This year in Nettles

nancy sutton wrote:But, I wonder what 'older' leaves means .... is it a large leaf that has been maturing on the stem for the whole season, which may be different from a small leaf, newly-sprouted from a cut-back stem (the stem has been growing the whole season).


http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Urtica+dioica

Both get tough and the color changes and then they just don't seem very inviting. In my experience.

Plants for a future is a very good site, I'm already donating. But various sources say different things and whatever the unwelcome component is, the question remains - if the plant is cut down to the ground and new growth restarts, can it be used harmlessly even though it would have flowered already had it been left alone?

I guess the question is - is it the act of flowering that triggers the buildup of "whatever" or does the bad stuff accumulate throughout the growing season (reaching nasty levels after a few months) regardless of whether the plant has actually managed to flower or not?

According to some websites, there's nothing wrong with old nettle leaves, other than being chewy, as the cystoliths do not actually lead to kidney stones (http://www.eattheweeds.com/bet-your-life-on-it-myth-busting/). I really hope this is true, as I thoroughly enjoy nettles the whole time they are growing. I haven't really noticed any change in flavor or toughness as the season progresses. They are always good (in my mind) fried or baked in duck fat or coconut oil to make "nettle chips." Oh, how I love those!

Speaking of, I went looking for nettles poking up out of the ground. No luck . Their delayed development is sad, but understandable--as because I'm 500 feet above sea-level and on a north-facing, forested hill. I did, however, notice an odd occurance. One of the nettle stalks got pushed over and bent last year, and now has a little stalk growing out of the bend. Weird!

I saved a bunch of deep dark rich rich rich hundreds of years of alder duff clay from being consumed by the sea today. Their places around here where the topsoil just sluffs and oozes away. I am sorely reminded that clay is heavy and sea level is low. Tomorrow I'm going to make balls out of them and pitch a bunch of Wild Arugulas and Cresses. (Eruca vesicaria sativa + Diplotaxis tenuifolia) I have never grown cress by have had great results with Eruca sativa. I already have lots going and it layers in very well with a nettle/lemon balm/strawberry/grass low cover mix I have going on. Provide we don't get a surprise mass snow dump + rapid melting it looks like its already time to start thinking about cool weather low daylight plants.

Landon Sunrich wrote:I saved a bunch of deep dark rich rich rich hundreds of years of alder duff clay from being consumed by the sea today. Their places around here where the topsoil just sluffs and oozes away. I am sorely reminded that clay is heavy and sea level is low. Tomorrow I'm going to make balls out of them and pitch a bunch of Wild Arugulas and Cresses. (Eruca vesicaria sativa + Diplotaxis tenuifolia) I have never grown cress by have had great results with Eruca sativa. I already have lots going and it layers in very well with a nettle/lemon balm/strawberry/grass low cover mix I have going on. Provide we don't get a surprise mass snow dump + rapid melting it looks like its already time to start thinking about cool weather low daylight plants.

Hey Landon, have you had successes to share for seed balls in the Pacific Northwest? I'm wondering some sizes and months and conditions for various things that have worked well. I've just never seed balled, but might get hooked if I could start with a success

I've played around with ballin' a little but mostly I've direct seeded. This dark clay just screamed 'seed balls!' to me so that's what I'm doing. I was going to make um pretty small like shooter marble-ish size, that seems to be more or less where the clay wants to crumble to on its own when I was pulling roots out. This was pretty swampy stuff. I'm going to be throwing them over several of last years beds which have been mostly cleaned out and prepped by geese. I'll let you know how it works!

Ran across this article today (http://www.researchgate.net/publication/272828209_Beneficial_insects_associated_with_stinging_nettle_Urtica_dioica_Linnaeus_in_central_Washington_State)--by the Washington State University--about stinging nettles and all the beneficial insects they host. They are not only crucial to five nymphalid butterflies, but also support a lot of really nice, benificial insects, such as minute pirate bugs, native bees, parasitic wasps, and carnivorous flies. Just another reason that nettles are awesome!

I transplanted them together with blackberries last spring. Naively thinking that I will not have to bring pigs in. Just for sake of diversity.