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Clover.
Clover is another of those
underrated plants that has several uses to all types of gardeners. We
have all seen Clover growing wild in fields and grasslands everywhere,
but what a lot of people don’t realise is the benefits that it has to
the ground where it is growing. Clover is a Legume that is distantly
related to Beans and as such grows little Nitrogen Fixing nodules on its
root system. These nodules release Nitrogen, an important plant food,
into the soil when the clover dies. Some Clovers are better at this than
others and the so called “Red Clover,” is a bigger and more vigorous
plant than the normal “White,” and as such releases a lot more Nitrogen.
Indeed some farmers deliberately grow Clover in order to fertilize their
fields in a more natural way than adding chemical fertilizers. Likewise
some Allotment holders also use this method of increasing yields in
their plots and after their crops have been harvested in the Autumn will
sow special “Green Manure,” mixes of seeds that contain Clover seeds. As
Spring comes round this “Green Manure,” crop is then dug in and it
enriches the soil.
Also of use to Allotment holders is the Edible variety of Clover
commonly called “Oca,” or Oxalis Tuberosa. All Clovers have swollen, or
tuberous roots and in this variety these roots are particularly swollen
to form small tubers the size of a Radish, or if allowed to develop, the
size of a New Potato. It may be necessary to cover your plants though
with a Cloche in the Autumn to encourage the last bit of growth that you
can out of the plants, because the tubers develop late in the season and
if the frost takes the tops too early you end up with all small tubers.
Oca has a chemical in it called Oxalic Acid that is slightly toxic in
large quantities. It is in fact exactly the same chemical that is in
Rhubarb and gives that its tangy taste. In “Oca,” it is this acid that
gives it a tangy “Lemon,” flavour and makes it very tasty when eaten
raw. Indeed, this very attractive, little vegetable makes a lovely,
colourful and unusual addition to Salads. Equally, the larger tubers
from your crop, can be cooked in their skins like mini Yams, or New
Potatoes. The cooking process does break down the acid however, taking
away most of the flavour of the Oca leaving it as just another
vegetable.
Another interesting point about this plant as a vegetable is that
because of its nature the tubers will keep very well for weeks at room
temperature, unlike most vegetables, and don’t really need to be stored
in the fridge. It is also easy to keep some tubers in a cool place from
one year to the next so that you can plant another crop the following
season.
There are several other varieties of Oxalis that might be of interest to
gardeners and indeed I have been propagating some plants for Work by
dividing them and separating their tubers out into individual pots.
Oxalis Triangularis is one of them, but they are a little bit more
tender than some varieties. As a result they are best grown as an
unusual house plant. The largish, triangular, maroon coloured leaves
give this plant an odd appeal and, growing from tuberous roots that
store water, it is quite a tough plant that makes it ideal for warm,
indoor conditions where it might get a little neglect.
However, most Clovers are quite hardy outside, and even though they will
lose their leaves in cold conditions, they will burst back into growth
as the weather warms up again in the Spring. There is a little family of
these hardy, but smallish, Oxalis that are better grown as alpines and
those are Oxalis
Versicolor. Some of them have really exotic looking,
multi coloured flowers that put on quite a show as the clumps get bigger
with time. As with all Oxalis they can be divided easily and replanted.
I recently did that with another bigger, hardy, fancy leafed one called
Oxalis Tetraphylla Iron Cross. This variety has pretty pink flowers and
what I call a Bulls Eye design on its leaves, again as is shown in the
picture. I bought one small specimen back in the Spring which was
planted in the garden and have just dug it up to produce 30, or 40
small, bulbous tubers to pot up for work. So you can tell how quickly
some Clovers grow to form very attractive, sizeable clumps when planted
in good conditions. You don’t often see them for sale in Garden Centres,
but they are freely available over the Internet and they are worth
looking out.
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