Nettles – not beautiful but organic gardeners love ‘em
Unless you’ve led an extraordinarily sheltered life, I would say that you will probably have little difficulty in recognising the Common or Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica, though you might mistake the unrelated Deadnettle for it – but not when you see them side by side.
Organic gardeners may have patches of Nettles dotted around because of the benefits to wildlife, and possibly also as a companion plant for soft fruit. However, nettles can be invasive, spreading mainly by underground rhizomes, although there is also some seedling growth which can be removed by hoeing.
Though it might seem like an urban myth, young nettle tops really do make a good substitute for spinach, though you need to be quite skilful to gather enough without getting stung! Older nettles are no longer suitable for eating, because they contain cystoliths which cause irritation of the kidneys.
An infusion is made from 3 handfuls of fresh nettles to 570ml (1 UK pint, 1¼ US pints) of boiling water, allowed to stand for at least 10 minutes (up to 4 hours) before use. This can be used at a dosage of between 150-225ml (two-thirds to 1 US cup) a day as a treatment for heavy periods, arthritis, rheumatism and haemorrhoids. It can also be used externally as a rub for neuralgia, sciatica and arthritis, and to treat eczema and dandruff.
Being beaten with nettles is an old remedy for rheumatism and similar conditions.
A decoction can be made by putting 15g (half an ounce) of dried or 30g (1 ounce of fresh root) into a pan containing 570ml (1 UK pint, 1¼ US pints) of water, bringing to a boil, then lowering to simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. This is used to treat an enlarged prostate gland at a dosage of 225ml (1 US cup) a day.
As I’ve made plain throughout this blog, herbs grown for use as herbal remedies should be grown organically, to avoid the active ingredients being altered or drowned out by foreign chemicals. Although nettles are probably fairly easy to find in the wild, it’s difficult to be certain that they haven’t been sprayed with something or other by some well-meaning person (unless it is truly a wilderness area), so despite the fact that you may not really want nettles growing in your garden, it is best to have them there somewhere – perhaps behind the shed – where you can keep your eye on them, if you wish to use them for herbal medicine. There are other valuable uses for nettles in the organic garden.
To find out more about nettles in the organic garden visit the Gardenzone.
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April 3rd, 2009 at 18:12
There are some excellent tips here for new gardeners, I would have no hesitation in recommending to a new vegetable gardener.
April 3rd, 2009 at 18:30
Tending a garden goes a long way to help relieve stress. Pulling weeds does a lot more for you than just housekeeping for your garden
April 5th, 2009 at 19:41
Yes, I agree. Though when it’s raining, a game of pool is also good.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:42
Since this site is exclusively about herbs, our sister site http://www.gardenzone.info would probably be a better site for new veg. gardeners.
August 13th, 2009 at 08:15
Great writing, good read I will be back to read more of your stuff
February 23rd, 2010 at 02:29
Really enjoyed this blog post. Thanks for posting it.