A
*intense tall ground cover, a plant that makes many folks wonder why
grow it in the first place, it stings indeed rather firmly - this is a
favorite in a Regenerative Leadership Institute
food forest! If planted in a nicely selected area where it can
propagate without negatively impacting gardener's comfort, this plant
produces greatly, grows without many demands and sets its incredible
life force into dark green leaf that is prepared to harvest in mid
Spring.
In the dry climate of South West the plant is easily controlled by water - I.e. it will only grow where it receives added care and it'll discontinue otherwise. In wetter climates it will limit itself to "edge" - it is actually a plant of disturbed ecosystem, that likes to embrace edges of woods and groves, where it gets both the shelter from taller woody vegetation as well as the exposure to sunlight.
Nettle patch to the best of the young apple tree in setting
Nettle patch near a *youthful apple tree in a grove is rather a good placement - the plant looks to keep away in the main zone of the fruit tree where picking up fallen apples would be less than pleasant with such groundcover - but it grows happily nearby. Such food forest design works well for both plants - and it also works well with more complex guilds of farm animals - goats stay away from it, so do the chickens, but earth worms flourish in its protection!
Once plant gets tall and spiky, and first tiny green flowers appear it is time to harvest. Garden gloves and a big basket is all that is desired. Stems break easily, but can also be pulled with roots as plant only becomes more invigorated by this interference! Dried in the drafty shade, the leaves are brittle within a few days - prepared for that final measure of the procedure.
Shade drying of nettle.
Garden gloves on again, the plant stings even when dry! Rub-rub-rub - each stem or a group of stems - over a deep cookie sheet to catch the leaves - and you are left with a large stack of nettle leaves for tea making. Stems may be brewed into tea or foliar spay for greenhouse crops - it discourages aphids and fortifies crops.
For more information, click here
In the dry climate of South West the plant is easily controlled by water - I.e. it will only grow where it receives added care and it'll discontinue otherwise. In wetter climates it will limit itself to "edge" - it is actually a plant of disturbed ecosystem, that likes to embrace edges of woods and groves, where it gets both the shelter from taller woody vegetation as well as the exposure to sunlight.
Nettle patch to the best of the young apple tree in setting
Nettle patch near a *youthful apple tree in a grove is rather a good placement - the plant looks to keep away in the main zone of the fruit tree where picking up fallen apples would be less than pleasant with such groundcover - but it grows happily nearby. Such food forest design works well for both plants - and it also works well with more complex guilds of farm animals - goats stay away from it, so do the chickens, but earth worms flourish in its protection!
Once plant gets tall and spiky, and first tiny green flowers appear it is time to harvest. Garden gloves and a big basket is all that is desired. Stems break easily, but can also be pulled with roots as plant only becomes more invigorated by this interference! Dried in the drafty shade, the leaves are brittle within a few days - prepared for that final measure of the procedure.
Shade drying of nettle.
Garden gloves on again, the plant stings even when dry! Rub-rub-rub - each stem or a group of stems - over a deep cookie sheet to catch the leaves - and you are left with a large stack of nettle leaves for tea making. Stems may be brewed into tea or foliar spay for greenhouse crops - it discourages aphids and fortifies crops.
For more information, click here
