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Growing a green grass carpet around your house requires a lot of water. And fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides that you use are among the major water pollutants. Your lawnmower also heats the atmosphere as it burns fuel and emits gases. If you want a greener front and backyard, you have to look for sustainable alternatives. And the microclover lawn can be an eco-friendly alternative to traditional grass lawns.
Micro clovers have small leaves, low growth habits, and are easy to maintain. They are relatively drought-resistant. According to the University of Maryland research, they are a natural source of nitrogen and can blend well with turf-type tall grasses. Because of all these qualities, you can use microclovers to create a greener landscape. However, you should follow some best practices when using them to grow your lawn. Here, they are:
Adding Microclover Seeds to Your Existing Lawn
You can plant microclover seeds over your existing grass. However, before doing that, mow closer to the soil surface a couple of times and use aerating equipment. Aeration loosens up the soil, enabling air, water, and nutrients to reach roots. It also improves the germination of your microclover seeds.
As the fine microclover seeds might get lost in the grass blades, use 25 percent more seeds than what you would have used if you were growing the lawn on bare land. After you plant the seeds, use both sand and soil to cover them up and gently press. For a 10,000 square feet microclover-grass lawn, you need around 1.5 pounds of microclover seeds.
Growing 100 Percent Microclover Lawn
You cannot grow a microclover lawn on bare land without preparing its soil for planting.
First, determine the pH level of the soil. Micro clovers grow best in soil with a 6.0 to 7.0 pH. If it is low, you can increase the soil’s pH level by using lime.
If the land is dotted with unwanted plants and weeds, you can remove them by using herbicides. And after that, tilt the soil as deep as 4 to 6 inches and add compost. You need to rake the soil to level it and then plant the microclover seeds. Do not forget to water your lawn every day after you plant the seeds.
And a week later, spray organic materials on the lawn. They will help seeds germinate rapidly and uniformly and prevent weeds from growing. For a 1,000 square feet microclover lawn, you need around 1 to 2 pounds of seeds.
How to Take Care of a Microclover Lawn
Micro clovers do not require much water to survive. They, however, need four to six hours of sunlight every day. So, before you plant microclover seeds, make sure the land where you plan to grow them gets proper sunlight.
As micro clovers are more drought tolerant than other plans, you do not have to worry about them turning brown during summer. But, do not forget to water your lawn at least once or twice a week.
Final Words
Your microclover lawn requires less water, fewer fertilizers, less mowing, and less maintenance. Hence, it is a much greener lawn than traditional grass lawns.
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