White Clover Tea

 White Clover

Before I start, I wanted to apologize for not posting in a while. I have been in an ongoing battle with my computer. It wanted to die on me, but I wouldn’t let it; my computer won that battle and it finally died so I had to break down and get a new one...unfortunately. I digress.

Moving on.

When my sister, my cousins and I was young, I can remember us getting these little flowers and tying them together and making little flower crowns out of them and playing like we were forest fairies. That was some of my fondest childhood memories with my sister and my cousins, but little did we know that there are so many medicinal benefits to these little white gems. We thought they were just weeds...boy were we wrong.

White clover grows wild in yards, roadsides, pastures and on the banks of creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes. The heart shaped leaves on a white clover plant are a deep forest green with what looks to be a white crescent shaped watermark on each of its three leaves. If the clover has white speckles or large white patches on its leaves, do NOT use them. The large white spots may be larva of a type of insect and the speckles may be some kind of fungal, neither is safe for human consumption. The blossoms, to me, looks kind of like little white fireworks burst with a tinge of pink on some but not all of them and they only get a few inches tall.

They can be found in the wild, grown in your garden or in pots. They are very resilient and can grow in just about any climate. You can collect the seeds of the white clover by hanging the blossoms upside down or pinch the blossoms off and put them into a paper bag. Allow them to dry out for a few days. Then just crush the dried blossoms into a colander with your fingers and shake it to let the seeds fall into a bowl. Store them in a dry, dark, cool place until you're ready to plant them. You can get up to 100 seeds from a single blossom. Only use the flowers that are the prettiest with no brown or discoloration on them.  

Growing white clover is super easy and so gratifying. Growing zones are 4-9. If you don't know your growing zone, click on the link for the growing zones in the US. https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ 

Plant your seeds in April and/or May because they grow best when it's warming up. However, some say that it’s best to plant your seeds in September and October to inoculate the seeds and to allow them to establish their root system before the spring flowers start growing and dominate the surrounding grounds. Scatter seeds in soil (either in a pot with drain holes or in your garden) and cover them with a thin layer of mulch or more soil and carefully water them. The seeds only need a very thin layer of dirt over them so only plant them just below the surface. They need partial to full sun. The sunnier the spot is the more blossoms the plant will have and the fuller it will be. They will sprout in a couple of weeks in most cases, but it could take up to 3 weeks. The plant reaches maturity about a month after planting the seeds with seed harvesting around mid-April depending on when you’ve planted your seeds.                                                      

Water daily during germination. After germination keep the plant moist but not too moist. You can test your soil by sticking your finger in the soil up to the 2nd knuckle and pull it out, if it's moist, your good, if it's dry, water it gently. They don't need fertilizers or pesticides.

They are a perennial, which means you won't have to replant them each year, they'll just keep coming back thicker and thicker each year. They can be an invasive plant if not contained which is really the only bad thing that I can say about them.

Farmers use it for their livestock to graze on. It has been used to bring in deer and for controlling ground erosion. Honeybees, butterflies and other pollinators really love them. They are a great way to replenish nitrogen in the soil and removing heavy metals out of your soil, so they are very beneficial to not only animals and us but also the earth.  

If you’re collecting them from the wild, remember, they grow best in cool, moist soil so it's best to find them in early to mid-spring depending on where you live. If picking them in the wild, keep in mind you risk getting a plant that has been sprayed with some kind of chemical, so it is better to grow your own in my opinion, but again, if you do pick them in the wild, pick the most perfect blossoms that are not discolored and please wash them thoroughly. It's best to harvest the white clover early in the day just after the morning dew has dried. That’s when the blossoms are at their sweetest if you make tea. 

The entire plant is edible, the leaves, stocks, roots and blossoms, but the blossoms make the best tea especially the freshest and the prettiest ones. They make the sweetest tea that taste a little like honeysuckle. 

You can make teas, sav's and tinctures that can benefit you and your loved ones in so many ways. It can also be incorporated in food.                                              

                             

The plant is loaded with valuable vitamins and minerals like A, B2, B3, C, E and K and minerals like magnesium, potassium, chromium, calcium, phosphorous and is a great source of fiber and a great detoxifier.

White clover helps in treating the common cold, coughs and fever. It also helps in a number of stomach issues, gout, headaches, arthritis and dizziness. If it pulls bad stuff out of the ground soil, it will do the same for you so using it as a detox works very well.  

