Springtime Nettles

Every year in Spring I like to go wild harvest Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica). I found a great place

to do it at a local park along the river. Unfortuntely, I am usually there when they are so overgrown and almost flowering so they are not at their best. Harvesting should happen when they are about waist high and not flowering. This week, I went and they were about knee high, so a little early, but it was time to go for it. I bring gardening gloves, which are helpful but won't prevent you from getting stung unless you know what you are doing and are careful, sharp, clean clippers, brown bags and my brand new text book about identifying plants so I could look for other goodies in the park. 

It is important that if you want to have Nettles there next year, you do not pull the plants or over harvest. First of all, the Nettle Spirits don't appreciate it and you will get stung. Second, pulling the plants not only kills the whole thing, but adds extra work for you when you get home with having to remove the leaves from the stalk and dirt from the roots getting everywhere. The best way to harvest nettles is to clip a few leaves from each plant and put them in your brown bag. I try for leaves along the middle of the plant and only take 2-3 leaves each, making sure to leave enough so the plant isn't injured in a way that it will die. If you do happen to get stung, the antidote is usually close by, Nipplewort, which I didn't think to get a good shot of, sorry, but you can see some in this picture above, it is the smaller leaves on the bottom right, these are the babies of Nipplewort, they do eventually get almost as tall as nettle and have a soft, almost heart shaped leaf and small yellow flower. Just pull a few of these leaves and rub it on the area that is stinging and it will take the edge off. 

The beautiful Nettle is an amazing herb that should be in everyone's apothecary. This time of year it is useful for helping with allergies when used as an infusion, tea or tincture. I prefer tincture because the infusion's taste is strong. however, if you like to drink juices, mixing the infusion with some cranberry juice is very pleasant to drink, will give you energy and lift your spirits. This alterative herb will help to support your body to cleanse through the kidneys. It is rich in vitamin K and minerals that are very useful to women, especially during pregnancy. Nettles can be used to help with symptoms of PMS and menopause and to help with milk production for lactating women. This one is an all around go to herb for women of all ages. 

Other uses are as a diuretic which will help with bladder infections and even helps to break down kidney stones.  Some studies say that the stinging action of the Nettles will help with inflammatory diseases like arthritis and gout, but a less painful way would be to drink the tea which is high in Boron and will help with supporting bones and in favor, strengthen bones in the cases of rheumatism and osteoporosis. Also, it's ability to increase elimination of uric acid helps with decreasing the pain in joints with results similar to NSAIDS without the risk of complications. For more detailed information about these studies and others similar, you can visit this page. 

Ok, so now you have picked your Nettles and are home and ready to dry them. You will want to have waterproof gloves and a strainer and hanging herb drier. I use the gloves you can get from the beauty store to dye hair with.  Have your bag(s) of Nettle nearby the kitchen sink and turn the water on so it isn't spraying too hard. Grab handfuls of your Nettles and rinse them one by one, to make sure you are removing any dirt or other organic material you don't want in your stored herbs. Place them on a clean towel nearby while you finish rinsing your loot. Then you will place them in a single layer on your herb drier. Sometimes, I put them in the dehydrator for a quicker drying time, about 30 minutes, sometimes less. 



This time I used my hanging herb drier. Forgot to snap a pic, besides, it is in my garage which is dark and pics don't work well out there. Dark is important when drying herbs as to keep the color. For more about how to dry and store herbs, check out this site. 
Nettles don't take long to dry out, probably good in a few days. Collect them from your hangar or drier and put them in a gallon ziploc bag. No need to crush them or cut them yet, you can wait until you are ready to use them. 

Recipe for infusion:

1 OZ Nettle Leaves
1 PT Distilled or Filtered Water
Your favorite dark berry juice to taste. 

Measure out your Nettle, pour the boiling water over the herb, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain through coffee filter or stainless steel infusion strainer. Drink warm with honey or coll with fruit juice. 

Other herbalists recommend using 1 oz herb to 1 quart water and steeping longer. Either way is fine and you will find what works best for you. Enjoy! 

More resources about Stinging Nettle:
WebMD 
Mother Earth News
Wild Man Steve
University of Maryland Medical Center
6 Ways to Treat a Sting from Nettle