Nettle

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

One of the coolest things about Stinging Nettle is that it emerges at about the time when our eyes get itchy and heads get stuffy. Thank you, nettles! Nettles have traditionally been used as a full-body anti-histamine, helping to chill out the body’s elevated response to pollen particles, decreasing the frequency and intensity of sneezes and sinus headaches.

But that’s not all. Nettles are one of our greatest local superfoods! They are packed with vitamins and minerals, including silica and calcium, and are protein-rich. According to herbalist Scott Kloos, nettles help the body build blood, and strengthen lungs, nails, hair, and connective tissue. They are therefore excellent to take when healing from broken bones, strains, sprains, and surgeries. They also promote breast milk production and are excellent during all stages of pregnancy. In addition, Nettles tone and support the kidneys and adrenals. Rosemary Gladstar recommends that menopausal folks work with nettles to invigorate the adrenals in support of their hormonal changes.

Nettles can be ingested in many ways. They make a pleasant, mild-tasting tea made from fresh or dried nettles. They also make a delicious green for soups, pesto, “spanakopita”, or side dishes. I like to take a big bag of dried nettles on backpacking trips and throw them into every dinner to get my greens. If you want to work with them fresh, use gloves to strip the leaves off, then blanch them to deactivate the chemicals responsible for their sting.

We make a big batch of nettles tincture and nettle-infused apple-cider vinegar every spring. We take the tincture throughout the year as a whole-body tonic, and use the vinegar in place of plain ol’ ACV. We also add nettles to our Breathe Easy Respiratory Tonic.

If you have nettles growing near you (check by the creek or another wet spot), they should be springing up in early spring! I recommend wearing gloves, long pants, and long sleeves for the harvest. You can harvest good medicine from them until they begin to flower. Also, be sure to harvest nettles far from concentrations of heavy metals and chemicals, as they uptake and concentrate these compounds that are bad for your health.

We harvest our nettles along the creek running through our property every spring. It’s one of our first harvests and is thus filled with great joy! If you’d like to try some of our nettles, we’d love to share some with you in the form of tincture or organic apple-cider vinegar. And, just for fun, you can watch our short instructional video about harvesting nettles!

Disclaimer

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.