The Self-Fertilizing Secret to a Green Yard

For decades, the American dream has involved a lush, wall-to-wall carpet of grass. But times are changing. As homeowners grow weary of the high costs and endless chores traditional lawns require, they are turning to an eco-friendly, low-maintenance alternative: Microclover.

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The Decline of the Traditional Turf Lawn

Traditional turfs like Kentucky bluegrass and fescues are high maintenance grass varieties that require constant feeding, watering, fertilizing and weed control to stay lush and verdant. Between the labor and the expensive bags of fertilizer, a beautiful lawn can become a part-time job. The answer for many is moving toward a hybrid lawn that consists of clover and turf or even a pure microclover lawn. 

What is Microclover?

Microclover is a dwarf variety of white clover developed specifically for landscaping. Unlike the common white clover you might sometimes find in your lawn, microclover is more compact, produces fewer flowers, and has leaves about a third of the size of standard clover. It grows to a maximum height of about 4 to 6 inches and creates a dense canopy that mixes well with your existing grass. While it does flower for about a month in the summer, you can keep it a consistent green by mowing regularly. 

Benefits of Microclover

 There are a few reasons why microclover becoming a low maintenance alternative to grass:

1. Low maintenance: Microclover requires less water, fertilizer, and mowing than traditional lawns. 
2. Durable: It holds up to foot traffic and won’t turn brown from your pet’s urine. 
3. Self fertilizing: Clover naturally fertilizes the soil by adding nitrogen to it, fertilizing itself along with the surrounding grass. 
4. Weed and pest resistant: Clover creates a thick canopy that prevents weeds from growing through it. It also resists common pests like lawn grubs. 
5. Grows with Grass: Micro clover mixes with common cool season grasses, like fescues, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass, creating a uniform appearance. 
6. Drought tolerant: Micro clover doesn’t go dormant in the heat of summer, staying green long after grass has turned brown. 

How to Add Microclover to Your Yard

One of the best things about microclover is that you don’t need to rip up your existing turf to add it to your lawn.

• Overseed: Mow your lawn very short, aerate it, then spread about 1 to 2 lbs. of microclover seed for every 1,000 square feet. Water lightly until the clover germinates and begins growing. As it matures it will integrate with your lawn. 

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How to Maintain a Mixed Lawn

• Longer mowing cycles: Once the micro clover grows in, you’ll only need to mow about every two to three weeks instead of every seven days. 
• Similar lawn height: Keep your mixed lawn at a height of between 3 to 3.5 inches. This is long enough to keep the grass healthy. Mow shorter and you can stress the grass, causing the clover to take over. 
• Reduce watering: Cool season grasses typically go dormant when the heat of July and August hits unless you water liberally. Clover is more heat tolerant. Plus it helps to shade the roots of cool season grasses, helping to keep them hydrated. This allows you to reduce your watering schedule by between 30 and 50 percent. 
• No fertilizer: The biggest maintenance benefit of a mixed lawn is that you get to take fertilizer off your to-do list and your shopping list. Since clover pulls nitrogen from the air and pumps it into the soil, it feeds your cool season grasses along with itself. 

Note on Weed Control: Since you’re going with mixed lawn, you can no longer use weed and feed style fertilizer or broadleaf herbicides. These weed killers will kill anything that’s not grass and that includes your clover. You shouldn’t need weed control anyway as clover grows so thick that it chokes out weeds.