blog.southernexposure.comSouthern Exposure Seed Exchange Blog

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Search Primary MenuBlog Topics Announcements Garden Advice The Seed Building Seed Growers Retail Store Search for: Garden Advice Red Clover: A Cover CropHerb May 7, 2024 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is an herbaceous biennial plant native to Europe that has naturalized throughout North America. While some consider red clover a weed, herbalists, and gardeners recognize its value. This beautiful plant is excellent for soil and human health. Here are some of the reasons we’re big fans of red clover and how we use it. Red Clover as a Cover Crop Red clover is a nitrogen-fixing cover crop. It’s an excellent choice for adding green manure to build up soils and a good nectar source for some pollinators. You can sow it in fallow fields, pathways, and small openings to help suppress weeds. You can sow red clover in early spring, late summer, or fall as a winter cover crop. It can be a little slow to establish, so sow clovers at least 40 days before your average first frost. Consider using buckwheat as a nurse crop if you’re sowing red clover during the hotter months. The clover will grow slowly under the buckwheat until fall frost kills the buckwheat, allowing the clover to establish quickly without the need for fall tilling. Red Clover in Herbal Medicine I’m not a doctor. This article is for informational purposes only. Consult a physician or clinical herbalist before using herbal remedies to treat any condition. Herbalists have used red clover for centuries to treat a wide range of conditions, from menopause to whooping cough. Many of its uses revolved around female health. Modern science is beginning to explore the properties of plants, including red clover. While further research is needed, red clover tea and tincture may have a few potential benefits. Benefits of Red Clover Red clover contains phytoestrogens , which can mimic estrogen in the body. Red clover may reduce osteoarthritis symptoms related to menopause. A 2015 study of 60 women found that taking red clover extract over 12 weeks reduced bone mineral density loss in the spine. In another study of 109 postmenopausal women , participants reported skin and hair texture improvements after taking red clover extract for 90 days. Further research is needed in all of these cases. Don’t use red clover if you have a hormone-sensitive condition like breast cancer. Harvesting and Using Red Clover Beyond its health benefits, red clover is also just an enjoyable herb to use. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. Some of you may remember pulling the pink blossoms from the flowerhead and eating them as a kid. The leaves, which have a mild bean-like flavor, can be added to salads. The blossoms, which are sweet, can be used in tea, baked goods, or salads. It’s best to break them up or pull the tubular flowers from the flowerhead, as whole flowerheads can be dry and tough to chew. Harvest leaves and flowers that look fresh and are free from dried, brown spots. Remember to leave some blooms for the pollinators, especially if you’re harvesting from wild patches. Red Clover Tea Making red clover tea is simple: Pour about 2 cups of boiling water over about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of fresh or dried red clover blossoms and let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes. You can also let it cool and pour it over ice to make a fun summertime herbal iced tea. Red clover mixes well with other flavors. Feel free to experiment with adding lemon balm, mint, white clover, chamomile, or orange slices to the mix and sweeten with honey or maple syrup to taste. Red Clover Tincture Using the folk method, you can make a basic red clover tincture with fresh or dried red clover blossoms. All you need is a few simple ingredients and some patience. You simply place the blossoms in a glass jar and cover them with 80-proof alcohol. Then, keep the tincture somewhere dark for 2 to 6 weeks, shaking it once a day. After this period, you can strain it and begin using it. Be sure to check out our complete instructions for Folk Method Tinctures . Red clover is a fun herb to grow and use. Try growing it as a cover crop in your garden this season and enjoy its many soil health, culinary, and herbal benefits. clover cover crops herbalism nitrogen fixation Garden Advice 10 Common Garden Questions April 30, 2024 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment We get a lot of gardening questions at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and we try to answer as many as possible. Unfortunately, we’re a small organization with only so much time during the day. So today, we decided to try to answer some of the common questions we get. Hopefully, you’ll find some of your questions answered: When do I plant [insert crop here]? Figuring out exactly when to plant your crops can be challenging, especially for new gardeners. Some crops have relatively wide planting windows, and others have narrow ones. We’re dealing with a changing climate and variable weather conditions. You also may be considering succession planting and fall crops. While we can’t give everyone an exact answer for all their crops, we know how to get you started. First, find out what your hardiness zone is. This will give you your average last spring frost date and first fall frost date. From there, you can use our growing guides to calculate when you should plant. They include information like, Plant four weeks before your average last first.” Alternatively, we recommend you use our Garden Planner . It can give you personalized planting dates and help you lay out your garden. How do I keep groundhogs from eating my plants? Groundhogs can be a major problem for vegetable gardens. They love most of the same vegetables we do and have few boundaries. Unlike deer, they also tend to dig under fencing. You can find some fencing with spikes that go down into the earth to prevent groundhogs from digging under. Some folks also find that a single low strand of electric near the bottom of their fence will deter them. You should also be safe to grow fragrant Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, lavender, basil, thyme, and oregano outside your fencing. Some flowers, such as daffodils, delphiniums, foxgloves, and butterfly weed, are also safe. Lastly, you can try sprays. Some gardeners find that an egg mixture sprayed on plants will deter groundhogs and other hungry wildlife. There are organic commercial sprays available as well, like Plantskydd. Most of these sprays must be applied fairly frequently and every time it rains. Why won’t my root vegetables germinate? There are several reasons that seeds won’t germinate, and some root crops may have more finicky seeds than vegetables like tomatoes and green beans. However, one of the most significant issues we see is consistent moisture. Carrots, especially, thrive when soil is kept consistently moist. One trick is to lay cardboard or boards over your rows of germinating carrots. These hold in moisture. Just be sure to check them daily after a couple of days and remove them as soon as you see the plants have sprouted. You should also store your seeds properly and do a simple germination test for seed you saved at home or stored for multiple years. Why won’t my root vegetable produce well? We can’t pinpoint the issue without being there in person, but there are a few common issues with root vegetable production. One of the most straightforward issues to fix is your spacing . Ensure you are correctly thinning your root crops so they don’t compete for space, light, and nutrients. Nutrient imbalances can also affect root crop production. Too much nitrogen can encourage crops like beets to produce a lot of beautiful foliage but little root growth. Low phosphorus levels can also decrease root production. A soil test may help you understand what is happening with your root vegetables. Lastly, aphids and other pests can do enough damage to restrict production. Begin watching for signs of pest issues early and...