Grow a Clover Lawn

Clover is a member of the legume family that’s becoming a popular alternative to grass for front and backyard lawns, mostly because clover is affordable, easy to grow, simple to maintain, and drought-resistant. Moreover, clover also attracts pollinating insects like bees, attracts deer, requires no fertilization, grows in poor soil, and requires very little attention and no mowing. Clover can also be seeded over an existing lawn and grows well with grasses.

Steps

Getting the Basics Down

  1. Ready the soil or lawn. You can grow clover on soil, or you can overseed it on an established lawn. Either way, you need to get the area ready for the clover, so that it has a chance to establish itself.[1]
    • For a lawn, cut the lawn as short as you can. Rake the lawn with a thatch rake to help remove some of the excess grass.
    • For soil, till it up about a month ahead of planting, and remove as much green as you can. Smooth out the area, and then start watering it. This process will make the weeds sprout up. Cut them down in about two weeks. Now you can start with a relatively weed-free area for the clover.[2]
  2. Mix the clover seed with sand or soil. To help you spread the seed more evenly, you need to stir in some sand or soil. Mix about equal parts of seed and sand or soil. The seed is small, so the mixture helps you spread the seed all across your lawn instead of using it up in one area.[3]
    • It doesn't really matter what kind of soil or sand you use. Playground sand works fine. It may be best to use something that's not fertilized, as fertilized soil may increase the chance of other weeds growing.
    • Consider adding a clover inoculant to the mixture. An inoculant encourages the clover to form a relationship with the bacteria in the soil so that it can produce its own nitrogen.[4]
  3. Spread the seed. Use your hand to spread the seed evenly over the lawn. If you have a large lawn, you can use a broadcast spreader, which you can buy at local garden stores and home improvement stores.[5]
  4. Water the area. The seeds need to stay moist while they are sprouting. Water them at least once a day and twice a day if it's particularly hot. You'll need to water them this frequently for about two weeks, until they sprout and begin to grow well.[5]
  5. Skip the fertilizer. Clover can produce nitrogen all on its own, as long as it forms the proper relationship with the soil (which you encourage by adding a clover inoculant when planting). Adding in fertilizer will usually encourage grasses and weeds to grow instead of the clover.[4]

Getting the Soil Ready

  1. Till the soil a month before planting. Clover seeds will do best if they don’t have to compete with weeds while they're establishing. To remove all vegetation, rocks, and debris from the area, till or rake the soil to a depth of about eight inches (20 cm).[4]
    • Tilling a month in advance will give any weeds time to regrow so you can remove them before planting.
    • Tilling now will also make it easier to change the soil if the pH needs to be adjusted.
  2. Change the soil. Clover will grow in most soils, but it grows best in sandy loam and clay. It also thrives best when the soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.0. If your soil is too rich, too acidic, or too alkaline, you should change the soil to make it more suitable.[6]
    • Add sand to correct soil that’s too rich (not sandy enough).
    • Add lime to correct soil that’s too acidic (a low pH). You'll likely need to do this in the soil around coniferous trees.
    • Till in peat moss or sawdust to correct soil that’s too alkaline (a high pH).
    • You can buy a kit to check the pH of your soil at gardening centers.
  3. Water the area daily. To encourage latent weeds and vegetation to grow, provide the tilled area with a light misting of water every day. This process will help you eliminate weeds in a couple weeks, right before planting the clover seeds.
    • You don’t have to worry about watering if you're getting sufficient rain during this time.
  4. Remove weeds. A couple days before planting, use a spade or small shovel to dig up any weeds that have sprouted up since you tilled the land. This will kill competition and give the clover the best possible chance of thriving.[7]
    • You can also use a scythe to cut them out.

Planting Clover Seed

  1. Mix the seed with sand. Clover seeds are very small and lightweight. To ensure they spread evenly, it’s best to mix them with another medium that will make them easier to distribute on the ground. Right before planting, transfer the seeds to a bucket and mix them with equal parts of one of the following:[8]
    • Soil
    • San
    • Sawdust
  2. Spread the seeds. Transfer the seed and medium mixture to a seed spreader. Open the flow lever and walk at a normal pace in rows, up and down the area you want to seed.
    • You can spread the seeds by hand if your lawn is very small, but a seed spreader will be much faster and provide more even coverage over a larger area.
  3. Rake the area. Clover seeds will not grow if they are buried in the ground, but covering them with a thin layer of soil will help to keep them in place and prevent wind or predators from disturbing them. Go over the area you’ve seeded with a rake and gently mix the seeds into the top layer of soil.
    • Do not rake more than a quarter-inch (6 mm) deep, otherwise the seeds won’t grow.
  4. Keep the seeds moist until the clover is established. Water the seeds immediately after spreading them. This process will help the seeds stick in the ground and encourage germination. Provide the seeds with a light misting of water every day that it doesn’t rain until the seedlings grow leaves.
    • During the spring, summer, and warmer fall months, make sure the clover gets about 1.5 to 2 inches (3.8 to 5 cm) of water per week.[7]
    • When planted during the warmer spring or summer months, clover seeds will germinate in one to two weeks.

Picking the Right Time and Place to Plant

  1. Buy clover seed. You can purchase clover seeds at garden stores, at most home and hardware stores, and online. You'll need roughly 2 ounces (57 g) of clover seeds per 1,000 square feet of lawn.[9]
    • The most popular types of clovers for lawns are Dutch White (a perennial that grows to 8 inches or 20 centimeters and Microclover (a durable clover that has small leaves and short stems).[10]
    • Inoculated clover seeds of any variety are also popular, because it means you don’t have to inoculate them yourself. Inoculation is the process of coating the seeds with a nitrogen-fixing bacterium that allows the clover to produce its own nitrogen. Be sure to store these seeds in a cool, dark place.
  2. Plant according to the season and weather. The best time to plant clover is in spring or summer. To plant in spring, make sure the last frost has occurred, and that nighttime temperatures are staying above 40 F (4 C). The best time to seed clover is between mid-March and mid-August.
    • In warmer areas, you can plant clover in September and October, but plant it at least six weeks before the first frost.
    • In the warmest areas where winters are mild and there's rarely snow or freezing temperatures in winter, you can plant clover all year round.[7]
  3. Choose a sunny location. Depending on the size of your lawn, you may have conditions that vary greatly from one area to another, so some areas may not be ideal for clover. Clover is very hardy and will even grow in partial shade, but it will do best when it gets between four and six hours of sunlight per day.
    • Where possible, prune and trim trees, hedges, and brush to ensure the clover gets enough light.[7]

Tips

  • To encourage a patch of clover already in your yard, mow your lawn to 1.5 to 2 inches. This height is more favorable to clover than to grasses.[8]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://cloverlawn.org/
  2. ↑ http://www.gardensalive.com/product/well-have-you-rolling-in-the-clover/you_bet_your_garden
  3. ↑ https://dengarden.com/gardening/Clover-Lawns
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 http://www.gardensalive.com/product/well-have-you-rolling-in-the-clover/you_bet_your_garden
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://cloverlawn.org/
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9_s1zm-muY
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 http://www.outsidepride.com/resources/planting/clover_instructions.html
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://dengarden.com/gardening/Clover-Lawns
  9. ↑ http://www.almanac.com/content/clover-comeback
  10. ↑ http://aggieclover.tamu.edu/planting_guide/
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