Clover instead of grass?

[jk96]

Long story short - when my place was built all of my topsoil ended up underneath the foundation leaving a yard that is not very kind to my attempts at a lawn. I've spent 5 years, lots of money on seed, aerating, fertilizer, etc with little success at a decent looking yard.

This year out of frustration I gave up. No more seed, no aerating, and no broadleaf killer. As a result, I now have white clover growing in much of the yard. In some areas it's already spread rapidly and has filled in all of the dirt patches where my grass failed to take. It's even dense enough that it's choking out weeds and even crabgrass. After mowing today - I noticed that where the clover has taken over, my yard actually looks better than ever.

So I guess my question is - has anyone else used clover or a mix of clover and grass as an alternative for their lawn? How do you like it? Drawbacks?

So far my list of benefits far outway the drawbacks.

jk

 

[schmism]

all i can tell you is my yard is much the same.

i try to mow every few weeks (instead of weekly) to give my bees time to work the clover heads. they like it alot.

 

[DocHeb]

In the 50's and 60's it was standard practice to plant grass/clover mixes for lawns. The clover fixes nitrogen so the grass can use it, and the clover does pretty well in drought.

 

[ToadHill]

DocHeb has it right. Clover is a great addition to any grass seed mix, I like to mix in both white and red clover when I plant lawns.

 

[Dargo]

Clover seems to be rather hardy. I personally HATE clover. I spray my entire 12 acre 'yard' around my house twice a year with 2-4-D or some similar chemical and clover seems to be the most resistant. Our local ag extension office told me that clover has a waxy like cover that makes it hard to kill and is considered an invasive vine based weed that takes over areas. If you buy grass seed now all of the better brands guarantee less than 1% clover.

If you simply want something green over your dirt, clover will do that. On the other hand, so will Kudzu.

 

[Rider61]

My lawn is just like yours. In fact, I recently had a new septic tank installed and despite planting straight bluegrass and fescue seed over the dirt, I got almost entirely clover. I have learned to like clover. It stays short, so mowing isn't such a big issue. It attracts bees. It's hardy no matter what the weather. What's not to like? I've got enough to do with all the pastures and animals to take care of to want to spend time fussing with two acres of lawn. I suspect my clover wandered in from the hay field where we planted it as part of the initial switch from corn to hay.

When you come right down to it, it's ALL weeds, right? There are just some you love and some you don't. I'm a lover, not a fighter.

 

[DocHeb]

... clover seems to be the most resistant...
If you simply want something green over your dirt, clover will do that. On the other hand, so will Kudzu.

Different strokes for different folks. I like clover. If I wanted a lawn at the farm I would have to irrigate, and I just don't want to have to cut grass more often. Right about now the only green in the lawn is clover, and it at least is nicer to walk on and has some color. I use clover's resistance to my advantage. I mix my 2, 4d at half strength and it takes out the broadleaf weeds but just stuns the clover - a couple weeks everything is green again. In regards to kudzu, at least clover doesn't grow upwards!

 

[20 20]

Is there a price advantage, comparing a bag of lawn seed to a bag of clover? I'm sick of wasting $$$ on the crappy lawn seed the stores seem to sell. In 1 area I mixed oats with the grass seed and it grew like crazy looks better then the rest of the yard. I also live in the woods and enjoy the wildlife so maybe a nice clover yard would be a benefit?

 

[Dargo]

Different strokes for different folks. I like clover. If I wanted a lawn at the farm I would have to irrigate, and I just don't want to have to cut grass more often. Right about now the only green in the lawn is clover, and it at least is nicer to walk on and has some color. I use clover's resistance to my advantage. I mix my 2, 4d at half strength and it takes out the broadleaf weeds but just stuns the clover - a couple weeks everything is green again. In regards to kudzu, at least clover doesn't grow upwards!

LOL. Yes, I do keep the 12 acres or so around my home as a "lawn"; sans any weeds. It's a constant battle with open areas and fields around me and a creek on the west end of the property where the state, in all their wisdom, planted kudzu back in the 40's to hold the creek bank in place. You can imagine my frustration trying to keep weeds out of my lawn with kudzu being completely immune to spraying and clover being pretty darn resistant. After fighting it for about 20 years I consider clover "baby kudzu". It creeps across your lawn. It is actually a vine plant, and it is resistant to weed sprays. But, like you said, at least it doesn't climb trees and kill them.

