Should You Get Rid of Clover?
Before you begin on your clover crusade, it’s worth considering the benefits that clover can bring to your garden, and whether you should keep it. Clover can reduce erosion, repair nitrogen levels in the soil, is low-maintenance, helps the environment, attracts pollinators, and more.
If that hasn’t convinced you, fair enough. Read on to find our recommended methods to tackling the tyrannical Trifolium.
1. Rip it!
This method is useful if your garden has small, isolated pockets of clover. It is the easiest way to remove the plant, and doesn’t harm your grass. Just loosen the soil with a spade, and pull the clover out. Make sure to remove the roots when doing this, especially as clover has deep root systems, or it will quickly grow back.
2. Smother it.
Like any plant, clover cannot survive without air and sunlight. If you have large patches of clover, instead of ripping it all out, you can smother it by covering it. Place a bin bag or sheet over the patch (keeping the amount of grass covered to a minimum) and secure the corners with something heavy. Remove in a few weeks, and reseed the area with grass.
Note that this is only advised for areas with large patches of clover. If you use this method on smaller patches, you run the risk of killing patches of grass. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
3. Boost your Nitrogen Levels.
Clover grows in soil with low nitrogen levels. So, make your soil rich in nitrogen! It’s that simple. Add fertilizer to the problem areas, and the clover will soon disappear. Fast-release fertilizers are quick and affordable, and will prevent clover from growing if you use it on your soil. Alternatively, you can use organic, nitrogen-rich fertilizers, if you’d like to be more environmentally friendly (but bear in mind, it will take longer). These include:
- Cow manure
- Bone meal
- Liquid kelp
- Blood meal
- Guano
- Earthworm castings
4. Make a Vinegar Mixture.
Before we tell you about the nuclear option to ridding your garden of clover, this method is great if you’d like to be more natural and eco-friendly. You will need to use this spray frequently for a couple of weeks, but it is far cheaper, and saves you buying a vat of herbicide to sit in your garage forever.
How to make the mixture:
Ingredients
- One cup of vinegar
- One cup of water
- One drop of dish soap
- Spray bottle (available for purchase here)
Directions
- Combine the vinegar, water, and dish soap in the spray bottle & shake.
- Locate the clover and spray the patches, being careful not to spray the surrounding grass.
- Spray regularly for a couple of weeks. In time, the vinegar will dry out the clover leaves and kill the plant. The dish soap helps the mixture stick to the clover.
- Wait a couple of weeks and reseed with grass seed.
5. The Nuclear Option: Herbicide!
If you’re really intent on stamping out that clover for good, using a herbicide will do the trick, and if used carefully, won’t damage your grass either. We recommend using A.D.I.O.S (Advanced Development In Organic Solutions), an organic herbicide that kills clover and provides weed control without the risk of harming surrounding grass growth.
A.D.I.O.S. is non-toxic to both humans and pets, and safe to use in any environment. In addition to clover, it gets rid of other weeds such as dandelion or ivy too. It’s available to order online, and can be bought in most garden centres.
To spray this herbicide onto your lawn, it may be worth investing in a sprayer to provide even coverage and reduce the time. Check out our range here!
