Planting White Clover - Advice??

[NSBound]

I have a couple of sloped areas alongside a spot where I had a boat launching/dock area graded down to the edge of a river. Where the dirt was removed to slope the ground down to water level, I have decided to plant Dutch White Clover. Should I just sow it on the dirt, or should I lightly cover it with something like peat moss? It's on quite a slope and I'm concerned it may just run off in the rain, or blow away. And if I cover it with a layer of peat moss, won't that shield it from the warm sun which it needs to germinate??? Here's a picture of the area, - there are actually 2 steep slopes, on either side of the path to the river. I think I'll also plant the clover along side the driveway where it's just dirt now. Thanks for any advice you may have!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I have a couple of sloped areas alongside a spot where I had a boat launching/dock area graded down to the edge of a river. Where the dirt was removed to slope the ground down to water level, I have decided to plant Dutch White Clover. Should I just sow it on the dirt, or should I lightly cover it with something like peat moss? It's on quite a slope and I'm concerned it may just run off in the rain, or blow away. And if I cover it with a layer of peat moss, won't that shield it from the warm sun which it needs to germinate??? Here's a picture of the area, - there are actually 2 steep slopes, on either side of the path to the river. I think I'll also plant the clover along side the driveway where it's just dirt now. Thanks for any advice you may have!

Seeding a steep bank or hillside is a compromise situation at best. You have to contend with erosion even after your seed starts to grow. I'd suggest a couple things. One, plant your clover along with some perenial rye to get a quick "cover" to help hold everything together. (Maybe NOT if you're after a pure stand of clover) I'd cover with straw after seeding to help hold seed in place. Not a heavy covering. In a perfect world, you'd be best with some sort of packer (like a cultipacker) to firm the seed in to the soil, and also firm the SOIL to help hold it in place. Not sure I'd use peat moss. Here locally, our municipal water company is doing some re-piping of mains. We're in hilly country. They're seeding with a hydroseeder that employs a shreaded paper mulch that dries and holds everthing together for a while. It seems to do well, although it's been too dry here over the last few weeks and they're not getting much in the way of germination so far.

 

[Egon]

Best check the PH of the soil first to see if it is compatible with the requiremwnts of clover. Then make a plan.

Egon