What is clover good for

To make red clover tea, add 4 grams of dried flower tops or red clover tea bags to 1 cup mL of boiling water and steep for 5—10 minutes. Due to reports of side effects with 5 cups 1. Though many people enjoy red clover tea, no data shows it has the same potential health effects as concentrated forms of red clover, such as supplements and extracts. Red clover can be taken as a supplement, extract, or tea. Be sure to follow the instructions on the label and speak with a healthcare professional before trying red clover.

Red clover is an herb used in traditional medicine to treat a wide range of health issues, such as hot flashes, osteoporosis, arthritis , and skin and hair disorders. Some research has found taking 40—80 mg of red clover daily may help reduce severe menopausal hot flashes. However, beyond this, little evidence supports using red clover to treat other health conditions. Though it has a good safety profile, some side effects include nausea, vomiting, headache, and vaginal spotting. Furthermore, due to its minor estrogenic properties, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, as well as people with hormone-sensitive conditions or bleeding disorders, should avoid its use.

Osteoporosis is a condition that causes the bones in your body to become weak and porous. Learn about alternative treatments for osteoporosis. Clover honey is popular due to its sweet, mildly floral taste. This article reviews the uses, nutrition, and health benefits of clover honey and…. Health enthusiasts have long raved about the countless benefits of wheatgrass, and for good reason. We have 11 reasons why you should add it to your…. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect.

However, health experts are wary of its purported benefits due to a lack of scientific evidence. This article reviews red clover, its potential benefits, downsides, and uses. Share on Pinterest. What is red clover? Potential benefits. Downsides and side effects. Uses and dosage. The bottom line. Read this next. As she walks me through the list of everything clover is capable of for lawn health, the benefits are staggering.

When clover decomposes, it makes the minerals available to the lawn grass and soil life. The grass becomes more disease resistant because of the health benefits of clover. In effect, making friends — not enemies — with clover means reducing the use of fertilizers, herbicides, and any chemicals one might use to keep disease at bay. This could save people a pretty penny, and it also makes clover way better for the environment than grass-only lawns.

Other experts on the subject have similar things to say. As a dense ground cover plant, clovers — though they are also broad-leaved — are exceptional at crowding out other broadleaf plants such as dandelions, violets, and other plants that commonly populate lawns. When sown in between major crop plantings, they keep weeds down on farm fields for the upcoming year.

This helps cut down on herbicide use and costs, too. But what happened along the way to transform clover from valiant lawn companion to enemy of the suburbs, deserving removal root and stem? About 60 years ago, a war began on broadleaf plants. Gardeners can use clover as a green manure or cover crop, too! Another way to gain the benefits of nitrogen fixation is to plant clover among other plants. This can be done by incorporating clover into lawns, mixed plantings, or sowing clover as a living mulch or groundcover.

In addition to fixing nitrogen, a living clover mulch keeps soil moist and cool. Lush green cover intercepts the sun, which helps to moderate soil temperatures and reduce evaporation. Clover's strong root system and dense groundcover will also suppresses the growth of weeds, reducing the need for herbicides.

Around one in three foods we eat depends upon honeybees for pollination! Planting clover in your lawn and landscape is one way to help boost the honeybee population! You will also find many other types of native bees visiting clover blossoms, including bumblebees, which are also important pollinators. You can feel good about planting clover to provide habitat for native bees and honeybees, and your garden will benefit from these winged visitors, too. Just like commercial crops, many fruit and vegetable garden plants require bees for pollination.

By planting clover among our crops, we invite bees into the garden to pollinate our plants, which will help boost their productivity for more delicious food to harvest. In addition to pollinators, other beneficial insects are attracted to clover.

Helpful garden predators such as ladybugs , minute pirate bugs , lacewings , and parasitoid wasps specialized non-stinging predators , will feed on the nectar and pollen of clover. These bugs are beneficial because they feed on aphids, whiteflies, scales, cabbage worms, and other garden pests that can be harmful to your plants. When we plant clover and other flowers to attract these natural predators, we take a big step toward managing pest problems in the garden -- without the use of chemical herbicides, which are harmful to people, plants, and animals!

When we intermix clover in our lawns, turf grasses gain the benefits of improved soil health. Clover fixes nitrogen that feeds grasses, reducing the need for fertilizer applications. Because clover helps maintain soil moisture and suppress weeds, clover lawns require less water and herbicide. Clover lawns also provide an indirect service to our flower and vegetable gardens.

Deer and rabbits prefer clover over your garden treasures. Rather than sacrificing your lettuce crop or favorite hosta, plant a buffet of clover to satisfy hungry foragers.

In case you need one more reason to plant clovers, they are also edible and medicinal. Red and white clover in particular, are packed with vitamins, minerals, and a wide range of nutrients that support a healthy, heart, liver, and other important functions. Clovers also have a long history as medicinal plants. They are used as an ingredient in topical salves for pain-relief and anti-inflammatory properties.

Clover is high in anti-oxidants and favored as a cleansing tea. Clover is a powerful herb, so be sure to thoroughly research specific clover species and their suggested uses before consuming. How would you eat them? Clover flowers make a colorful addition to green salads and spruce up stir-fries.

Steep fresh or dried blossoms in your tea for a sweet, anise-like flavor. Choose young, bright blooms for the best flavor. Small white, pink, purple, and gold flowers attract Plant Yellow Blossom Clover as a cover crop to bring potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen to the surface of the soil. This drought-resistant clover is a vigorous grower, withstanding m This legume is a vigorous, easy-to-grow clover that will produce large, white blooms.

White Clover is perfect for using as a cover crop. Trifolium repens