Evil nettles

Good afternoon.. we have a large amount of nettles in our raised flower bed.. how do I get rid of them without a)killing the other plants and b) stinging myself all over?!

 

OK. This is something I have done successfully a couple of times!

First, you need thick gloves and to be covered well and no gaps between glove and thick sleeve.

I cannot dig as I am disabled so found a non invasive way.

Tools; a trowel and secateurs.

Grasp one of the nettles firmly at the base and pull gently but firmly. The roots are near the surface so when a good length of root is up; chop it off. If you manage to find the root stem , all the better, Repeat with every stalk.

NB THE ROOTS STING. I learned that the hard way and I am allergic to nettle stings!

If there is room to gently use the trowel to delve deeper and get more root, fine

Actually from the photo that will be one plant at the back .

Folk assured me they would grow back but in fact it took two years before any more grew through. And then only one stem and that was soon chopped. I have a lovely flower bed there now. No chemicals and no damage to plants.

I am currently doing the same with another infestation at the back. HUGE long roots that come up like spaghetti!

Good luck.

 

If you do get stung, firmly rub a nettle leaf on the affected area. You'll turn a fluorescent green colour, but the stinging sensation disappears immediately

 

If you have a real problem, I'd recommend moving any plants you want to keep into pots temporarily. From there, you can either blitz the whole thing with systemic weedkiller, or you can dig it over and remove all traces of roots.

Whilst the roots can sting you, they're limited in their ability to reach you. If you're going to go down the digging-out option, chop the greenery first before you move on to the roots. If you're weedkilling, you need the greenery in place to absorb the weedkiller.

Either way, I recommend not pulling them up. The roots don't hold together that well, so it's easier to shift them as a whole thing.

 

See what I mean re different ideas? lol... My way has worked so well and thus I disagree with the post above in every respect. ... My bed is nettlefree nearly 4 years now and not a drop of poison used.

As I also eat nettles never use chemicals. They are valuable plants in their own right. To be respected . A superfood.

Puzzled re what you say re the roots too as I find consistently that they hold together well. The ones I am working on now? A good tug pulls up literally yards of root and they have to be cut.

OP. as you see there IS easy help with this. There really is! Good luck with it whatever you decide to do...Hoping you feel better about it ... I leave a patch of nettles here as the peacock butterflies choose them and hatch out on them

 

How do you eat them @Islander77 .. in a salad or as a cooked/ steamed green ? What are they beneficial for?

 

I mix with other greens; dandelion leaves and chickweed among them, and yes steam lightly. Treat them as you would spinach.

Calcium, magnesium, iron, A C and some B

In times past they would be the first greens after the winter when folk lived seasonally. NB the sting does not last when cooked. Do not eat raw!

 

*Some* of the root comes up, sure - and yes, they go a good way. It's a long way from the complete thing though. I reckon if you're going to be turning the soil over anyway, having the roots connected makes it easier to remove them from the clods. And if you don't get all the roots, they're going to regrow. If you've got the time and energy to dig, then great - if not, weedkiller is a valid alternative. For sure if you can't dig and won't weedkill then pulling up the roots like that will get almost all of it, but it's very likely the remainder will regrow and spread back. Not guaranteed, of course, but likely.

I've tried eating nettles and dandelions. As you say, they're what the poorest people would eat when they were starving to death. Apparently woodlice are edible too, according to Ray Mears. To each their own, of course, but I'd need to be pretty desperate before I added nettles, dandelions and woodlice to my diet.

Where I live we have no shortage of open space with nettles. For me they have no positive features as a garden plant, and as butterfly food I could fill my entire garden with nettles and still have less than the edges of the small field immediately next to my house.

 

Gloves, and just to be pulled out as other weeds. What regrows, gets pulled out when next deweeding. If not extremely allegic, then no much harm if stung a bit.

 

What's all the fuss about? Nettles. Yes real stingers. Throughout my lifetime. I have known none but a rubbing of a Dock leaf to subdue the irritation.

Benefits of nettles. For many butterflies and moths, nettles are a real mainstay. The caterpillars chomp away happily.

The roots. Contary to most convictions. The roots usually are close knit. The surounding soil will be found to be fine, loose and often of a reddish/rusty colour. The mineral content is very desireable. Getting rid of nettles. If you are afraid of geting stung. Use a bagging hook or scythe and cut the growth down. Usung a fork, go and dig up the clump. The crown of the clump may be a bit of a bugger but once lifted, the fibrouse roots will lift easy.

 

There is one problem with nettles, not having the strength to remove them.
Now they are out of control and matting underfoot.