White clover as living mulch

[General Schvantzkoph]

Has anyone used white clover as living mulch? I've just planted white dutch clover in my corn field on the theory that clover fixes nitrogen and corn consumes vast quantities of nitrogen. Corn is much taller than clover so I figure the clover won't compete for sun with the corn. The other benefit is that the corn patch doesn't get mowed so the clover will be able to flower which will attract bees and bees are great for all the plants in the garden. I've been using clover on my lawn for a couple of years which has worked out nicely as it's greened up the grass where the clover and grass coexist and it grows in spots where grass doesn't do well. However it doesn't get to flower much in the lawn because the lawn gets mowed.

[Farm1]

I've done a bit of reading about 'clever clover' from the CSIRO's Dr Stirzaker. Same principles but dies down in summer so the plants don't get overgrown by clover. You can read a bit more at the following:

[songbird]

i suspect what you gain at one point you lose in others. but i will be interested to hear how this goes. :)

i'm also interested in the background and more details and plans you might have, like how you prepared and planted the area and how large it is and how you are going to plant the corn, manage weeds, etc.

songbird

[kate]

I've read about it and used red clover one year with tomatoes but I didn't sow it early enough I think. Good luck!

[echinosum]

But nitrogen-fixing plants don't release nitrogen to other plants while it is growing. It is only when you plough it back in to the soil or compost it that you get a net nitrogen increase for future crops. Meanwhile, intercropping it, it competes with other plants by taking up water and other nutrients.

Peas and beans also fix nitrogen. But you still need rich fertile soil to get a good crop off them.

[General Schvantzkoph]

Water not a problem, I get plenty of rain and I have an automatic watering system. The clover should suppress the weeds and in the long run it will provide nitrogen. I have my corn started in peat planters along with a pea plant with each corn plant. The peas should be able to use the corn stalk as a pole. I'll plant the corn and pea plants when they are a few inches high which will put them above the clover.