Why do Oregon farms plant red clover every spring?

(a.wholelottanothing.org)

27 points | by speckx a day ago ago

6 comments

  • thisisauserid a day ago ago

    To provide free nitrogen fertilizer pulled from the air.

  • skyberrys a day ago ago

    That is a really exciting answer for the red clover, but I have more questions. Why are the farms in oregon doing this? Can farms in any geographic area plant red clover? Why are the flowers red but the leaves green? Do I have a similar red clover growing in my yard, that is just red clover leaves with small purple flowers?

    • altairprime a day ago ago

      The article says why; technically, no, Alaska considers it mildly invasive, and it suffers at -40F and won’t bloom until +60F. https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plant-profile/TRPR2

      • skyberrys 20 hours ago ago

        Thanks, I looked up the other plant I was thinking of and it's called purple shamrock, it does not provide nitrogen fixing. It looks like the red clover is pretty widely grown across the US from your link.

  • rmosolgo a day ago ago

    *crimson clover (by the looks of it)