Have you heard of clover lawns? If you\u2019re like many homeowners, you\u2019re looking to save water, time, and money on your landscaping. A clover lawn could be your solution. We\u2019ll explain the top eight reasons to plant a clover lawn.<\/p>
If you’re tired of spending loads of cash on nitrogen for your lawn, let clover do the job for you. According to Melissa Sharapova, a permaculture and landscaping expert, \u201cClovers are a beneficial addition to turfgrass because they fix atmospheric nitrogen into [the] soil [and] eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizer<\/strong>.<\/p> There are also ecological benefits to reducing your synthetic fertilizer use. A 25 years veteran in the horticultural industry, Sharapova adds that less fertilizer use \u201creduces nutrient runoff into local streams and aquatic habitat.\u201d<\/p> Lawn diseases are awful, but clovers could be your answer. \u201cClover \u2026draws up and accumulates trace minerals. When clover decomposes, it makes the minerals available to the lawn grass and soil life. The grass becomes more disease resistant because of the health benefits of clover,\u201d Sharapova notes.<\/p> In effect, making friends \u2014 not enemies \u2014 with clover means you\u2019ll need less fertilizer, herbicide, and chemicals<\/strong> to keep disease at bay. This could save you a pretty penny, and it also makes clover better for the environment than grass-only lawns.<\/p> It turns out clover does some of the \u201cweeding\u201d for you, too. As a dense ground cover plant, clovers \u2014 though they are also broad-leaved \u2014 are exceptional at crowding out other broadleaf plants<\/strong> such as dandelions, violets, and other plants that commonly populate lawns.<\/p> \u201cClover \u2026 crowds out broadleaf weeds because it quickly forms clumps that spread by secondary roots, or stolons,\u201d says Sharapova. <\/p> In agriculture and gardening, clovers are common and successful cover crops<\/a>. The University of Minnesota says, \u201cCover crops form a living mulch in gardens because they grow thickly among each other. They help reduce soil splash and erosion, and keep weeds in check.\u201d<\/p> When sown in between major crop plantings, they keep weeds down on farm fields for the upcoming year. These quick spreaders cut down on herbicide use and costs, too.<\/p> 2. Clovers Reduce Disease Risk<\/h3>
3. Clovers Reduce Weeds<\/h3>