The Schabzigerklee or bread clover is a popular spice plant, especially in German-speaking countries. With us you will learn everything about the characteristics, choice of location and cultivation of the bread clover.
The Schabzigerklee (Trigonella caerulea) belongs to the bread spices and can also be grown in your own garden or on the balcony. We give tips on growing, harvesting and using Schabzigerklee.
contents
- Schabzigerklee: origin and properties
- Grow Schabzigerklee
- The right care
- Harvesting and use of bread clover
- Effect of Schabzigerklees
Schabzigerklee: origin and properties
Schabzigerklee belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae) and is closely related to fenugreek (Trigonella foenum–graecum) related. The cultivated plant comes from the area of the eastern Mediterranean to Asia Minor and was probably created by selection from its wild relatives Trigonellaprocumbens. Bread clover is also known as blue sweet clover, cheese clover, gypsy weed or zigger clover. But what exactly is Schabzigerklee?
The annual, slender plant can reach a height of between 40 and 60 cm, in exceptional cases even around 100 cm. Since Schabzigerklee is particularly popular in the Alpine region, it was given the nickname South Tyrolean bread clover. The bread clover plants form a deep subterranean taproot with fine side branches, which form small round nodules in symbiosis with soil bacteria. Pale green, long-stalked, tripartite pinnate and lanceolate leaves with a sharply serrated leaf margin sit on the hollow, upright stems. The bee-friendly Schabzigerklee blossoms, which appear from June to September, sit together in terminal heads, are sky-blue in color and have a strong scent. After pollination, numerous ocher-colored to brown egg-shaped seeds form.
Difference between Schabzigerklee and Fenugreek: Fenugreek and Schremackerel are closely related species. The main difference is in the appearance, because the larger flowers of the fenugreek are usually yellow in color and the leaves are only very finely toothed to wavy. In addition, Schabzigerklee tastes a little milder than fenugreek.
Grow Schabzigerklee
American clover prefers deep, fresh garden soil with a good water supply in sunny to partially shaded locations. The cultivation of Schabzigerklee is just as possible in the garden as on the terrace and balcony. The plants are sown from the end of April to July directly into the bed or into suitable planters with good drainage. Weeds should be removed from the bed and the soil loosened up well. Make sure not to spread any fresh manure or compost in the bed before sowing Schabzigerklee, as legumes are sensitive to high levels of nutrients.
The seed of Schabzigerklees is sown in rows with a distance of 30 to 60 cm and a sowing depth of 1 to 2 cm. 1.5 to 2 g of seeds are required per square meter. Schabzigerklee germinates quite slowly, the first bread clover plants usually only appear after three to four weeks. Always keep the soil well moist during this time, but waterlogging should never occur. When the plants are about 5 cm high, they should be planted about 10 cm apart.
For growing bread clover in pots, we recommend using a nutrient-rich potting soil like ours Plantura organic universal soil. In the production of the compost-rich substrate, we completely forego the use of peat and animal products that are harmful to the climate. The nutrients it contains provide Schabzigerklee and numerous other plants with essential minerals.
tip: American clover, like many legumes, is self-intolerant and should only be grown on the same area every four years.
The right care
Schabzigerklee is extremely undemanding in its cultivation. The plants only need regular watering in dry summers, especially in the young plant phase and when flowering. If the plants grow very tall, it may be necessary to support or tie them up to keep them off the ground.
Like all legumes, the Schabzigerklee lives naturally in a root symbiosis with nitrogen-binding nodule bacteria, the so-called rhizobia. The soil bacteria make this nitrogen available to the bread clover in exchange for sugar from photosynthesis. Fertilization is therefore not necessary - an exception is the culture in the pot, since there are no nodule bacteria. However, the minerals contained in nutrient-rich potting soil are usually completely sufficient to supply the annual Schabzigerklee.
Schabzigerklee is seed-proof and can be propagated from your own seeds. For this you let some plants wither instead of harvesting the herb. As the aromatic seeds ripen one by one and will fall off quickly if you wait too long the seed pods are harvested continuously while still semi-green and at room temperature for a few days post-dried. The ocher-colored seeds fall out of the thin skin and can be separated from one another by a draft or blow. The purified Schabzigerklee seeds can be stored and sown in a dry and cool place for several years.
Harvesting and use of bread clover
The prickly pear is harvested for bread spice during the flowering period between July and September, before the seeds can properly form and fall out. The herb, including the flowers, is cut off about 15 cm above the ground, chopped up and spread out in the air to dry in the shade. Since the plants recover and form fresh shoots with such a high pruning, up to three harvests a year are possible. In the case of Schabzigerklee, the dried herb and flowers are used as a spice by finely grinding the dry parts of the plant. In some places, not only the herb, but also the seeds are ground into a Japanese clover spice.
Powdered dried gypsy herb is used in Switzerland to make Schabziger cheese. Traditionally, ground seeds are added to bread dough, spreads or spicy spice mixtures such as curries. Vinschgauer or Vinschgerl and Schüttelbrot get their typical, strong aroma from the bread clover spice. The taste of Schabzigerklee can be described as strong, spicy and very slightly bitter.
Effect of Schabzigerklees
The healthy Schabzigerklee has numerous essential oils that give the dry herb its typical aroma. Tannins and bitter substances are responsible for the slightly bitter aftertaste. Schabzigerklee is said to have a digestive, appetizing and blood-forming effect.
Many herbs are undemanding in cultivation and can be grown well even in limited space. We present you the 10 best Spice plants for the garden and balcony in front.
