First, I KNOW clover is supposed to be our friend, and that it's not supposed to get out of control in a healthy lawn, but I have had enough. We've had a couple of clover patches in our lawn over the last several years, but nothing I thought we needed to worry about. Suddenly this year the patches grew to twice their original size and showed no signs of stopping. I've sprayed the really bad spots judiciously with the Ortho product that works on clover, and have spent HOURS hand weeding. I've gotten to be master of a very small talent, gently ripping out two-foot clover stolons without injuring the grass.

I'm also planning to address the soil compaction that's the cause of the really bad areas, but it's difficult to do when your natural "soil" is solid clay! Before we put in our sod, we amended the soil with yards and yards of compost, and tilled it twice...but clay is clay. From now on, any time I see one of those deceptively innocuous-looking leaves, I'm going to find its stoloniferous headquarters and make mincemeat of it!