When (or if) you mow the winter rye that you planted as a nurse crop for clover depends on your goals and how densely it is growing. Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether or not mowing is of benefit in your situation:
1) Do you have a lot of predators and a lack of tall grasses/early successional growth for fawning cover?
*Does keeping fawns near houses is a sign of this problem.
2) Is the rye thick enough in most of your plot that it's going to keep your legumes from thriving?
*Did you take a picture of where the clover is doing best to show us, while in other spots is choked out?
3) Are you planning to disc or till for the next planting?
*Too much volunteer seed can be a huge problem, but if you are going no-till/throw-n-mow, this isn't a worry.
4) If you mow or flail the seed, do you have turkeys to come in and clean up for you?
5) What are you wanting to plant next?
*Did you plan to convert the clover and nitrogen it sequesters to brassicas mid-summer?
7) Were you wanting to put corn in and crimp/roll the rye down on top to conserve moisture and control weeds?
Once you figure out what your needs and goals are, determining when or if to mow will be a decision you are uniquely qualified to make.
