“The stinging nettle only will still be found to stand: The numberless, the lonely, the thronger of the land, the leaf that hurts the hand”
By A E Housman ‘The Stinging Nettle’
‘Urtica comes from the Latin verb Urere, meaning to burn, and the word nettle from the Anglo Saxon needle, hence the feeling when stung.’
Is it a weed? If it is, then a very useful one.
The sting is produced from the long hairs on the leaves, pain will then be felt when you brush past without cover to your arms or legs and even when you do have cover they can still penetrate especially when young. The hairs break off and enter the skin depositing a chemical that causes pain and a rash. This defence system forms the perfect protection for the plant against grazing animals; the only animal that does not appear affected is the rabbit.
That is the negative side to encountering a nettle, now let’s endorse the positive. The nettle provides a home for the larvae of the butterfly and moths and also aphids which in turn become food for other predators such as ladybirds and birds. So they are a plus for wildlife. Nettle leaves are cleverly arranged so that light is blocked out for any plants that are growing underneath, the correct term for this is phenoplasticity, personally I think it’s terribly clever, but that’s what nature is.
My clump of nettles are located close to the rear of the greenhouse, when they are young and fresh in spring I harvest the tips combining them with spinach to make the most delicious nettle soup. Usually I can only manage this twice in spring due to re-growth and the size of my nettle patch, but there are many benefits to making the soup, it not only cleanses the body of toxins but it can also improve nutrient uptake in the gut. It is best to make soup before the end of May. I have been told that it is better to use the leaves of the nettle before the plant flowers as it may cause problems with the urinary tract, but I have to say I have never seen mine in flower because they are treated as a crop.
When harvesting nettles to make soup only use the top two or three leaves discarding any really thick stalks, try and collect a carrier bag full but if like me your patch is not very large then make the difference up with spinach.
Ingredients:
1 carrier bag of nettles, top up with spinach if you don’t have enough.
80g butter
2 large onions or 4 medium size (home grown usually are smaller)
1 large potato peeled and cut into cubes
1 large carrot peeled and into cubes
4-5 cloves of garlic (my recipes will always contain lots of garlic and onions!)
2 litres vegetable or chicken stock whichever you prefer
Salt and Pepper freshly ground to taste
Serves 4
Method;
Wash nettles in colander and drain.
Melt 80g of butter in a saucepan and cook the onions for about five minutes over medium heat.
Add the potato and cook for a further five minutes, add the garlic, stirring frequently as it may stick to the pan.
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
Simmer on low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, test the potato with a knife to see when tender, at this point add the nettles and spinach if using and simmer again for another 5 minutes.
Cool then liquidise until smooth.
You will then have what Percy out of ‘Blackadder’ would have called ‘Purest Green!’ The colour is very rich and vibrant.
To garnish take a few slices of Prosciutto ham and dry fry them in a frying pan until crisp, use as a topping. Or if you have some chopped pieces of bacon or chorizo again dry fry them, just use whatever is in the fridge. I always keep a packet of both as standbys, and use as toppings for soups or pasta, there is nothing quite so delicious as oven roasted tomatoes with a sprinkling of olive oil and sea salt combined with a couple of slices of prosciutto.
If you did not want to make soup with the nettles then make a very rich plant fertiliser. It is a simple procedure but I warn you it does smell.......
Method: Take a good size bucket preferably with a lid but if you don’t have a lid then cover with a plank of wood or anything that is to hand, as I have said before I am the ordinary gardener what I have is not always perfect. Cut the nettles down to the ground and chop up to a size that will comfortably sit in the container you are using. Fill with rainwater, if you don’t have rainwater then use tap, (rainwater is best) put a lid on the bucket and leave in a semi shaded place for about two weeks, drain off the liquid and put into a plastic bottle, a water bottle tends to fit the bill, store in the shed or an cool place not in the sun. Place the spent nettles on the compost heap. When you are ready to feed dilute at 10 parts water to one part nettle mix. It is rich in nitrogen so feed to plants requiring foliage growth.
This is an extremely simple diagram of the nutrients a plant needs.
I have never used it as a spray; however I am told it can be used for fungal infections on plants as it contains a compound called Lectin Agglutinin which works particularly well.
What is a weed? I have heard it said that there are sixty definitions. For me, a weed is a plant out of place.
Donald Culross Pealtie (1896-1964, Botanist and Author)