nettles as a cash crop

I think the issue with drying and selling is the weight loss. There is a woman who runs an herb farm near me. She once commented that once you factor in the cutting, stripping, drying, and cutting/sifting, and look at the weight of dried herb you get vs what you started with, it ought to sell for waaaay more per lb than it does.
She also lives in Md, which has pretty strict regulations on drying methods, which might add to the work.
Not saying it isn’t worth doing, just that there is more to turning that weedy patch into a salable dried product than you might imagine.

I grew up in Germany. My dad used to make Nettle ferment (cut green plants, soaked in water for a few weeks till it stinks horribly). He'd dilute it and water the plants and do foliar sprays on his fruit trees. Great for mineral boosting in plants and reducing disease and pests in trees he used to claim. I've also mulched my garden with mowed down nettles for adding minerals (before they go to seed if you don't want a Nettle patch in your veggie garden).

The tops are my first fresh greens for eating in spring since they show up about a month before anything grows in the garden.

Here is what I have in my notebook about nettles from various sources, which I have not verified but use anecdotally:
Leaves: High in iron, Vit C and B complex, good for adrenal fatique and anxiety
Seeds: used as a tea are good for thyroid health
Fiber: cut when it first starts going to seed to get the fiber, used for clothing, hats, netting
The sting: is good for Arthritis, carpal tunnel, Rheumatism (btw, I found out that if you wear those thin latex gloves it'll sting right through them and it stings through clothes as well. (My son told me that they can also 'toss' their sting when you're close by).
Roots: use for Baldness, Prostate inflammation, Increasing vigor and vitality and libido.
Leaves are also great for kidney support and has antihistamine properties for Allergies, Asthma and relaxes Bronchitis.
Flowers restore Atrophy in Kidneys
Helps with regeneration of cells
Helps with Brainfunction and can aid in prevention and reversing adult diabetes
Nettle leaf extract may reduce tumor cells and breast cancer and aids in wound healing
Antibacterial against Staph gram positive and negative
contains Lupiol (as Birch does and transfers it to Chaga and Birch polypore)
For vit C harvest, infuse leaves at no hotter than 140 deg waterfor 10 min.

None of this is verified, but there are many sources claiming at least most of these to be true.

Anyway, I do love the Nettles and they grow rampant where I live, so I can certainly attest to its sting, lol.

Hi Heidi,

Welcome to Permies.