Stinging nettle- Urtica dioica is a both a beloved and hated plant. Yes, it does sting. The stem and leaf edges are covered in stinging hairs. It can be rather painful. But it has been used as a food and medicine plant dating back at least to ancient Rome. Interestingly, if you sting an inflamed or painful area of the body with nettle, it has been shown to decrease the pain.
Mr. Homegrown has also written about nettles on the blog here.
Nettle is considered anti-inflammatory and is a diuretic. It has been used to cleanse and build the blood, treat prostate problems, to promote healthy menstruation, to reduce arthritis pain and even to treat hair loss. I have always taken nettle when I feel a little anemic and weak. It has a mild taste that is easily blended with other herbs for tea. My favorite pick me up is a teaspoon of dried nettle with a teaspoon of jasmine green tea.
Nettle is nutritious, if not delicious. If I were lost in the woods or just trying to find something to eat here on the streets of L.A., I would be happy to find nettles. Luckily, nettle thrives in both locations. It reseeds readily, making it an annoying weed if you don’t know how to make use of it.
I found a weedy nettle patch while hiking one day. I dug up a little bit and put it, roots and all, in my backpack. I transplanted it into my front yard when I got home. The nettle grew and set seed. So now I have a nice big nettle patch in my front yard.
The nettle patch has grown so lushly that it stings me every time I walk to my car. It borders the entire driveway. I’m kind of immune to the little stings at this point. I hardly even notice it. But a friend of mine got stung rather badly the other day as I forgot to warn him about the weeds. So I realized it was time to harvest.
I put on latex gloves, got my kitchen shears and a brown paper bag. I discovered that nettle can sting you right through a latex glove. And my wrists were stung quite severely. But oh well. I was so excited about harvesting I just plunged my arm into the deep green patch and started cutting.
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I cut the plants off near ground level and carefully placed them in my paper bag.
Then I closed the paper bag and hung it inside near a sunny window to dry. If you live in a humid climate or need it to dry quickly, I recommend setting your oven at a very low temperature, like 200 degrees and placing the bag in it for half an hour.
It will take about two weeks for your nettles to dry on their own. Check periodically to make sure they are drying properly and not getting moldy. Once they are dry, the sting is gone. You can safely strip the leaves from the stems and store in a jar in your pantry. Make some tea and enjoy. Stinging nettle is a tonic for almost anything that may ail you.
You can also make a fresh nettle soup. Here is a good recipe http://www.natureskills.com/nettle_soup.html
Nettles also make a really good spray/liquid fertiliser for the garden.
Fantastic in your compost, in fact Nettles are one of those wonder herbs like comfrey.
Good post – reminds me I must source some nettles for my new garden! Thanks!
We make a nice nettle fritata with eggs. Lang Cook has a great nettle chapter in his (wonderful) foraging book Fat of The Land and a lot of nettle recipes on his blog, http://fat-of-the-land.blogspot.com
The fibers in the nettle can be used to make cordage or even clothes.
hey- do you think maybe you can save some seed? I’ve been wanting a nettle patch ever since seeing a thing about making purins out of nettle, which is where you ferment them. They are evidently really good at invigorating your vegetable plants to the point that insects won’t bother them. You dilute the purin somewhat for pouring at the base of the plant, and dilute it further if using as a foliar spray. You have to use rainwater though, for it to ferment. Here’s a URL for more information. http://www.frenchgardening.com/tech.html?pid=309088884143
It is my understanding that nettles should not be eaten after they have flowered, due to irritating particles that develop in the leaves.
Thanks for the post. Interesting how some plants can cause both pain and healing.
I had cordoned off the nettle patch in my garden with the intention of making purins to assist in the growth of garden plants. However, no matter how careful I am, I get stung badly with the affected areas painful for a week. So I just buy the stuff already made (I live in France). If I could buy already processed nettle leaves, I would give eating them a try.
Great piece, thanks for inspiring us to grow nettle 🙂 Will you share a seed or two?
Very interesting,thanks for sharing this post. A plant that can heal and can give you pain, 🙂
Cindy@ Loose green tea