Nettles

Okay, not a lot of people want to cultivate nettles and indeed, there is no need to, as this is such an abundant wild plant. However if you want to use this plant for food purposes, it can be nicer to grow your own, at least you know they haven't been piddled on by dogs!

Cultivation

Nettles grow anywhere. If you are collecting from the wild, leaves should be picked wearing gloves from plants between 12 and 20 inches tall. At home you can grow them in a tub or bucket to prevent spreading and harvest with scissors or a knife, still wearing gloves of course!

Parts Used

The entire young plant except the root can be eaten
Juice can be pressed from young plants – a commercial juicer is best for this, or mix nettle with pear or apple to help lubricate the mechanism of the juicer
Leaves can be dried – hang young plants upside down in a cool shady place until dry
Roots can be dried – dig up in autumn and dry on racks in a cool dry place

Uses

As a vegetable, nettles are steamed and eaten like spinach, they are a tonic and stimulate the action of the intestines. Nettle soup is a bright green food, which is very easy to eat and again, improves the action of the stomach and is said to increase appetite. People suffering from diabetes or anaemia find nettles increase the iron content of the blood and stimulate the desire to eat.

Nettle photograph by Paul Schultz from flickr under a creative commons attribution licence.