rye? The fact something actually grew has me mystified now.

Thanks
 
I would do nothing. The tall rye will shelter the clover and the soil.
 
This was my clover a few weeks ago. Planted in 2012 and let the rye stand all last year. I also have very sandy soil.
DSCF1016_zps63f12bcb.jpg
 
Thanks Bueller,

That makes my decision easy...I'll do nothing!
 
OK, I finally actually got something to grow on my sandy soil in a wooded plot. the rye is now 3ft + high, and the clover I planted with it is looking good. Should I now mow the rye to kill it and let the clover go, or just flatten the rye? The fact something actually grew has me mystified now.

Thanks
Looks good. I have a sandy section that I would like to plant some clover/chirory/alfalfa type blend and your plan looks good. When did you plant the rye and clover?
 
Looks good. I have a sandy section that I would like to plant some clover/chirory/alfalfa type blend and your plan looks good. When did you plant the rye and clover?
Mine was planted around August 10th.
 
Did you plant the winter rye and clover at the same time on August 10th?

I'm going to plant some soybeans in a few weeks for a good early season food source, but I have some ground in between my apple trees that would probably be easier to keep in a clover/chicory/alfalfa mix, but I really like the rye cover crop idea. My soil is pretty sandy in that area, but it sounds like others have had good luck with rye/clover in those situations. I'm just a little concerned that the clover couldn't take the drought in the summer, so I may add some chicory or alfalfa as a little drought insurance.
 
Yep planted them together on 8/10/12. The medium red clover stayed green under the standing rye during the late summer drought last year. While I do have very sandy soil I should mention that prior to planting in 2012 I added the recommended amounts of lime and fertilizer from a soil test.
 
I also planted last year around the middle of Aug. Everything then sat for a month while we got zero rain. The rye came in ok last fall and provided a nice attractant. This is what it looks like now. I have sandy soil, this is in the woods in a small clearing and soil is marginally better here because of the years of leaf litter etc.
PICT06642_zps811ca890.jpg
 

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