Crimson clover 'Ekola' / 'Virgo Pajbjerg'

This perennial clover flowers almost all year round with yellow flower heads. Being a legume, it can fix nitrogen from the air and store it in its roots. When mown and tilled, this becomes available to other plants. It grows to 30 cm, doesn't like acidic soil, can tolerate light shade, making it excellent as undergrowth. The leaves are edible after a brief stir-fry.

To avoid depleting your valuable soil, it's wise to leave it fallow occasionally. During such a period, green manure is ideal: it adds nutrients to the soil through often present nitrogen fixation; it suppresses weed growth, promotes bacterial life, provides humus, and in some cases, acts against harmful nematodes.

Names:
Latin: Medicago lupulina
Dutch: Hopperupsklaver
Also known as: Zwartklaver
English: Clover