Does anyone grow stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)? I’m thinking about planting some next year in containers, mostly for fertilizer but I would also like to drink some tea just to see if it helps my allergies at all. Any tips, observations, opinions?
Does anyone grow stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)? I’m thinking about planting some next year in containers, mostly for fertilizer but I would also like to drink some tea just to see if it helps my allergies at all. Any tips, observations, opinions?
grow wood nettle instead, it’s slower growing, less weedy, and much tastier
Stinging nettle originated in Europe while wood nettle originated in North America. The stinging variety is a much older breed with a much increased potency. Having said that, I do keep finding tons of wood nettle on my excursions. Stinging nettle remains elusive.
The plan would be to plant in early spring, harvest tops in a few weeks with the remainder going to fertilizer. Rinse and repeat until it gets too hot. Eventually I would have to let one go to seed to replenish stock.
As I said below, I don’t care for spinach so I’m betting I find them both to taste like cuck. But it would be nice if the allergies relent.
They don’t help with allergies, unfortunately (that’s just pseudoscience bunk), other than in the general ways that nutrients can be helpful to being healthy - but the claims about histamine are magical thinking.
Nettles are a perennial, you don’t need to let them go to seed - it’s only disadvantageous to do so, since as they flower they form cystoliths in their leaves, which will hurt your kidneys (you can still harvest them but you have to ferment them to make them safe to eat at that point).
Nettles are pretty tasty, more strongly flavored than spinach, though.