Why are there so many nettles in the Orchard? Well, they are indicator plants showing that the soil there is very fertile, because they like to grow where the soil has a high nitrogen and phosphate content. In the Orchard this is because free range poultry was kept there in the recent past and before that the families who lived there in Victorian times had earth privies at the top of the site.
We have tried to create a pleasant social space amongst the apple trees in our Community Orchard, but the nettle is a very anti-social plant. So why is it worthy of praise? Here are some reasons why we should value this plant.
Food and drink
Nettle leaves are full of nutrients, minerals and vitamins as well as antioxidant compounds like polyphenols and carotenoids. They contain a level of iron that can rival spinach and kale, and they're also a good source of zinc and magnesium. They even contain more protein than many other green vegetables.Young nettle leaves can be cooked like spinach and are a useful green vegetable in early springtime. You can also add them to smoothies and soups. Someone reported seeing bagged nettles for £5 a bag at a farmers market this summer, should we be taking advantage of their potential fund-raising potential whilst they are ‘in fashion’?
From July onwards you can harvest the immature seeds, or from October onwards the ripe dark brown ones. These seeds are rich in oils and nutrients. Dried and roasted, they develop a nutty aroma and can be used in many ways such as in salad dressings, in mueslis and sprinkled over many other dishes.
It is said that you can eat the fresh young leaves as a salad without being stung, if you roll over them with a rolling pin, but I have yet to try this. There is a world nettle-eating championship held annually in Devon, if you are so inclined.
Incidentally it is the leaf hairs that hold the burning liquid which includes formic acid and histamine, and the hairs are like small glass vials which are easily snapped. Stinging is how the plant protects itself from herbivores and other mammals.
In some countries, nettle leaf powder is being added to bread and pasta as a protein supplement. In Nepal it is an essential vegetable for the poor but also appears on the menu in top hotels there. Here the Cornish cheese called Yarg is wrapped in nettle leaves, and nettle juice was once used to curdle milk to make Cheshire cheese. Apparently, you can make a nettle leaf tea to use like rennet to make cheese at home. As an example of using what you have to hand, in the past nettle plants have been used to pack fruit for transport, to keep it fresh, and to stop up the seams of leaky barrels.
And now to drinking nettles, firstly nettle tea can easily be made fresh from your own garden, or bought dried. I currently have a packet of ‘Bright Start’ lemon and nettle tea from Neals Yard. Who knows, regular use could cure my rheumatism or lower my blood pressure! There is more about nettle’s pharmacological uses below. But tea is not the only option for making a drink from nettles. A Women’s Institute recipe book from 1959 gives instructions for preparing nettle syrup, nettle wine and nettle beer. Perhaps it is time to revisit these home-made drinks.
Medicine
The nettle plant has a long history of use in folk medicine, some say as long as 2000 years. We now know that it has antioxidant, antibacterial, and pro-health properties in all of its partsThe idea of ‘purifying the blood’ after winter is an old tradition. John Neighbour a Chinnor resident, was interviewed in 2017 and said he was given boiled nettles in the spring, nettle tonic being a traditional remedy (from Fiona Mantle’s thesis).
Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, apparently listed 61 complaints or disorders that could be treated by nettles. Certainly, nettle has been used to treat complaints such as water retention, rheumatic complaints, and urinary tract infections for many years. Specifically, the root is used as a diuretic and to treat enlarged prostate and other urinary disorders.
During both World Wars, our supply of essential medicines was cut off and so the government turned to native plants which could be collected from the countryside by volunteers. In March 1942 the Chinnor Women’s Institute discussed a government note which pointed out the medical value of certain plants, and they were asking for help in gathering them. The WI decided that collection of nettles would start immediately, and dandelion roots in June. Other wild plants collected later in the year were foxgloves for the drug ‘digitalis’ and rosehips for Vitamin C (information from WI minutes researched by Fiona Mantle for her thesis).
Nettle tea has been used for gout, arthritis, diabetes and hayfever, while the Celts apparently made nettle beer for rheumatism. Creams or shampoos containing nettle extract have been developed for skin complaints such as eczema and dandruff. There is even a dry shampoo available with nettle for ‘oil control’ for those with oily hair.
‘Urtification’, where fresh leaves are applied to the joints to stimulate blood flow, has been tried for arthritis and there does seem to be some evidence that this can help relieve the severity of symptoms. It is said that Roman soldiers lashed themselves with nettles to keep warm in the cold British climate, or walked bare-legged through standing nettles to harden themselves. There are also stories of Native Americans stinging themselves to counter joint pain, as well as using the pain as a way of keeping awake during night-long ceremonial rituals. In Ecuador, penitents walk with nettles on their backs during a Christian religious procession
Nettle even has a use in modern veterinary medicine especially in Europe. For example, chickens are protected against internal parasites when they are fed stinging nettle and it boosts egg laying. In Canada nettle is fed to ruminants as a tonic and to provide trace minerals, as well as to pregnant and lactating animals to promote fertility. Nettle is also used in aquaculture or fish farming.
Dyeing
The roots and above-ground parts can be used to dye fabrics. The leaves produce a greyish green tint. The roots, with the help of alum, give a deep yellow colour especially effective when used to dye wool for knitting. This is not surprising as the plant has an extensive yellow root network, well known to Orchard volunteers.Gardening
Nettles can be used for mulching and also in composting. A guide from Alan Titchmarsh called ‘Home Composting’ recommends adding young nettles to the composter as they are a good natural accelerator and will speed up the composting process.You can also make liquid manure which is particularly rich in nitrogen, potassium and micronutrients such as iron, magnesium and calcium. It can be used regularly as a complete fertiliser – and it’s free, all you add to the nettles is rainwater.
