How to Start and Grow Clover: The Ecological Lawn Alternative

Do you have a lawn of grass that requires frequent cutting, watering, and commercial fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to keep it "healthy" and attractive? With the ban of pesticides in many communities, your lawn may not be as green as you would like. Not to mention that frequent water conservation restrictions in the heat of summer make your lawn suffer, too. And a high-maintenance all-grass lawn isn't healthy for you, your family and pets, the ecosystem, or the environment.

Now may be the perfect time begin a low-cost and easy-to-start environmentally friendly landscaping alternative: blend clover into your existing grass lawn to create a "polyculture lawn."

Would you like a lawn that is green, healthy for your family and pets, and contributes many benefits to the ecosystem and environment?

A white Dutch clover landscaped yard may be your answer!

• Overseed existing lawns for best results.
• The best time to seed is late spring to early summer.
• Keep soil moist until the seeds sprout. Approximate time needed is about 2 weeks. Some seeds sprout as early as 3-5 days.
• Using the recommended cut height—no shorter than three inches—aids in weed prevention.
• Fertilizing with composted material increases the growth rate.
• Overseed and fertilize again in the fall season.

It takes a few years to convert your lawn, but is well worth the wait.

Historically, clover commonly grew naturally in our lawns. The introduction and use of herbicides eradicated the broadleaf weeds, but removed deep-rooted clover, too. Without clover helping to absorb water, shallow-rooted lawns require more water to keep them green. When herbicides remove the weeds, the lawn needs more water to keep the grass growing to fill the holes left by the weeds.

See a detrimental and never-ending cycle here? Me, too. The herbicide companies love it.

1. Low maintenance
2. Conserves water
3. Environmentally beneficial to bees, butterflies, and earthworms
4. Covered with white flowers in the spring
5. Green even in the heat of summer
6. Smells wonderful
7. Attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies.