Stinging Nettle (2 minute read)
A guest article from Jan Cohen about this superfood - for butterflies and for us.
This week we have a guest post from my friend and neighbour, Jan Cohen.
Jan is a gardener who does a lot for wildlife and is a champion for nettles, the host plant for our admiral butterflies.
Nettles - one of nature’s superfoods. In the old days when I was young and beautiful the peasants of Europe would use nettles in various ways in the spring as they were the only leafy, edible greens around at the time. The plants are full of vitamins and minerals, especially iron.
A ten-second zap in the microwave will neutralise the “sting” if you fancy them as an addition to a salad using the younger leaves, but they can also be used as a tea, soup, or steamed green vegetable.
Nettles are also the host plant for our native admiral butterflies, and their caterpillars will keep them in check given a chance. I’ve noticed that juvenile praying mantis do extremely well on the plants, particularly when the inconspicuous white flowers appear.
If you’re not keen on having nettles scattered through your flower or vege garden how about sowing the seed in some out of the way spot or the back of borders? The butterflies will find them. If you do have to pull the plants out, grasp them from the bottom as there are no “stings” on the underside of the leaves.
Besides being used as a food and for medicinal uses, nettle fibres have been used in the past to make a type of linen. Because they contain a lot of minerals they can be incorporated in animal fodder – in my experience horse manure is a prime source of seedlings.
In the compost heap they are second to none as an activator. Other plants such as tomatoes and cane fruits benefit from them as a companion plant. If you’re into home brewing, look into How to Enjoy Your Weeds by Audrey Hatfield which has recipes for nettle beer and wine.
All round, a wonderful powerhouse with lots of uses. Please grow some, and while you’re at it perhaps also scatter the seeds of groundsel that feed the caterpillars of our endemic magpie moth (black with white spots) a day-flying moth.
Happy gardening,
Zenobia x
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Good one, Jan! I love it