21 Expert Organic Lawn Care Tips

The expert who founded Safelawns.org offers insider's tips for achieving a lush, green lawn – without the use of toxic pesticides or chemical fertilizers. By Paul Tukey / SafeLawns.org

Welcome White Clover, Mother Nature's Fertilizer Factory

Once upon a time, before the advent of synthetic weed killers for the lawn in the late 1940s, most American lawns contained white clover. Because no formulation of weed control could be developed that left both grass and clover, but killed everything else, clover was then lumped in with the weeds in subsequent marketing campaigns.

The scientist who developed 2,4-D, the most common synthetic herbicide, was publicly apologetic because his new product had the unfortunate side effect of eliminating clover. "The thought of white Dutch clover as a lawn weed will come as a distinct shock to old-time gardeners," wrote Dr. R. Milton Carleton in his book, A New Way to Kill Weeds, in 1957. "I can remember the day when lawn mixtures were judged for quality by the percentage of clover seed they contained. The higher this figure, the better the mixture."

Today's newfound emphasis on natural lawn care has folks taking a second look at clover as a primary lawn plant. Take a look at the six reasons white clover is not a weed.

You can supplement your lawn with new clover seeds, in varieties that include white, red, crimson and purple for as little as $2.40 a pound at amazon.com and gardeners.com.