If I spray 2-4-D about one or two weeks in a row I can take out the clover....until next year. Just like the dandelions, clover seems to automatically 're-seed' itself. I suppose you can add foxtail to that auto-reseeding list as well. I just gave up on killing kudzu and only try to contain it. About every other fall I walk along the wooded area by the creek with a machete and chop the kudzu vines off at the ground. It takes it a year or two to cover the trees again. I do the same about every month along the demarcation between the wooded area and my lawn, chopping the kudzu vines off a few feet into the woods. Short of taking the excavator and digging out each kudzu plant, I don't know how to kill it. I could write a book on everything I've tried to use to kill it to no avail.

 

[jk96]

Dargo,

If you want to get rid of the clover get some MecAmineD from your local ag supplier. It will take care of clover and other broadleaf plants much better than 2-4-D

As for clover and the lawn, I've figured since my soil is sub-par, allowing the clover to take over will

1. Naturally add nitrogen to the soil.
2. No watering needed.
3. No chemicals needed since it does a pretty good job of choking out everything.
4. Doesn't look as good as grass but looks better than a splotchy yard full of crabgrass.
5. Is already taking over quickly so no need to spend more money on seeds and fertilizer.

I figure a few years down the road the clover will have naturally enhanced the soil and I can make another attempt at that perfect yard. By then who knows - I may enjoy it.

jk

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

I use white clover to "rehab" spots in my yard where the clay won't let grass grow.
It adds nitrogen and biomass, stabilizes slopes, and doesn't need a lot of mowing.

 

[Charlesaf3]

clover used to be part of seed mixes - I actually put it in on purpose. Nitrogen fixing lets me put down less fertilizer.

After 10 years, and no chemicals, I've actually got a nice lawn on what used to be a poison Ivy covered sand bank. I literally have no topsoil. As long as you treat it right, grass needs very little topsoil.

I mow high (4") so the lawn is shaded and roots long. Also allows more time between mowings without taking off more than a third. And use a mix of high quality grass seed - blues and fescues.

 

[Chuck52]

I've got a fescue yard surrounded by fescue hay fields, but it is nicely mixed with white clover in the yard and red clover in the fields. Seems like the clover is increasing in the yard and perhaps the previous owner suppressed it. I don't. In fact, I wish I could easily kill the fescue in my orchard area and replace it completely with white clover. It would be good for the fruit trees and easier to keep short. I wonder if simply seeding with clover seed would at least partly get that effect. I like a mixed lawn, though I do have more dandelions than I'd like. I have patches of various low growing "weeds" that I don't mind.

Chuck

 

[rubycreekted]

I intentionally overseeded dutch white clover in my entire 2 acre lawn a year ago. I did it for the deer and wild turkeys I have all the time. They like it better than grass. I like all the advantages already stated by others here. I also like the way it looks. It thrives where I had marginal success with grass.

 

[forgeblast]

I used it to put a ground cover over what used to be an acre of brambles and multi-flora rose. The deer and turkeys are all over it this year.

 

[dave1949]

I wouldn't care for a kudzu lawn, but clover is a lot nicer to look at than grass for me. I really don't have enough dandelions either.

I have noticed dutch and the larger red clover will colonize areas of really poor soil - which is about all we have between our rocks here - areas where grass has a real hard time taking hold.

One technique for getting poor ground to have something green on it is to buy some rolls of hay that is only good for mulch. Unroll them and leave them covering the surface pretty thick. In the next growing season you will have something - clover, timothy, broom grass, whatever was in the hay field plus some weeds.

It may not suit your idea of a lawn, but you do get some ground cover which holds moisture and the weed roots start 'tenderizing' the ground a bit. Very eco-friendly too.

Dave.

 

[Guywire]

We live on pure sand. My daughter has an allergy to most grasses (when she was in the manual wheelchair, everything on the ground got onto her hands). When we finally put in a lawn, I went with white clover. I'm old enough to remember playing on the old lawns that had clover mixed in, plus I really don't want to spend time fussing with a lawn (feeding, mowing, etc). If I liked those types of outside chores, we could still live in the suburbs. The clover looks decent (to me and my family, at least) and is minimal work. That it is improving the soil at the same time is a plus.

Roy