Fresh Cleavers Juice

First signs of cleavers

Cleavers is one of those plants that seems to appear everywhere once you know what you’re looking for. Its little hooked hairs allow it to cling to clothing and other plants, earning it some wonderfully descriptive common names like cleavers, stickyweed, and bedstraw.

One of my favorite ways to work with fresh cleavers is to make a simple juice while the plant is young and fresh.

Making Cleavers Juice

Begin by gathering enough fresh cleavers to fill your blender at least halfway. As always when harvesting plants, make sure you’re confident in your identification and choose a clean area away from roadsides, pesticides, herbicides, and other potential contaminants.

Give your cleavers a good inspection and remove any unwanted plant material. Then roughly chop the plants into smaller pieces.

Place the chopped cleavers into your blender and add a small amount of water. You don’t need much—just enough to help the blender break the plant material down.

Blend until you have a green, pulpy mixture.

Pour the mixture through a fine strainer bag or other appropriate straining material and squeeze to release as much of the liquid as possible.

What you’re left with is fresh cleavers juice.

Because fresh plant juice is highly perishable, use it immediately or freeze it in ice cube trays for later use. Once frozen, the cubes can be transferred to a labeled freezer-safe container so you can take out only what you need.

I like freezing preparations like this because it gives you a way to preserve some of the fresh plant while it’s in season rather than letting it go to waste.

Working With Cleavers Topically

Cleavers can also be incorporated into topical preparations. One traditional approach is to first extract the plant into an oil and then use that infused oil as part of an external preparation.

When making an oil infusion, it’s important to remember that fresh plants contain water. Water introduced into an oil preparation can increase the risk of spoilage, so appropriate preparation and drying methods are important when creating infused oils intended for topical use.

Cleavers has a long history of traditional herbal use, particularly in preparations associated with the lymphatic system and skin. Those traditional uses are part of what makes this plant so interesting to learn about, but they shouldn’t be confused with established medical treatment.

Sometimes the simplest preparations are the ones that teach us the most. A handful of fresh cleavers, a little water, and a blender can turn a plant growing abundantly around us into an opportunity to learn how to work with what the season provides.