Red Clover is a fast growing perennial green manure. It is the best variety of clover for fixing nitrogen from the air, weed suppression & improving soil structure. Its roots penetrate deep into the soil and help to improve its structure by binding soils together (especially light ones) and this help against nutrients leaching in wet winters. The growing bulky foliage also helps to prevent soil erosion especially during winter and helps the soil to retain more moisture in summer/winter.
It can be sown between April–September at a rate of 2-3g/sqm and can be left for 3-18 months. It is good at suppressing weeds as it grows bulky foliage that smothers weeds (give it a good start clearing the soil of all weeds first). The flowers are loved by bees and beneficial insects but cut down or dig in before setting seed.
Clover is part of the pea family and fixes nitrogen from the air in its root nodules. (These are the little pink nodes found on the roots of the legume family). When chopped up and dug into the soil the nitrogen store is released fairly quickly. If sown with a ‘nitrogen lifter’ like Italian Rye or Forage Rye the nitrogen will be released at a slower rate sometimes up to 6 months later so use will depend on when the following crop will be planted and the nitrogen needed. This is very important to large scale farmers and useful for small home/allotment growers. Sow clover before a brassicas in a crop rotation plan to release nitrogen to the following leafy greens.
Red Clover has medicinal properties that are used in the treatment of ‘hot flushes’ as it contains chemicals that mimic the female sex hormone – oestrogen. It also helps in the control of eczema, whooping cough and even nappy creams. Do not try to make yourself – only buy proper propriety medicines.
