Growing zucchini in your garden can be a fun and rewarding experience as just one plant can produce quite a prolific number of fruits all season if cared for properly. One way to help zucchini plants thrive in your yard is by utilizing a companion plant to provide further benefits. Known as a low-growing flowering herb, clover is sometimes used as a lawn replacement instead of grass due to many of the benefits that it can provide for your yard and garden.
For starters, it can behave as a natural mulch, suppressing weed growth around the base of the zucchini plants that could compete for natural resources like nutrients, water, and sunlight. Moreover, clover grows in dense patches, so it can also provide shade to the soil, minimizing moisture loss from evaporation and keeping the plant well hydrated. At the same time, it also has deep roots which can improve the soil structure around the base of your zucchini plants.
In addition, clover is excellent at fixing nitrogen to the soil by capturing it from the atmosphere and converting it into a nutrient that the zucchini can absorb easily. This nitrogen can help your vegetable with healthy growth and food production through denser, green foliage while simultaneously eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers. As a result, you can practice a much more sustainable garden right in your backyard. Finally, clover attracts beneficial insects like pollinators which help to pollinate the zucchini flowers, resulting in better and bigger fruit.
