STNGING NETTLE

Urtica dioica

Most of us have at least one experience with Stinging Nettles. The prickling sensation, tiny white bumps, irritatingly consistent itching are all signs that you have found a patch of Nettle. CONGRATULATIONS! Nettles are an amazing food and medicine.

ALTERATIVE

Supports and encourages detoxification. Our bodies are always cleansing and eliminating toxins, alteratives, or blood cleansers/purifiers aid this process.

Nettle has an incredible ability to lead a double life. As an alterative, it helps us cleanse our blood, as a building tonic, it helps us build blood with crucial vitamins and minerals. Truly the full package.

Along with being a powerhouse medicinal, Nettle is also a super food! By incorporating the leaves into spring dishes you can give your body a much needed boost in vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and so much more. As always, be sure of your plant identification before foraging. Here in Vermont you can find stinging Nettle just about everywhere. At the farm it grows in the between spaces. I find them thriving between the tree line and the field.

If this sounds like a plant you would like to try but are worried about the pesky pricking don’t fret! Harvesting Nettles can be safe and easy, I wear a long sleeve shirt, gloves and use a pair of sharp scissors, just make sure your gloves are thick on the back of your hands too! Try to snip off the tops of the plants, about 2-3 leaves down, that’s going to be the most tender part.

Nettles have the most beautiful, rich green color. I harvested these in the late spring for a nutritive broth! The best way to get all of the vitamins and minerals in Nettles is to do a water extraction. That can be tea, broth, steamed and so on.