I planted the oats along with the clover in early April and left the oats as a cover crop. I am glad I left the oats because it has been really dry here and I think the oats have helped shade the clover from the relentless sun and heat we've had lately. Oh yeah and the squirrels and turkeys have been all over the oats lately and I even flushed a nice covey of quail out of there today while taking the pics. My lil brother has had a blast the last couple of weeks while out of school bagging squirrels.