Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Sometimes I find nettles and I don’t have any gloves so I pick them with bare hands. . The stems make good tea. Do you eat stinging nettles? amzn_assoc_linkid = "6a046523488496d95e684bdd6034ff01";
The stinging hairs on nettles grow angling down the stem. However you don't always have to wear gloves if you harvest them properly. Steps to Make Stinging Nettle Fertilizer Tea Collect nettle in a bucket. Come harvest some Nettles with us! I have grown, harvested, and used stinging nettles for many years. Make sure there are plenty of other specimens nearby and you are not reducing the population significantly. After all, in my experience, this plant was the source of many a painful rash! Nettles will begin popping up in early spring, and can be found all across North America. Nettle root is available at many natural food and holistic medicine stores. Sign up for our newsletter. Their flavor is wonderful! We harvest it and bag it. One of my favorite recipes is this iced fennel and nettle tea from our sister site, Foodal. The stalks and older leaves are fibrous and don’t cook up as tender. Foraging for wild edibles is an adventure and harvesting stinging nettles is extra adventurous. ), For my next foraging project, I intend to create homemade stinging nettle rennet to make cheese. Use approximately 1 cup of leaves to 2 cups water. Modern medicine is studying the plant’s use as an arthritis treatment to reduce inflammation, but the primary parts utilized are the leaves. In most cases, gloves are a good idea, as some contact with the leaves is likely to occur. Stinging nettles are at their best in spring, before they reach 12″ tall. What is your favorite way to use them? It tastes okay, but I prefer adding a little bit of giant hyssop or mint with the nettle for a more sip and relax kind of tea. Alternatively, you can blanch and mash the roots before storing in the alcohol, but some of the benefits will be lost in the process. Do you want to be more self-reliant? If you are harvesting from your garden and do not have dock nearby, ice can relieve the pain as well. The Beginner’s Guide to Backyard Homesteading. Pop the wad into your mouth, and chew it well before swallowing. Don’t try to eat stinging nettle raw! How to Harvest Nettle rhizomes are typically located about six inches deep underground, in two layers. The above ground portions of the plant are also a tasty forage food. Chop the roots into small pieces. Clip or pinch off several sets of leaves from the top of the plant. Thanks for the idea…Hopefully I can find some nettles this year to try this. You will not pay any extra for these products. I love nettle tea, and on occasion , I have cooked up the leaves in casseroles and such. Sigh. It was also applied externally to soothe hemorrhoids and other swollen skin tissues. Make an herbal tea by steeping leaves in hot, but not quite boiling, water until it is green. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Do you like getting dirt under your fingernails? Dry clean leaves in a single layer in food dehydrator until crispy, or hang in small bunches in a dry, room temperature spot until leaves are fully dehydrated. I have heard of people doing this, but I haven’t tried it. She has earned an Associate of Applied Science in Horticulture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts. This makes the most medicinal nettle tea I’ve ever used. Wear gloves to protect your hands from the stinging hairs or you will likely regret it! Fast forward to this spring and you’ll find (big) me out in the weeds with my gloves on, harvesting stinging nettle to cook up with eggs or pasta, dehydrate for tea, or blanch and freeze for the winter. In most cases, gloves are a good idea, as some contact with the leaves is likely to occur. Blanch for 1 minute in boiling water, chill, pack tightly into freezer bags and store in freezer for winter. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. We typically loosely fill a 5-gallon bucket. How can you harvest your own nettle leaf and make your own nettle leaf tea? Urinary tract health. This can benefit … Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. In fact, stinging nettle attracts a variety of beneficial insects and butterfly species. I use it as a booster in my milking goat or sheep’s feed when in milk. Here are a few things you can do to treat it the sting: Wash the area with soap and water to remove the nettle hairs. The stingers (or needles) point down. Once you have your roots, thoroughly clean them in fresh water. (After the sting wears off). Cut the leaves away from the stem using scissors and place your harvest in a basket. Stinging nettle has an erect, squarish stem and serrated, simple, pointed, ovate leaves that are arranged in opposite pairs. The leaves are pointed at the tips and serrated along the outer edges (like a serrated kitchen knife). Cooking stinging nettle gets rid of the stinging hairs. Put the leaves in boiling water for 10–15 minutes, or until the water turns light green. One of the first edible plants to sprout from the ground in spring is the stinging nettle. You can also let it cool in the refrigerator to make a healthy sweet ice tea. Use plastic, wood, or eventually styrofoam. Young shoots and leaves are delicious edibles, Controlling Stinging Nettle: Getting Rid Of Stinging Nettle Weeds, Stinging Nettle Greens: Tips For Growing Nettle Greens In The Garden, Nettle Garden Fertilizer: Information On Making And Using Nettles As Fertilizer, Planting A Giving Garden: Food Bank Garden Ideas, Giving To Food Deserts – How To Donate To Food Deserts, December To-Do List – What To Do In December Gardens, Yellow Dock Herbal Uses: Tips On Growing Yellow Dock Plants, What Is Wood Chip Mulch – Information About Wood Chip Garden Mulch, Judd Viburnum Care – How To Grow A Judd Viburnum Plant, Growing Trees In Zone 5: Planting Trees In Zone 5 Gardens, Recipes From The Garden: Pressure Cooking Root Vegetables, Gratitude For The Garden – Being Grateful For Each Growing Season, 7 Reasons To Do Your Garden Shopping Locally, Thankful Beyond Words – What Represents Gratefulness In My Garden. 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Gardening know how: Keep up to date with all that 's happening in and around the corner thanks how to harvest stinging nettle for tea. A peaceful forest Money on your Homestead longer how to harvest stinging nettle for tea steeping time, more. Natural food and holistic medicine stores year – spring, before they 12″.