Nettles

January 2007

 Nettles, Urtica dioica, is a common plant which grows in waste ground and likes to grow near human habitations.  Nettles, also known as Stinging Nettles, Common Nettles or Small Nettle is different from our Texas grown Bull Nettle, also commonly found in waste areas.

 One of the identifying aspects of Nettles is the white, prickly fiber that grows along the stem.  Therefore, I grow my cool weather lover, Nettles, in a very isolated large clay pot keeping it, preventing my garden visitors from being stung.  However, you can gently harvest the Nettle leaves with bare hands if you talk sweetly to the plant asking its permission for harvest and thanking it for all its many gifts.

 So what are some of those gifts?  Nettles is actually my favorite herb and the one that I most frequently use.  Nettles is a tonic herb and it can be eaten as a food.  Like spinach, or any other green, it can be steamed or stir-fried with garlic (YUM). Nettles is known as a Potherb.  It makes a delicious, earthy tea, loaded with nutrients such as Vitamins C, K, A, Iron, Calcium and Chlorophyll, that can be drunk anytime.  This herb benefits the entire body and is particularly good for anemia.  Nettles contains a natural histamine so it can be used for asthma, other lung congestive problems and even aids in relieving our famous cedar fever here in Austin.  Nettles also acts as an effective diuretic, helping to eliminate uric acid and reducing water retention.  Nettles tea is ideal to drink during menstruation, as it not only reduces water retention but it is also effective in controlling profuse menstruation. Nettles is also an Alterative as it acts to nourish and purify the blood. When I drink Nettles tea I feel that I am drinking the blood of Mother Earth.

 So those are just some of the medicinal benefits of Nettles.  Interestingly, it can also be used as a green dye and the tough fibers of the stalk can be made into cloth. If you do get a nettle sting, the juice of the plant itself, along with Yellow Dock, Rumex crispus, can be used as an antidote.

 So never again think negatively of this incredible herb.  With its stingers and all, Nettles is so helpful to so many systems of the body.  I like Nettles as a tea, but you can also use it as a tincture or even in capsules.  Even better, grow your own.