# Clover Flower



## angelfish (Mar 5, 2013)

Many of us consider weeds bad. They take over the garden and kill our gardens, attract aphids, give us skin rashes, poison food and so much more. I submit to your consideration for every "evil" in nature there is an equal and opposite "good". The Clover flower is one example of these weeds we take for granted and often consider a weed. As it is we also consider this plant to kill grass or other wise pay it no mind.









The weed in question Is actually very beneficial. It is whats called a nitrogen fixation plant that adds nitrogen to soil as a by product. It grows pretty much anywhere in the us except the desert or tundra (of course) and in any soil types including clay. There are several varieties of this plant including Crimson and Pink. (seen below)


















These flowers are excellent for restoring clay soil and adding to the garden to fertilize plants and vegetables. There are other considerations to take into account. The white is the lowest growing and will re seed every year with a well mowed lawn. Pink is the middle height (about 1-2 inch blooms) and the red is the tallest for those of us who are a little lazier about mowing. 2 pound bag seed of these plants can be found on amazon at 7.99 w/ free shipping. It is ideal to spread these on dirt patches in the yard, however spreading the seeds all over is always great. They will spread though grow so low they are not invasive.

Additional information on this plants includes, but not limited to: Attracting butterflies and bees, preventing plant diseases and fungus, aphid control, Moisture retention in the soil, etc. I hope This blog encourages you to investigate such a dandy little ground filler. Dandelions might be good weeds for food, but Clover is good weeds for plants.


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## angelfish (Mar 5, 2013)

Some info on nitrogen fixation of clover:
http://www.oregonclover.org/uses/nitrogenfixation/

Red clover is the best, as its a taller clover with very deep roots. Not to mention the beautiful color. When the plant is growing in spring/summer it pulls nitrogen from the atmosphere into its roots. In the fall the plant dies leaving these roots to decay, thus releasing nitrogen into the soil. Thats essentially the summary of the article.


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## angelfish (Mar 5, 2013)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ZJQDRM/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1365395570&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

Amazon link to Crimson Clover.


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## angelfish (Mar 5, 2013)

http://gardentenders.com/topics/1408

This link to a blog has excellent information on other nitrogen fixation plants not limited to clover.


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## angelfish (Mar 5, 2013)

As shown the root depth of clover is exceptionally deep for a plant only 1 inch high. Estimated to go as deep as 2 feet by trusted sources.


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## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

This is a great ground cover to grow in your orchard along with some herbs at as well!


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I love clover we use it on the farm for many things, but I would like to point out that it can be VERY invasive if you're not keeping an eye on it. Here it grows to 2 foot tall or more and can take over slower growing plants with ease. 
We use clover in our pasture improvement program, it is a great ground cover to prevent erosion and it is also edible. We pick young leaves and flowers to throw in a salad. We try to keep it out of the vege patch though, in fertile and well watered soils it can become a monster.


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## angelfish (Mar 5, 2013)

Wellrounded said:


> I love clover we use it on the farm for many things, but I would like to point out that it can be VERY invasive if you're not keeping an eye on it. Here it grows to 2 foot tall or more and can take over slower growing plants with ease.
> We use clover in our pasture improvement program, it is a great ground cover to prevent erosion and it is also edible. We pick young leaves and flowers to throw in a salad. We try to keep it out of the vege patch though, in fertile and well watered soils it can become a monster.


That is good to point out, I had no idea it was used for farms. I admit i tend to write for the average suburban. Unlike farms a suburban mows they're lawn frequently enough not to allow it to re-seed in the fall, which is what i ment by not invasive. Perhaps more detail should have been added to op.


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## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

Mowing it in the orchard is advised so it can't reseed as well! Using it every other year in an orchard helps keep the soil fertile, loose and some organic material in your orchard soil too! It also helps attract beneficial nematodes into your soil as well as those pollinators to help out!


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

*Red/Pink clover*

A little more reading ...

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/pink-clover-3167/


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## siletz (Aug 23, 2011)

White clover is also a great pollen source for honeybees. So, if you keep bees, you could plant this around in out of the way places to get more honey. The bees can't get pollen out of the crimson clover, though, as it's flowers are too long and skinny for the bee to get to the pollen easily.


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