It is a great eye wash when made into a tea, purifies the blood and helps with various skin conditions.

I came across a great website that has great tips and recipes using white clover in various, beneficial ways to reference here. The website url for the white clover is https://mamaonthehomestead.com/preserving-white-clover/#:~:text=Health%20Benefits%20of%20White%20Clover,treat%20rheumatic%20aches%20and%20arthritis.%E2%80%9D

I also found another great website with reference to red clover which helps with hot flash in women suffering from menopause along with other things it helps with. That website is https://homespunseasonalliving.com/using-white-clover-food-medicine/

When should one not consume white clover? Because of its blood thinning properties, one should refrain from consuming white clover 2 weeks before a medical procedure, while taking blood pressure medication because it will interfere with it and while pregnant or nursing.

Also, always follow safe foraging guidelines. Those guidelines include never pick from someone else’s property without getting permission from the owner of the said property. Be 100% sure that the plant is identified. Don’t pick more than half of what you find and don’t destroy its habitat.

Fresh leaves taste great in soup and/or salad and dried leaves are great in pastries and jellies.

This wonder herb helps prevent lung related diseases because of its flavonoid properties. An example of flavonoid properties is antioxidants. The flowers essence aids in treating diabetes and preventing osteoporosis because is ability to increase bone density.

The most recommended way to introduce white clover into your diet is to start slowly and work your way up when you see how your body is going to react to it. Like maybe a cup of hot white clover tea one day a week to start off and then slowly increasing. Just remember, I am not a professional, so it is recommended to talk to your doctor before doing this. 

You can make flour out of the dried flower blossoms by just grinding them up into a fine powder. Store it in an airtight container. The texture of the flour is a little different and could be a bit off putting at first so you may need to mix it with regular all-purpose flour until your get used to it, according to Weeds (newlifeonahomestead.com) an awesome website that has tons of great information.     

            

The secret that every tea drinker should know, no matter if it’s iced tea or hot tea, steeping for the right amount of time is extremely important and just about every kind of tea is different. 

If you steep it too long it will taste bitter but if you don’t steep it long enough, you could miss out on some vital medicinal and nutritional benefits that the plant has to offer. 

For example, the perfect time to steep chamomile is about 4 minutes, but the perfect time to steep lavender is about 8 minutes. If you mix chamomile and lavender, it’s best to adjust the steep time to find the Goldilocks steep time which would probably be about 6 minutes.

I think that clover is one of those floras that has such a forgiving steep time because it could take anywhere between 30 minutes to 4 hours with the Goldilocks being about 2 hours and can be enjoyed hot or cold. There are those that makes a batch in the mornings just after harvesting it and let it steep through lunch and drink on it for several days keeping it in the fridge.

I am including my own white clover tea recipe suitable for all ages because some recipes may not be safe for all ages and definitely not appropriate for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers especially if there is honey in it.

White Clover Tea Recipe

Ingredients

8 cups of water

2 cups of fresh white clover (or 3 cups of dried white clover)

Mint (optional)

Honey or sugar to taste (optional)

Note: Honey taste the best with white clover, however, never give honey or anything that contains honey to babies due to the bacteria in honey can cause botulism.

Directions

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the clover to a 1 gallon jug. Pour the water over the clover and let it set in the counter just until the waters cools down to about the same temperature as a cup of coffee or until it’s just drinkable. Add sugar or honey to taste. The water still being warm will dissolve the sugar or honey better. Stir until fully dissolved. Let sit on the counter for an additional hour. Strain the solids off the tea. Add the rest of the water and mint. Sore in the fridge. Will keep for about 6 days. Drink hot or cold.

White clover is an herb that is easy to get excited about. It has so many good reasons to grow it in your yards, gardens or in pots. Will yall be making some the next harvest season? What can yall add to this post that I might have missed about white clover?

Please join in the conversation and tell me your favorite herb to make tea out of or if you’ve made white clover tea.

Next week I will be discussing cattails. Yall will be floored on how beneficial cattails are so keep coming back and join in the fun.

Also, starting tomorrow, I will be doing something big here on my blog that I am so excited about, but yall are gonna have to come back tomorrow to see what it is.

DISCLAIMER: Please remember, this blog is for entertainment purposes only and you should consult a professional before utilizing any of my content. I am not responsible for any damages to oneself, other people or property if you choose to ignore this disclaimer. Use at your own risk!