Micro Clover for a Perfect Lawn

If you are tired of constantly mowing the lawn during the summer season like me, a solution might be to over-seed and grow clover.  Having no clue about the varieties of clover, I bought White Clover: Also called Trifolium repens or Dutch clover.  Thanks to my healthy and rich soil, it grew well - almost too well: it spread and bloomed and I had to mow again.  The next garden year, I inquired at a nursery about shorter clovers and learned that there is a Micro Clover.  However, the nursery didn't have it for sale and instead gave me the producer's name so I could order it online.  

I balked first at the high price compared to Dutch Clover but then ordered it. 

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Micro Clover is an incredibly beneficial plant that not only looks fantastic but supplies your lawn with nitrogen. Micro Clover converts nitrogen gas from the air and enriches it into the soil, resulting in a green, healthy lawn. While most lawns stop growing once the summer is over, Micro Clover lawns are incredibly tolerant to both lower temperatures and harsher conditions. When grass is starting to die off at the end of the season, Micro Clover is still green. 

100% Micro Clover "Lawns" Have Many Benefits: 

• Not only do they grow with ease and reliability, but they also require significantly less care.
  
  
• A benefit that all homeowners would appreciate is fewer weeds. Micro Clover is a broad-leaf plant that out-competes unwanted weeds. 
  
  
• It's almost an evergreen. Immediately after the snow melts it shows its vibrant green color and stays that way even during the hot summers - when grasses are getting brown - until the first snow.
  
  
• It is the best choice to replace turf grass, but you can seed it into an existing lawn as well.
  
  
• Having clover on your lawn acts almost as a sort of fertilizer. You may find you don’t even have to apply extra fertilization when you have lots of clovers, as it delivers nitrogen from its roots to the neighboring grass.
  
  
• It can hold up better in overly shaded areas or areas that don’t have enough drainage for conventional grass to thrive.
  
  
• If you have pets, you’re probably familiar with the dreaded pet spot. Clover is more resistant to turning yellow than grass.
  
  
• Adding clover to your lawn can rejuvenate your grass, fill in bare patches, and make the entire yard look healthier and more resilient.
  
  
• Micro-clover is better able to handle a greater amount of foot traffic than white Clover. However, it has very few blooms.
  
  
• In lawns that contain both clover and grass, the clover usually performs satisfactory re-seeding on its own.
  
  
• In one sentence: It offers a host of cost-saving, maintenance-reducing, and environmental benefits.

How to Prepare Your Lawn for MicroClover Seeding

• Don't seed clover during the hot days of summer. Spring is the best time at temperatures of 16 - 20 degrees (65F) and not below 8 - 12 degrees (47F) at night.
  
  
• The first step is to cut any existing lawn very short. Then clear out all weeds.  A stand-up dandelion remover helps with this chore and saves you from back pain.
  
  
• Water your lawn really well - or let the rain do it, then spread fine garden soil thinly over any bare spots. 
  
  
• Water once more to moist the soil, and then apply the MicroClover seeds. 
  
  
• I use an old kitchen mesh strainer (or buy one in a dollar store) and "powder" a bit of light soil over the seeded area (max. 2 mm or 1/8") to avoid that birds picking the seeds.     
            
• For two weeks at least sprinkle water every day when it is not raining, and after that every third day until the clover is established.

Happy Gardening : )

Enjoy your new green "lawn".