OPs original Reddit post text: ☘️TL;DR: clover is awesome. Mix with other lawn seed for sustainability and don’t ignore soil health.
Hello all! For context, I’m writing this post as a first time homeowner, permaculture newbie, and as a non-landscaping professional. This is simply my experience of trial, error, and perseverance, and wanting to share with anyone who may be in the spot I was 4 years ago.
Some background about our yard (zone 5b): previous owner was fined by the city due to noxious weeds throughout the yard. As a bandaid fix, sod was laid (likely without any soil prep). When we moved in, we discovered there was a pretty significant grub and mite infestation, and the dying sod could be pulled up like carpet.
Enter the conversion to a clover lawn.
Year 1: Establishing the clover was fairly straightforward and simply required a consistent amount of water to remain moist while germinating. We were starting from bare soil after all sod was removed. What I would’ve done differently: (1) instead of tilling, I would’ve over aerated. We tilled the compacted soil and were met with an abundance of purslane seedlings (remember the noxious weeds situation?). This meant hours of pulling purslane while the clover established. (2) I would’ve chosen a bio diverse mix of clover, grasses, and native ground cover (e.g. https://www.highcountrygardens.com/products/xeriscape-clover-lawn-seed-mix) instead of just clover.
Results: see reference pictures!
**Years 2-3: **clover took off and came back in the spring. We had a lush, whimsical, cottage-core lawn that only needed to be mowed if we wanted to mow it for a more uniform and cohesive look. It required minimal work in terms of maintenance (low to no mowing, no fertilization required. Though beware, if you do mow, everything touching cut clover will be stained green).
Year 4 (current): here’s where hindsight comes in. Given our poor soil health, I wish I would’ve done some things to help prevent where we are now. Clover is a short lived perennial, typically lasting 2-5 years. Last year I did not reseed nor did I incorporate any soil amendments, and this year thanks to an incredibly dry winter we have a patchy lawn battling purslane again (purslane is winning).
My plan moving forward with the knowledge I have now: 2x per year (spring and fall) apply beneficial nematodes (like ones from Natures Good Guys or Arbico Organics). This will continue to decrease our lawn pest problems. In the fall (and every 1-2 years moving forward): aerate the lawn to help with our compacted soil and amend with compost. 1x per year (especially after aerating) Reseed a biodiverse mix of clover, grass, and native ground cover to prevent patchy areas when clover dies out and to choke out hiding weed seeds.
While has been a long and arduous process, I’ve learned so much and have found a love in learning about permaculture. Open to recommendations from others, and happy to answer any questions about lessons learned.
Wait i like purslane though… its also low-lying and doesnt need mowed and looks kinda cool. my only complaint is that it prefers to grow from the cracks in my driveway and sidewalk instead of actually in my yard
I still think clover is overrated lol.
It is better than grass I’ll grant you but yeah there is probably a better native option for any given area–unless you happen to be in its native range.
Here on the west coast and in much of the south Phyla nodiflora (frogfruit) is a visually similar native option. It seems to establish patches in lawns around my city on its own, one of the few native plants to do so.
I’m also looking into “Spanish clover” which is neither a clover nor from Spain but it is a native legume in much of the central and western US. It is very very drought tolerant and one of the few small, green plants that can look a bit like a lawn and grow through summer with minimal or even no irrigation here.
Selfheal AKA Prunella is another interesting option. The species is native but I recently learned there is an exotic and a native form. I see it in lawns around town but it looks like the exotic form mainly, which I think has maybe evolved to do better in lawns than the native form. I’m not sure how crucial it is to use the native form or how well that one would do in a lawn but it’s nice because it’s quite soft under foot and it’s also an edible green. However it does require more moisture than the other options.
I don’t actually have a lawn myself but my plan is to scatter seeds in poorly maintained lawns around town and see if any of them grow…
Thanks for the link. The issue is I don’t have control over the mowing height since it won’t be on my property. The native subspecies seems to be taller which is why I’m concerned about. Your link says to mow at 3 inches and I’m wondering what happens when it’s shorter than that?
Maybe it is fine to use the introduced subspecies though. That one definitely can stay alive when cut shorter. But I might try to native one anyway to see what happens.
The native Self-Heal is definitely taller can go up to a few feet I think.
I know they recommend 3 inches because below that height it can be killed by mowing. Especially if it’s done often. If you are gorilla gardening I think there won’t be consistent mowing.
I know the lawn specific seeds can be cheaper since they are sold in larger sizes. But whatever you have should work I think. Just sow when there is enough rainfall to support sprouting.
I personally agree it’s overrated but this kinda gave me a kick in the pants to overhaul our entire wiki over here lmao
My parents just moved to a new house, and I mentioned that they should replace their grass lawn with clover. Their reaction was negative, saying that it spreads like crazy and would creep into our neighbors’ lawns, getting us in trouble. I’d never heard of this being a problem before. Is this a thing, or are my parents being a bit paranoid?
Some people do consider clover as a weed. Although that has more to do marketing than it’s actual weedy nature. I have a clover lawn and it’s ability to spread seems to be overrated. But if the neighbors apply any herbicides clover will be killed instantly. Even regular fertilizer use slows clover growth
They’re probably thinking of clover’s look-alike, oxalis, which tends to be more spreading.
I hope they’re eating that purslane. Quite a tasty little weed
I’m guessing it’s not actually purslane is it’s noxious.
And a top mod post that gives more info on the clover discussion:
Reminder that this is a “big tent” subreddit and clover lawns are absolutely allowed to be posted and discussed. Many people here start out with clover and then move on to adding more native plants over time. We also have a lot of members in this sub who live in Europe or the UK where clover is native. Furthermore, OP has done an excellent job of documenting their process; with the pros and cons of clover. You can also check out the groundcovers wiki page which has more info about what various ground covers do well and the challenges.
