Alexandrian Clover 10 m² - Green Fertiliser

The Alexandrian clover is an annual legume to be used as a green manure on uncultivated land or as a forage plant. It has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in its roots. It is a herbaceous plant with white-pink flowers. This green manure will help to loosen the soil, limit weed growth, and combat soil leaching or rain compaction. Sowing from April to August.

The Alexandrian clover belongs to the legume family (formerly known as leguminous plants) and the Trifolium genus, like white clover or purple clover. These different clovers are characterized by their leaves with 3 leaflets and their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. This characteristic allows the plant to enrich the soil with nitrogen once it is cut if left in place as mulch. Alexandrian clover is not very frost-resistant (up to -5°C (23°F)) and grows rapidly. During the summer, it blooms in spherical heads with white-pink flowers. Alexandrian clover thrives in all types of soils except for heavy soils.

Widely used in organically cultivated gardens, green manures like Alexandrian clover have many advantages. They nourish and cleanse the soil by providing it with various nutrients and stimulating soil microbial life. Their roots will loosen, break up, and aerate the soil. Moreover, the presence of a vegetation cover protects the soil from leaching (nutrient loss in sandy soil), rain compaction (formation of a crust in loamy soil), and erosion (due to runoff in case of heavy rain on sloping terrain). This vegetation cover also helps to limit weed growth by preventing the growth of unwanted weeds. Finally, green manures are often melliferous and attract pollinators.

Green manures are sown on uncultivated plots or intercalary plots, between vegetable rows. They are destroyed either naturally by frost or by mowing before seed formation. Once destroyed, they can be left in place as mulch, or be crushed and incorporated into the top layers of the soil, or be collected and added to compost.