Alexandrian or Egyptian clover is an annual clover.
Excellent cover crop.
Cover crops help improve soil fertility and reduce weed pressure and pathogens. Additionally, due to the rhizobia in their root nodules, legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen, thereby enriching the soil with nitrogen.
Plant height 30–60 cm. The flowers are white.
Instructions for use
300 g is sufficient for sowing 200 m2.
There are various objectives for growing cover crops.
- Cover crops improve soil fertility, reduce nutrient leaching, inhibit weed growth, improve soil structure, and reduce soil-borne diseases.
- When grown as green manure, cover crops add nutrients to the soil.
- Combined use is also possible – plants grown as a cover crop are incorporated into the soil as green manure.
- Cover crops help maintain soil health and reduce the spread of pests without chemical control.
How to grow cover crops
Once the main crop – strawberries, cabbage, potatoes, or any plant you primarily grew – has borne fruit and been harvested, sow the cover crop.
- Sow densely to ensure the formation of large biomass.
- For better germination, the sowing can be covered with a garden fleece.
- The cover crop remains on the bed for the winter; it does not need to be removed.
- Dig the cover crop into the soil before sowing the next main crop or cover it with compost or soil.
This way, the cover crop forms a natural green fertilizer.
An overwintering cover crop that would start growing again in the spring should be tilled in.