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What is the best way to get rid of clover in an infield? I'd like to find something that you don't have to have a license to spread and you don't have to hire a professional lawn care company to do the work (however I know it might require professionals). The clover problem is beginning to take over the entire infield. Any advice is appreciated.

My advice (and I am by no means a professional) is to mow more often, cutting the flowers off the clover keeps it from reseeding. In early fall give it a shot of nitrogen which strengthen the actual grass. In late fall, overseed and apply a good dose of winterizer (combination of fertilizer and pre-emergence weed killer). By spring you will be fine.... Or you can hire a professional.

Go on the internet and check for organic weedkillers, that is what I am doing at home and on the field. I found about 7 that were reasonable, some I can remember were bleach, salt, rubbing alcohol, anything that cuts off oxygen, even boiling water works, or you could just cover the areas with something black that wil kill all under it.

baseballfanatic wrote:Go on the internet and check for organic weedkillers, that is what I am doing at home and on the field. I found about 7 that were reasonable, some I can remember were bleach, salt, rubbing alcohol, anything that cuts off oxygen, even boiling water works, or you could just cover the areas with something black that wil kill all under it.

If you have a grass infield, you definitely do not want to put anything residual (like salt) in the soil. It will stay with you for a long time and make revegitation very difficult. You might have to kill off the entire infield with a commercial spray and reseed with something like a tall turf fescue. I have used other grasses but you need to understand their dormancy and drought behaviors. You could have dead or dormant grass right when you need it most.

Clover, alfalfa, etc. are legumes and thus put Nitrogen in the soil. That is why farmers often use it as a cover crop. It is like free fertilizer. I do not know if you can kill it with an overdose of Nitrogen or not but it may bear looking at. Clover, unlike alfalfa is very durable and will continue to give you trouble.

As someone said earlier, you may be able to go online and find some chemical that specifically targets clover but if you are not going for a total kill you will need to make sure of the other types of grasses that it will destroy.

With regard to mowing often, it does make a nice field but with our inconsistent weather patterns you run the risk of losing the shade necessary to keep the root structure moist. Higher grass can often offset the effects of drought. If you have a irrigation system, I agree completely.

You can try a chemical called 2-4-D. You can put it in a gallon sprayer and it will kill clover. Just don't apply it when the grass is stressed (i.e. high heat and little to no rain). You can buy it at many feed stores and it is not very expensive. You will have to read the actual instructions for your type of grass, but you will only need a small amount in a gallon sprayer. You should see the results in a few days. I have turf type tall fescue in my yard and have had good luck with this chemical (just don't play on it for a couple of days).