Often considered a lucky charm, finding clover in your lawn might not make you feel so lucky after all. In fact, when clover begins growing in your lawn, it tells us something very important about our lawn health and the health of the soil. Here, we’ll look at what causes clover, effective methods to eradicate it and your best methods to prevent it from returning.
How to Get Rid of Clover Weeds in Your Lawn
Want to remove clover weeds without killing the surrounding grass? Here’s 4 simple steps to remove clover weed both naturally and using herbicide treatments:
1. Lawn Fertiliser
For lawns with minimum clover growth, first try organic lawn fertiliser in place of standard lawn fertiliser. For more serious infestations, apply a high-quality standard fertiliser to the lawn, not organic or slow release. Apply the fertiliser as per the manufacturer’s recommendations and ensure the lawn is being watered properly and only when needed.
We often advise the use of standard fertilisers as organic fertilisers will just not have the guts that we need to get the job done.
2. Hand Removal
While labour-intensive, hand removal is a straightforward method to eliminate small patches of clover weeds. This method ensures you remove the entire root system to prevent regrowth. Regularly inspect your lawn for new clover growth, and promptly remove any emerging plants to prevent spreading.
3. Corn Gluten Meal
You’ll find corn gluten meal in most local garden centres. It is a natural pre-emergent that inhibits clover growth by releasing organic peptides into the soil to dry out the clover seeds.
We recommend spreading 1kg of corn gluten per 10 sqm of turf and water in well.
4. Selective Herbicides
If you’re dealing with large patches of clover, using a selective herbicide may be the most effective method for removal.
The use of selective herbicides is an effective method of removing clover from your lawn. However, you’ll want to use herbicides with caution as not all herbicides can be used on all lawn varieties.
Why Does Clover Grow in Lawns?
Environmental factors such as warm temperatures and ample moisture create favourable conditions for clover growth. It thrives in lawns with poor soil fertility, compacted soil, or low nitrogen levels.
That’s why it’s important to feed your lawn with nitrogen in the form of organic lawn fertilisers, standard lawn fertilisers or by leaving the clippings on the lawn after mowing.
3 Tips to Prevent Clover Weed Growth
1. Maintain a Healthy Lawn
Maintaining a healthy lawn through regular mowing, watering, and fertilisation is essential for preventing clover growth. Adopting best practices such as mowing at the appropriate height and watering deeply but infrequently promotes dense, vigorous turf that naturally suppresses weeds like clover.
2. Fertilise Regularly
If you haven’t already, begin implementing a good-quality year-round organic lawn fertilising program. This should be enough to keep the lawn in good health and keep nitrogen levels high so that clover will not overtake the lawn. You can also improve soil fertility and health through aeration to create unfavourable conditions for clover.
3. Stay Proactive
Staying proactive is key to preventing clover from taking over your lawn. Regularly inspect your lawn for signs of clover growth and address any emerging weeds promptly.
3 Recommended Products for Clover Weeds
Treat Clover Weeds with myhomeTURF
By implementing preventative measures and targeted herbicide treatments, you can effectively combat clover weeds and promote the long-term health of your lawn. For more information about managing weeds in your lawn, and to browse our range of lawncare products from leading brands, visit myhomeTURF’s online store.
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