Most People View Nettle As a Pesky Weed, But it Can Be Super Beneficial to Fruit and Vegetable Plants!
What Is Nettle?
Nettle’s Latin name is Urtica dioica. The Utica genus contains eighty different species of nettle which grow across the entire planet. While nettle can be found anywhere from Africa and Asia to New Zealand or the Americas, all species of nettle grow in moist environments. (Sorry y’all who live in the American West, you might have a hard time finding wild nettle.)
All species of nettle are known for having hairs or fibers which sting when they come in contact with skin. This sting is usually mild and benign, however I recommend wearing gloves when you pick nettle. Nettle stings have been noted to reduce arthritic pain due to the inflammatory response, but I know personally I do not like the bee sting feeling.
Perennial nettle reproduces through rhizomes, so, if you want to try to remove nettle completely from your property you’re going to have to dig it up. In my experience, it largely stays pretty confined, especially if it is used to harvest for tea. The nettle on my parents’ property has been growing for several years and has never grown outside of a small patch under a magnolia tree at the edge of our front acre.
Nettle is also a host plant for a wide variety of species of butterflies and moths including the red admiral butterfly, which is found in warm and moist parts of the United States.
What Does It Offer Plants?
If all you need for your garden is phosphorus, you can use a nettle tea made with leaves from the nettle plant before is goes to flower and seed. Nettle (and all green living things) naturally have a level of phosphorus in it which can be very beneficial to the growth of your garden. Nettle is also rich in calcium and magnesium. Calcium, as I’ve stated in this post is very vital in the production of vegetables like tomatoes.
If you make your nettle tea with nettles that have flowered or gone to seed you will also get a very concentrated amount of silica. Silica is beneficial as it helps plants uptake water and nutrients more effectively, which can increase growth and overall strength of your plants. Silica also helps prevent fungal growth which is something a lot of gardeners who grow in warm humid environments (like where I live in Delaware) battle with in the summer.
How to Prepare Nettle Tea
To make nettle tea you’ll have to get a few stalks of nettle. You don’t need much, especially if you’re using nettle that’s flowered, because nettle is very potent. Nettle grows wildly in every state except Hawaii, so finding it is only a matter of finding a wooded area or an area with a lot of wild plant growth. The nettle I use for my garden grows under one of the trees on the edge of my parents’ property.
Once you have picked your nettle you need to put it in a large pot. A stock pot works best. Then, you’ll need to boil water in a, separate, smaller pot. You only need enough water to fill about half of your stock pot, so don’t worry about needing to boil a lot of water.
After you boil your water, pour the water on top of your nettle in the stock pot. You may need to give the nettle a bit of a stir if the leaves don’t get fully covered in water. Some nettles may rest on the top of the water, and that’s okay, as long as they have gotten water on them.
Now that your nettle leaves have begun to break down due to the boiling water, you will want to put a lid on your stock pot and set somewhere like on your kitchen counter. The nettle needs to steep for at least five days so it needs to be a spot that it won’t be in the way.
Once five to seven days has passed, your nettle tea is fully brewed. You’ll need to shred the leaves with a hand held food processor. If you don’t have one you can still apply your nettle tea to your garden, it just won’t be as potent.
I have to note that nettle tea that is made with nettle that has gone to seed will have a very strong smell. It’s a little unpleasant but clears out pretty quickly once the tea has been brought outside.
How To Apply It To Your Garden
It is very important that you dilute your tea. The nutrients in nettle are very concentrated and if applied undiluted can overwhelm plants. I usually do three parts water to one part nettle tea. This ensures that the nutrients are at a level that is beneficial to the plants.
Now that you’ve diluted your nettle tea, you can apply it to your garden. Nettle tea, unlike normal watering, is applied to the leaves plants. This is so that they can be coated in the silica containing tea, which prevents them from mildewing in humid conditions.
After you’ve applied the tea to the leaves of your plants, they are good to go! Because nettle tea is very strong, I would advise against applying it more than once a month.
I’m so glad you decided to give my blog a read! Whether you stay a day, a month, or a year, I appreciate it. -Kate
Kate's a Vegan 