Removing clover from the lawn: How to combat weeds

Insect magnet
Removing clover from the lawn: How to reduce wild growth

As the saying goes: “One man’s sorrow is another man’s joy.” White clover couldn’t have been described more accurately. While insects feast on the abundant supply of pollen and nectar, weeds challenge lawn grasses for their habitat. The question arises: which is better – or worse?

Hardly any other weed is found as frequently on lawns as white clover. It is not without reason that the plant is also called creeping clover, as it spreads over a large area over the ground via its runners – and in doing so deprives grasses in particular of the air (or, more precisely, the light) to breathe. Once it begins to bloom, the clover spreads even further via its seeds. The perfidious thing about the rampant weed is that it can produce its own fertilizer through symbiosis with bacteria. In other words, if the lawn is sufficiently fertilized, it will lose the battle against white clover and have to clear the field. But should it be removed entirely at the risk of depriving bees and bumblebees of an important food source? The best solution is a compromise: you just reduce the nests from the lawn. And prevent new wild growth.

Fighting clover in the lawn: This is the best way to do it

1. Fertilize the lawn

As mentioned at the beginning, it is important to regularly supply the lawn with nutrients, as white clover thrives particularly well on nitrogen-poor soils – and can compensate for the deficit with its own fertilizer, something that grasses are unable to do. To compensate for the deficiency, you should horn meal because it contains no phosphate and therefore does not stimulate the clover to grow. In the autumn months, however, you can potassium-containing fertilizer use.

2. Water the lawn

Longer dry periods and heat do not affect white clover (and unfortunately many other weeds) as much as grasses. This makes it all the more important to water the lawn well and regularly, especially in the warm summer months when it doesn’t rain for days or weeks.

3. Scarify the lawn

White clover has a short growth height, which means that only moderate damage can be done to the plant when mowing the lawn as it continues to spread. To combat weeds, there is only one thing that helps in spring: you have to build the nests in longitudinal and transverse paths scarify. Breaking up and aerating the soil strengthens the grasses but weakens the clover.

4. Cut out the lawn

Another way to remove white clover from the lawn is to dig out the nests. Use a spade (or Weed cutter) at hand and use it to pierce the soil around the clover. Lift out the clover nests including the roots and dispose of them – for example in the compost. Then fill the bare spot and compact it with topsoil.

5. Reseed the lawn

If you have cleared out smaller areas that were overgrown with white clover, you should fill the bare areas with new ones Lawn seeds reseed. So that the fresh grass can grow back evenly and strongly, it is important to keep the affected lawn areas moist until the first grasses sprout, then the soil must be well fertilized again.

6. Cover the lawn

White clover – like any other plant – needs light to live. An effective method to remove weeds from the lawn is to cover the affected areas with an opaque film (for example Garden fleece). For example, weigh it down with stones and wait a maximum of three months, as the lawn also suffers from the lack of light.

That’s why herbicides are not recommended

Herbicides are chemical weed killers that control uncontrolled growth. What many people don’t know, however, is that the ingredients are bad for the environment – and they don’t have a sufficient effect on species like white clover. Although there are special ones weed killer, which only attack the weeds, but not the grasses themselves. However, their use does not combat the cause, but rather only inhibits the growth of the clover. If you still want to try and use chemical pesticides (that are not harmful to bees), you should water the lawn well during a dry period before using the weed killer.

Here’s how you can prevent white clover

To prevent white clover from spreading, extensive lawn care is essential. This not only includes regular fertilization and irrigation as well as scarifying the areas, as already described above. When sowing, make sure not to use inferior lawn seeds. High-quality seeds form a dense turf and thereby reduce the risk of weeds spreading quickly. And the soil also plays an important role: If it is clayey and compressed, grasses usually have no chance against wild growth such as clover, which can grow better in compacted areas. Here it is advisable to loosen the soil with a garden claw and mix in sand and humus.

Source: My beautiful garden

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