Living Mulch

I recently read a suggestion to plant clover in with your vegetable plants to act as a living mulch. It is suppose to help keep the soil from drying out, fix nitrogen in the soil, and prevent weeds from growing. In my area bees seem to love clover flowers, so that would be a big plus as well. Has anyone ever tried this before?

 

Yeah, it works. Many knowledgeable farms in my area do it.

 

Wow, that sounds really cool! I'll have to look into that... do you broadcast the seed, like you would grass, or something?

 

i did that this year too.
certain types of lettuce actually work really well to put around larger plants. radishes are good too and they areate the soil when you thin them out and pull them up and they grow really fast too. you can put any small edible plant among your big plants, provided they are compatible. they really help keep the moisture in

 

Yeah, actually the orchardists plant it between their rows, and it looks like grass pathways between the trees. Holds the dust down reinvigorates the soil by afixing new nitrogen content and maintains moisture levels in an area, where the temperatures hit the triple digits for three months out of the year, and a slight breeze can dry bare soil in a matter of minutes.

 

Thanks for the replies. I will have to try this.

 

We have clover growing between the potatoes. Yes it does help!