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Garden Gate:  My father thinks I'm crazy...  |
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CherryPie
True Blue Farmgirl
935 Posts
Kimberly Ann
Puyallup
WA
USA
935 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 07:57:39 AM
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My dad has been gardening for a long time so when I told him that I added red clover seeds to my bare spots in my grass, he thought I'd lost my mind. Dad uses plenty of chemicals to keep his lawn green and weed-free. He's always recommending the same for my lawn, which is getting weedier by the day but when he heard about the red clover he really thought I'd lost it.
Maybe I have but I wanted to add the clover to give my chickens something to nibble, to attract bees, to solve a problem with a full shade section of the lawn and to diversify what's growing around here. Maybe I've unleashed a monster but for now, when I see the little sprouts coming up in the bald spots I smile and picture little clover patches all around here.
Kimberly Ann
Farmgirl Sister #225
Crochet Geek, Newbie Fiddler, Would-be Farmer, Backyard Chicken Rancher, Eager Podcaster
http://beesinourbonnetsintheburbs.blogspot.com/
Podcasts at http://thefannyfarm.blogspot.com/ |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
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delicia
True Blue Farmgirl
917 Posts
delicia
cincinnati
ohio
USA
917 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 08:32:50 AM
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Kimberly, I wonder if you could plant the wild violets? I have some shaded areas and would love to do that.
delicia |
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Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 08:36:05 AM
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I love clover and am going to do the same. I especially love red clovers and crimson clover. Too pretty and farmgirlish to be relegated to a weed or mere cover crop. But then I'm not big on lawns either =)
My poor weed-wracked soil needs something sturdy like clover to give it some life and my chickens will love it ( I think?)
Tell your dad it's a farmgirl thing 
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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Edited by - Annika on Apr 16 2010 08:39:25 AM |
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Lessie Louise
True Blue Farmgirl
1406 Posts
Carol
PECULIAR
MO
USA
1406 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 08:45:46 AM
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I'd much rather have clover than chemicals. You go, girl!!
Forget buns of steel, I'd rather have buns of cinnamon!
Farmgirl #680! |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 08:49:16 AM
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Years ago, grass seed actually HAD clover in it because it feeds the lawn with nitrogen. We have a lot of clover, and frankly, I'm happy with it, though everyone around me is dandelion, clover and violet free.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 09:42:34 AM
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I love the idea! Our front lawn is so shady it won't grow grass and the clover would give us another jelly flavor for the store room. Thank you so much for the thought.
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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Montrose Girl
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm
1360 Posts
Laurie
Montrose
CO
1360 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 3:49:31 PM
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I love this idea and will incorporate it myself. thanks
Best Growing |
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mrsamy
True Blue Farmgirl
167 Posts
Amy
Milwaukee
WI
USA
167 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 5:02:54 PM
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I have a ton of clover and wish I could have a couple of hens to enjoy it!!
Can I really make jelly out of it? Tell me how, Angela! I'm on a "jelly roll" first the violets, then the dandelions, now clover?! Really?
Prayer costs nothing, but is worth the most. |
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graciegreeneyes
True Blue Farmgirl
3107 Posts
Amy Grace
Rosalia
WA
USA
3107 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 8:32:29 PM
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I love clover too, but I can definitely imagine the look on your dad's face:) My neighbor is always dropping hints about our dandelions, can't imagine what he would say if I planted clover. One year I let the front lawn go for a while when my son (and chief lawn-mower) was gone and we had a field of daisies - I liked it but it didn't go over so well in town...
Amy Grace
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 8:44:31 PM
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Why do people think a perfectly maicured lawn is so important? I love my dandelion puffballs and violets and daisys and henbit and whatever else is out there. Oh, and the cows love the clover when I let them in the yard. I just found out today my mom uses Roundup. I was so sad and shocked. I don't know if I can talk to her again. Well, yes I can. But not about that. I am devistated now.
And my daughter and her fiance just plowed up both sides of their yard to make gardens! I was so impressed with them both! Out there like farmers in a subdivision in the front yard plowing for veggie gardens. They were both so cute. Everyone should have front yard gardens.
Kimberly Ann, good for you for doing that anyway. Your chickens will love you at least!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2010 : 9:13:09 PM
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I've got clover patches all over the yard. The bees are loving them. LOL.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1158 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1158 Posts |
Posted - Apr 17 2010 : 9:39:49 PM
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I love the red clover! I also love the henbit that we have...looks like a sea of lavender! I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with having a 'perfect' lawn. If you don't want weeds and want something perfect, go buy some Astroturf! I also can't believe that people actually dye their grass green in the winter! Unbelievable!!! People are strange creatures....
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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Karrieann
True Blue Farmgirl
1900 Posts
Karrieann
Northeast
Georgia
USA
1900 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 05:51:02 AM
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Kimberly Ann
... don't parents usually think that their own children are crazy? (giggles)
phsaw!
Karrieann ~ Farmgirl Sister #766 (29 Sept 2009)
My Blog: ...following my heart, dreams and Jesus
...http://karrieann-followingmyheartandjesus.blogspot.com/
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edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1515 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1515 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 12:42:17 PM
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I let the Clover, Dandelions and Bellium daisies grow in my lawn too. Another benefit to having clover in your lawn here in Western WA is that is helps shade out moss. Monocultures (the same plant growing everywhere i.e. grass) are not healthy for the environment. Especially when it requires herbicides, insectides and synthetic fertilizers to keep them looking that way! Nowhere on earth does mother nature give us open expanses of only one kind of plant - there is always species diversity.
No - you are not crazy - they are!
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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JojoNH
True Blue Farmgirl
1984 Posts
Joanna
Dunbarton
New Hampshire
USA
1984 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 1:36:08 PM
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I live in the middle of "no man's land" and we get a neighbor who hints at mowing our lawn for us if we like. . . meaning. . why haven't you mowed it yet!  He kept blaming my BF, saying he was lazy. . I finally lost it one day and yelled at him . . . He's not lazy!! He's doing exactly what I asked him to do, letting it grow!!! Well, that was one shocked neighbor. . Hahaha! we are still great friends and now he simply teases me about how tall my grass and weeds get. 
Joanna #566
JojoNH
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CountryCents
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
http://Twitter.com/Eastwooddesigns |
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KanMogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
349 Posts
Katherine
Rock
Kansas
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 5:57:45 PM
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Our yard was formerly a bluestem prairie and now we get different weeds everyyear. We really have had the dandelions this year. We don't seed it or anything. We set our mowers at 4 inches so we don't cut it very short and as often. We live in the country and don't have to abide by town rules or listen to next door neighbors about it. We use to mow alot more of our acreage for fire safety and to keep rattlesnakes away from the house but when the gas got so high we decided to cut down on the mowing. We still have plenty to do though.
I would rather wear out than rust out.----Richard Cumberland |
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Garden Gate: My father thinks I'm crazy... |
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My father thinks I'm crazy...
