My kitchen counter is 100% green with my catch of the day: Stinging Nettle. Had to drive to Tennessee to harvest it but I was out that way for other reasons so I took advantage of the opportunity to get me some Nettle.
Simply amazing how much there was to be had. All started from a single row of Urtica seedlings, 20 years ago or so….
Now that it is piled high on my counter, I’m wondering what to do with it. I needed this much in prep for the Survival Preparedness Workshop on wild foods I’ll be teaching in June. How would you preserve it? Make into pesto and freeze? Make canned Nettle soup? Dry in a dehydrator and reconstitute later?
Any experienced Nettle collectors out there with a few cents of wisdom to share?
Pretty exciting stuff!
A side note: the farmer’s wife whose farm it is that SN have envaded, actually buys her Nettle from Mountain Rose Herbs. I was incredulous. She said it was cause she doesn’t have time to dry it and she uses it as a tea.
Ok I finally downloaded my cool pics of Urtica!
Starting from the Nettle patch at Creeksong farms (this is only ONE of 3 patches like it there) to Nettle soup and Nettle infusion.
Amazingness
My load. Didn’t weigh it, but it was like a bottomless pit!
Nettle ready to throw in my soup pot
Soup anyone?! It was really really really yummy
Made an overnight Nettle infusion with the leftover nettle that was not long enough to hang
Hanging Nettle in the hallway till I get the time to put it in my attic drying space (where it hangs from the eaves ribs on nails…the perfect place to dry herbs!)
I’ve decided that the way to go will be to dry it and reconstitute for the survival preparedness workshop dinner thingy.
Also I can go back to harvest more if I need to by then it will be ready for another haircut.
Tonight I am making Nettle and Cattail shoot pizza for a goodbye dinner for one of my foraging buddies. (she is moving to Italy!!! 🙁
Wild blessings!!
Holly
Holly, I love your blog. Where in TN did you find all your nettles? I have looked and looked for them here with no luck. I finally broke down and ordered some starts from Snady Mush herbs in NC and have them growing by a little muddy stream. They are doing o.k. I would love to find some growing here.
Cindy
Hi Cindy dear,
My friend Bettie purchased a few stinging Nettle plants 30 years ago and now they have taken over. So they are not technically wild but they sure are abundant.
I have transplanted a few to my land several years ago and told them to be fruitful and multiply but they remain few though stalwart. So I dug up a few more this year and hope to ‘spread the love’.
Thanks for checking out my site. I have so much work to do on it and so little time.
I’m having fun!
Blessings to you
Holly
Yesterday I found my very first wild nettle patch while on a hike in the Kennesaw, GA area. The first thing that went through my head was, “I bet Holly has a great nettle soup recipe!” I filled about 3 ziploc bags full and made up your soup that evening. Amazing!! I marked the patch on my GPS and plan on visiting it regularly. Love your site so much, thank you. 🙂