Clover

[needmorecoffee]

Anyone sown clover between the veggies to keep down weeds and provide a 'green manure' when you dig it in. Read about thismethod in an article about soil health and pondering it.

[TheDuchessOfNorksBride]

We sow it in the paddocks because it's good for the grass but haven't grown it in flower beds (not deliberately anyway). Probably worth a try, maybe do a trial bed.

If it can take on the ground elder and win, I'll do it! .

[Prufrock]

Duch - I've got a grasse area between my beg beds and under a holly tree where grass is actually very threadbare - I'm trying to turn it into a wildish area - got lots of bulbs about to come up, primroses, daisies transplanted from rest of lawn, creeping cammomile etc. Would clover work in here, and do I just sow it like grass seed?

I would think it would depend on which veggies - couldn't really do it with carrots/spinach could you? And potatoes keep weeds down themselves. Might be good for brassicas?

[needmorecoffee]

I like weeds in lawns. We don't have a lawn right now but to me its a sign of a healthy peice of ground if there are clover, dandelion and dasies in a lawn. Good for beneficial insects.

[TheDuchessOfNorksBride]

pru - clover might work there but if there's a lack of sun due to holly tree it might struggle like the grass. And yes, to sowing it as seed. Although you could probably transplant 'turfs' of it from elsewhere if you have some.

nmc - you'd love my lawn. Clover around the bean canes might work too once the beans were well established but not competing with seedlings. I guess hefty things like courgettes & squash wouldn't mind.

Btw it's red (pink) clover you want not white. And it's nitrogen rich so if you rotate your veg you might want to work out when & where to use it best. (After potatoes isn't it?).

[needmorecoffee]

we have 3 types of clover as seeds. There's this Japanese guy who sowed clover at the same time as his veggie seeds (he just sprinkled both, no drills or lines) and there didn't seem to be any competing. The veggies grew above the clover and he had a bumper crop. No weeds and lots of beneficial insects.
Hence I thought I'd try it but being a sissy needed to ask first.