mowing clover, how often?
 

we have a VERY small plot of clover that was planted last year, maybe not even 1000sq. ft. near and around our apple trees. the deer dont visit it all too often, not enough to keep it trimmed down. it has been mowed twice already this year. archery starts in october here in vt. how much more should we mow this?

is it a clover and weed mix? if not, quit mowin it..if it is, ya gotta keep the weeds down so the clover will thrive, so 1 or 2 times a month, depending on how fast it grows.

Unfortunately I think the best answer is "it depends". I would mow as necessary to suppress weeds, but only if there is rain in the forecast. If you are looking at extended hot dry weather, mowing will over stress the clover.

Often enough to keep the weeds from seeding out is all that is needed. Mowing more often can encourage spreading from stolons, if it needs thickening up a little. When you do mow, be careful not to scalp it. I like around 7-8" high.

finally got a chance to check it out yesterday. clover is about 6 inches high, and there seems to be very little weeds mixed in with it. it's pretty thick, but to me it seems like the stalks are a bit thin. mostly white clover, i think. looks like most of the flowers are getting nipped off, but not necessarily the plant itself, so i think that perhaps a turkey is busy there? so, again, cut it or leave it? from one leaf to another is probably about 2 1/2", if that helps at all.

leave it...hardly any weeds, you're only at 6", sounds "so far so good"

Leave it, sounds like deer munching away. Look like this?

hey, how did you get my phone pics? yep, thats what it looks like. and from petal to petal, it measures roughly 2" across, if that helps any. also tilled a small strip of it under this weekend, to try sugarbeets. i only did a section roughly 4' x 20', just to see if it amounts to anything and if they like it. which just so happens to be only 20 yards from our sugar house, which i plan on sitting inside of. put the cam up too, to see who/what is coming around. the whole thing is only 1000'sqft, maybe, surrounding our apple trees, of which only two are producing this year. hope we at least get a shot at something.