Speed Date with Nettles: Green Beauty of Spring!

By Staff
Updated on April 2, 2018
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Nettles; A green Beauty

Speed date with nettles; you will either love them or hate them but the more you know, the more you will fall for this one! As an herb:

  • Nettles is an excellent diuretic helping to flush the kidneys.
  • Being hemostatic and astringent, it helps to tighten and tone tissues and stop bleeding.
  • Nettles is an awesome antihistamine, especially when taken long term.  It can help eliminate the runny nose and itchy eye symptoms.
  • It is a super food loaded with potassium, magnesium, calcium as well as B vitamins making it an ideal tonic.  Here are a few of my favorite recipes https://rosebarlowsprodigalgarden.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/nettle-recipes/  The nettles yogurt tonic is so good!

If that isn’t enough to get you interested, nettles have a host of other uses that make it even more alluring.

  • Nettles fibers were used to make German uniforms.  It takes approximately 40 kg/88 lbs of nettles to produce 1 shirt!
  • Nettles fibers can also be used make paper!  The fibers are boiled and soaked to clean, soften and separate before they were laid in papermaking frames.
  • Flies have a special distaste for nettle. Hang a bunch to keep flying pests away.
  • Nettles is great for swollen, achy arthritic joints.  Take fresh plant and slap yourself! The formic acid in the nettle sting helps to decrease inflammation.
  • Nettles, due to its high mineral content, are a great fertilizer!  Mix a bunch of plants in a 5-gallon bucket with a good scoop of horse or cow dung and some water!  Let it ferment a week or so, strain and spread on your garden.  Works wonders on houseplants too!
  • In Great Britain, they hold a Stinging Nettles Eating Competition each year usually in early May. In 2002 Simon Sleigh stuffed 76 feet of stinging nettles down his throat!   Here is a link to the actual contest in 2017!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by0212pJmzg

With some many marvelous qualities in nettles, you can’t help but fall in love with this beauty!  Happy Spring!

References:

101 Uses for Stinging Nettles By Piers Warren

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5gk9p3/english-idiots-hold-annual-stinging-nettle-eating-contest

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