Clover Control

[Tony]

Long ago here someone asked me to give my wild multiflora roses away instead of killing them.

[David E. Ross]

I get only yellow clover. It has burrs that are difficult to remove from my clothing, especially my socks.

Fortunately, my animal has no fur to hold the burrs. See . Owners of furry pets often curse clover because of the burrs. (And don't start a harangue about the morality of owning animals.)

[kate]

Interesting. I'd never heard of yellow clover/burr medic.

Here, the burrs are from something in the wild carrot family.

[enigma]

Billy wrote in news: [e-mail] t.au:

White clover (Trifolium repens). i've never heard it referred to as

*Chinese* white clover, just white clover. it's native to Europe & was brought her by colonists & has naturalized to all the lower 48 at least. it can be a cover crop, but i dunno about living mulch. i suppose so,. as it's not deep rooted. lee

[enigma]

zxcvbob wrote in news: [e-mail]:

i just got back from NY, & i thought the answer was in the Brewer's Garden, but there's no mention of ground ivy there at all... so, i need to go dig out some other books & see if they have specifics. i did find that stinging nettle make a good bittering agent though. annoying as they are, that's a really useful plant! i'll have to get back to you on the ground ivy. the email addy works, so if it's more than three days remind me. i get sidetracked awful easily... lee

[Bill who putters]

Looks like it should be renewed every 4 years and notice the slug issue.

[enigma]

"Bob F" wrote in news:htpimq$mid$ [e-mail]:

so, look where you walk. i managed to get to 55 walking in bare feet/playing on clover filled lawns (my dad never bought into the golf course greens lawn thing in the 50s) without getting stung on the feet. in fact, the only things that have ever stung me were yellowjackets & wasps, never honeybees. my 10 year old has never been stung by anything... the chemicals that kill broadleaf weeds/clover are a hell of a lot worse for kiddos in bare feet than bee stings anyway! lee

[Dan L.]

I gave up on the perfect lawn years ago. The cost, the toxins, the labor. Fighting nature is a lost cause. Nature will always win in the end. Work with nature don't fight it. Repeat this over and over, it will save you "I love clover, clover is beautiful, clover is good". You will feel much better. If you follow your current path of weed and feed, it will lead only to despair and misery year after year.

Daylilies!!!! May God have mercy on your soul :)

[Doug Houseman]

The easy way to get rid of clover is an 18 inch mouldboard plow. roll the clover under and then lightly disk the surface before planting. The clover will become humus and help with long-term plant growth.

The hard way is anything less than this. Chemicals work, but can do damage to other plants in the area. Clover seed is fertile for up to 7 years after it drops on the ground. Most weed killers will not kill the seed. Roots can go as deep as a foot, depending on the kind of clover, so a simple roto-tiller will not get rid of the roots of some species.

removing it to 3 or 4 inches and replacing the area with tightly grown sod can work to stop most clover species. Covering the area with a black tarp for a period of several months if it is in the sun can help kill both the clover and the seed, but is not fool proof. The tarp should be water proof and not allow sunlight through. Remember to cover all the clover (or grass) and an area at least a foot larger in each direction if possible. This is best done in the summer. It should kill about everything under it.

Like grass, clover is a ground cover that has evolved to survive grazing animals, fires, floods, and various other natural disasters, that having been said, it is darn hard to get rid of. Best of luck.

[Billy]

I'm sorry, but where you find one error, one can expect to find others.

Clear vs. Colored Plastic Transparent or clear plastic is most effective for solarization. Black plastic, often used for mulching, does not heat the soil as well as clear plastic.

[Doug Houseman]

If solarization was the only issue, then clear would be great. but you are also trying to stop germination and growth. In 40+ years of organic growing, I have found black plastic gets rid of stuff better than clear or colored. For heating the soil in the spring I use clear and use clear for quick germination of seeds in the spring as well up north here. But if I want to clear an area, black is my choice.

[Tony]

Black = No photosynthesis = dead plants