White Dutch Clover - Seeds

1. Dutch clover is the more common type and has little white flowers. Because it is relatively low-growing, it is ideal for lawns. (Many people even find that repeat mowing during the season cause the flowers to simply grow shorter.) You may also be able to find red clover, which has red flowers ranging from light pink to shocking scarlet but tends to grow taller than white clover. Ask someone at your garden center for more information on how tall the variety they offer can get.

2. As soon as the ground is thawed in the spring, rake it relatively flat. It doesn't have to be perfect; the clover will cover up minor bumps and valleys.

Because clover is so hardy and adaptable, it can be sown at most times of the year provided that it won’t be threatened with frost. Another particularly good time to start the process is at least six weeks before the first frost of the fall; the roots will establish before the cold kicks in and the plants will get watered all fall and winter without any extra work on your part.

3. In a wheelbarrow, mix the seed with garden soil or tri-mix. (Clover will grow in almost any kind of dirt, so any reasonably clean fill will do.) Try to have about four seeds per square inch of soil. Three will fail to germinate, so you'll be left with the ideal one plant per inch.

4. With a shovel, evenly spread the mix over the ground. Make sure there are seeds everywhere.

5. Go back to where you started and cover the mix with 1/4 inch of plain (unseeded) soil. Spread thinly, as clover shoots can't break through more than 1/2 inch of earth.

6. Water the area gently using a fine spray nozzle. (A hard stream of water will wash the tiny seeds away.) Keep it moist for a week (don't let it dry out at all) and don't walk on it. In about two weeks, you'll have tiny two-bladed sprouts everywhere. That's the beginning of a perfect clover lawn.