Food for caterpillars
It is absolutely vital to leave some nettles in gardens and allotments, as they are a food source for dozens of our butterflies and moths. In fact many species will only eat nettles. Many of our most colourful butterflies such as the red admiral, peacock, comma, painted lady and small tortoiseshell, rely on finding nettles to lay their eggs on. Please leave some when you are weeding.To increase biodiversity
The RHS website mentions that over 100 species of invertebrates use nettle as a food-plant, not just the butterflies and moths mentioned above. The seeds are also food for numerous garden bird species.They say that there should be space in almost all gardens for this valuable wild flower, and that you can easily control it by deadheading and removing any seedlings or roots which spread beyond your designated ‘wild’ area.
Fibres
Nettle stems are abundant in fibres and they can be used to make a linen-like textile which surprisingly is not as thick and rough as you might expect. However, the fibres are remarkably strong and durable, and twine made from nettles has been found at Neolithic sites. Later on, nettle rope became widely used in construction, agriculture and maritime activities. The spun fibre threads could be woven into ropes of different thicknesses suitable for hoisting heavy objects, for reinforcing structures, for securing sails and so on.We know that early Britons made a fine, silky textile from a related nettle species, as examples of this cloth have been found at Must Farm, an amazing Bronze Age site in Cambridgeshire. In medieval times stinging nettles offered a readily-available alternative to wool and linen, being spun domestically and woven in cottages on wooden looms. The wardrobe inventory of Henry the 8th listed two nettle shirts. Queen Elizabeth the 1st even slept under a nettle cover. Until about 1860 (when cheaper cotton began to be imported) a strong durable cloth made of nettles was commonly used in Great Britain, and nettle tablecloths and sheets were used in Scotland. In times of War when trade routes were disrupted, nettle cloth had to be pressed into service. Nettle cloth was used for uniforms by both Napoleon’s soldiers and the German ones in World War 1, when nettle rucksacks and sandbags were also supplied to the army.
Nettle fibres are again being considered as alternatives to synthetic fibres, along with other plants that can be grown here such as hemp and flax. Patrick Grant, best known for presenting on the TV ‘Sewing Bee’ programme, has founded Community Clothing. He collaborates with several other community organisations in the north of England in an enterprise called ‘Homegrown/Homespun’. It is still early days for commercial use, but individuals are making nettle textiles on a small scale. Of course, environmentalists would love nettle to replace some of our cotton and synthetic fabrics. It grows on poor soils and needs little water and no fertilisers or pesticides. Depending on how the fibre is spun, nettle textiles are perfect to make clothes suitable for either summer or winter wear.
There is an intriguing film called ‘The Nettle Dress’ about a man who, over seven years, has created a dress for his daughter using locally foraged fibres from stinging nettles. He processes the fibres, spins them into yarn, and then weaves a length of material on a hand-loom. The film is currently being shown in the UK, you can find the trailer on YouTube. The nearest venue I can find to us is Chipping Norton where it is being shown next February. It is described as a modern fairy tale and a hymn to the healing power of nature.
Nettles in folklore
Since nettles have accompanied many different civilisations over the centuries, it is not surprising to find that they crop up in many folktales and superstitions. Some believed that they had magical powers and could protect humans and their animals from sorcery and witchcraft. By extension, wearing nettle garments could be a protection against evil. This may date from Anglo-Saxon times as nettle was one of their nine sacred herbs and thus useful against evil and illness.Hans Christian Andersen, whose stories were based on older folk tales, wrote ‘The Wild Swans’ in which a princess has to knit 11 nettle shirts to save 11 of her brothers, who have been turned into swans by their evil stepmother. In this way the spell is broken. This theme of a sister who protects her brothers with woven nettle garments, is also found in Lithuania.
In Norse legend, Loki is credited with inventing the fishing net. Made of nettle yarn, he used it to catch salmon while he was in hiding from the other gods.
A final ancient link with mankind is hinted at in the phrase ‘to grasp the nettle’ – to force yourself to do something you’ve been putting off because it’s difficult or unpleasant. This is cited in one of Aesop’s fables so it was probably a well-known saying even then. Its origin is thought to pre-date the Greeks, from a time around 3000 BC in the Bronze Age. Perhaps something to ponder on next time you are stung when visiting the Orchard.
Although our regular working parties have worked very hard to eliminate nettles from the more communal areas, we are committed to keeping part of the Orchard ‘wild’ with plenty of nettles thriving there both as a foodplant and to provide cover for various birds and animals.
Some sources used
BBC article online. ‘21st century gardening – Why you should embrace stinging nettles’. Accessed 19 Sept 2024
Country Life 27 June 2020 ‘Curious questions: how, and why, do people eat stinging nettles?’ Accessed online 2 Oct 2024
Fiona Mantle's thesis 'The Social History of Medical Self-Help in 20th-Century England' 2019. Available online for free
Independent newspaper online. ‘Nettle folklore’ published Thursday 14 July 2016
Plantura magazine (accessed online) Stinging nettle uses: 7 reasons why you should let the weed grow in your garden
www.nettlesfor textiles.org.uk
Britannica, article on nettles
Oxford Plants 400 – Stinging nettle. University of Oxford online
Nutritional and pharmacological importance of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.): A review Heliyon. 2022 Jun; 8(6): e09717.
Published online 2022 Jun 22. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09717
This is an article available for free online which looks at the uses of stinging nettle all over the world. The medicinal uses are many and varied. Check out this chart below, which shows the pharmacological effects.
Christine Davis October 2024
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