Boiling nettle leaves into a tea is a popular way to extract their subtle flavour and getting rid of the sting at the same time. They have an earthy, wholesome flavour similar to spinach and other greens.
Horse breeders have long fed nettles to horses to help provide a sleek coat, and in Sweden nettles are grown by farmers, dried out causing them to lose their sting and fed to dairy cattle, as it increases milk production. Nettles have traditionally been used for medicinal purposes by many cultures. Native Americans used the fresh leaves to treat aches and pains. European herbalists used the leaves in a similar fashion to treat gout and arthritis.
Also, with the plant dried out to neutralize the acid in the sting, the leaves become a natural antihistamine. Some of these uses are now being scientifically tested, with some surprising results. Like comfrey, nettles make perfect liquid plant food. Fill a bucket with nettles and top with water. Diluted with water 10 parts water to 1 part nettle juice it makes a fantastic fertilizer, but be warned, it stinks!
The leaves of nettle plants can, when used to pack fruit, help to keep it fresh and ripe, stifling and stopping mould from forming. Their high nitrogen content means they can also be used in compost, fuelling the bacteria to help them break down material more effectively and quickly.
The fibres in the nettle plant are similar to linen and can be spun into yarn — nettle fabric was used to make German uniforms in World War I. Scientists at De Montfort University in Leicester have used nettle fabric to make dresses in the past. Nettle yarn was often used to make tablecloths and bed sheets in Scotland and in Russia the juice from the plat has traditionally been used to create a green dye.
A yellow dye comes from the roots. Nettles will grow just about anywhere, but they prefer rich soils and benefit from the waste humans produce. In this way, the presence of large collections of nettles in the wild can sometimes indicate where settlements once existed. The site may not longer be visible on the surface, but the nutrients in the rich soil still provide the perfect conditions for the nettles.
The British nettle carries its stinging barbs on the stem and the underside of the leaf for protection from those animals that might eat or uproot it. Native British stinging nettles inject a cocktail of formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine and serotonin, and that is what causes the bobbly swelling and itchy skin we suffer when we brush up against it.
Barker lists styptic and astringent as medicinal actions. Susun Weed uses Lamium purpureum leaves and flowers in two different salads. One she calls a green salad. The green salad includes leaves of chickweed, garlic mustard and dandelion. The other is fairy salad. Sure to look gorgeous as it includes violet, periwinkle and dandelion flowers. You must log in to post a comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Username or Email Address.
Remember Me. You must be logged in to post a comment. My name is Denny. I am getting ready to go out and weed my garden today. Running a couple months behind thanks to Covid. I have some nettles that are competing with my Raspberries and Blueberries.
I grew up being the only one other than my father who loved nettles, and spinach of course. I thought to myself heck I'll harvest the nettles. I never knew or thought about them flowering. They were great as a side to Steak and potatoes.
Also were great with seafood, Add a little butter and their a great compliment to steamed clams. If I want them to return next year should I cut them at the ground instead of yanking them out? Hi Denny, Lovely to hear from you and your nettle stories. You probably know it's quite hard to get rid of nettles.
I'd leave the dead stems and obviously let them seed and disperse their seeds, then observe the young growth going up around them. Perhaps you can just cut the dead stems then?! I order Stinging Nettle online to make infusions and this last batch is so bitter I can't drink it. I often toss it into soups and sauces as well but now I'm concerned that it could be unsafe to consume.
Do you have any thoughts? Sorry Leslie, I can't help, I can only suggest you contact the seller. I can speculate, but don't know the product. My nettle patch has gone to seed already. Is there anything I can use them for now? Are they seeding or flowering? You can use the seeds on the female plants as a sprinkle or in foods. Though not the flowers. Regarding the advice to not eat nettles when flowering, does this also apply to making tea from them?
I just made a cup before reading this blog and the flowers made the tea quite sweet so I was going to do that again. I have an admittedly fairly old book on edible and medicinal plants which says to gather the plants "at flowering time" for tea, but does say before flowering for eating. Hi Jennifer, are they referring to dead nettles or stinging nettles re flowering time for tea?
It would make sense for dead nettles. Maybe contact the author?! Otherwise picking at flowering time doesn't make sense to me. I don't know everything, but flowers means it isn't absorbable re nutrition - that's how I understand it. I picked a few nettle leaves definitely nettles, they brushed against my legs and stung me a bit from a non-polluted site in London, away from busy roads.
I made tea by washing them in a colander, then boiling them for a couple of minutes and then simmering. I then used a fine sieve to decant the saucepan into a cup.
Is that normal? I did leave the stems in, which maybe I shouldn't have done? Hi Hannah, that colour is because you boiled the nettles. If you want a 'normal' nettle tea, just pour boiling water on them. Both are safe however. My gardens are always overrun with lambs quarter, amaranth, and recently singing nettles joined the party. I Occasionally use the plants but am thinking next year I will do more eating and preserving of all three while they are young.
Thanks again from washington state USA! Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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