Early lessons demonstrate the potential of an unconventional concept: a multi-year cover of Dutch white clover
Clover living mulch — CLM — is a pretty straightforward concept: you get a nice stand of clover going, and then you plant cash crops directly into it.
I imagine most Acres U.S.A. readers have come across this kind of idea at some point, but I’m also guessing few have seen it in practice. An online search yields lots of academic papers, and lots of gardening YouTubers. People seem to love it, or hate it, but there is precious little in the way of actual “how to” (or “how not to”) for commercial growers.
I hardly need to tell a bunch of farmers why this is a compelling concept. Living roots, soil armor, reduced tillage, above- and belowground habitat and diversity, nitrogen fixation, nutrient retention, etc. The promise is obvious, but the competition — or, as I prefer to describe it, the relationship between the clover and the cash crop — has to be managed, and the equipment to scale it has to be problem-solved.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
