how do i grow nettles

i want to start adding nettle leaves to my salad

what do i look for on ebay, ? i cant find much

also, will it produce year round ? and what plant should i look for if im only growing it for the leaves so i can eat them

 

Hi Fuggles,

If it were the first of the month I would think you were pulling my leg.

Don't attempt to cultivate them, go gathering them from a local park, or a neighbour will be very grateful if you take theirs away.

 

Sounds good asdvise to me

 

Am i being thick, (shutup you lot) but how can you eat nettle's!!!! Wont they sting your mouth :D

 

Lightly boiled they're lovely...:gnthb:
And as for cultivating them:D I grow them in a bucket!

 

Nettles are delicious and extremely nutritious. The whole top side can be used to make a delicious soup or stew, and herbalists use the roots (boiled and strained) to aid all sorts of ailments (but I don't recommend it because about 1 in 10 people are allergic to a chemical found in the roots).

You get rid of the sting by soaking them in cold water for about half an hour. Incidentally, once you finished with that water, some say to water the plants with it as it makes a very weak plant feed and is apparently mildly fungicidal.

fuggles - as lollipop said, don't cultivate them, you'll end up with them everywhere. Gather them from the wild. That said, if you are absolutely determined to grow your own, just uproot one from a good size patch in the wild somewhere (technically you need the landowners permission but I don't think anyone would care). The roots are extremely resilient so would almost certainly survive the trauma, waiting patiently for you to put them in your garden so they can take over.

You can get a year round crop (through the growing season at least) by harvesting regularly.

 

Definately grow them in a bucket, dead easy just get a bit of root and plonk it in. They are actualy very nice steamed, blended and added to a soup.

Pick the new growth, not the woody old stuff.

 

I got the idea after seeing nettle tea in tesco. And i thought if tesco sell it, i may as well grow my own if i can. instead of buying tea bags.

 

easier said than done

tell me step by step what to do to get my own plant, when ive seen one in the wild somewhere. what does uproot mean ? how do i plant it after that ? Im new to all of this

 

Equip yourself with the following items:
* Some good working gloves, suade/canvass grafting gloves are best
* A carrier bag
* A good sized plant pot/bucket (if you use a bucket make a few drain holes in the bottom)
* Some general purpose compost (enough to fill the pot/bucket)

Take the gloves and the carrier bag into the countryside, preferably after or during a good rainstorm (as this loosens the ground to make your task easier). Find a good patch of nettles.

Wearing the gloves, grab a fistful of nettles by the stalks, as close to the ground as possible, and physically rip them out of the ground. A big cluster of roots will come up with it. The roots you'll notice are fairly chunky and mustard yellow in colour. Place your loot in the carrier bag, and head home.

Fill the bucket/pot with the general purpose compost, almost to the top, then with your fist, push down in the centre of the compost to make an impression about 3 or 4 inches deep. Place your nettle roots in this depression and cover it with a bit more compost. Trim off the stalks so that there are only about 3 inches of top side left above the surface of the compost, preferably leaving a few leaves on (though the root will almost certainly survive if you take all the top side growth away). Water liberally (by that I mean absolutely soak the compost so it is completely sodden), and then leave it to drain at its own pace. Keep it moist but not to wet, and in a few weeks the bucket will be full of nettles.

EDIT: Your profile doesn't say where you are, but if you are anywhere near the North East coast you can always come up to my land and help yourself to as much nettle root as you want, if you dig it out yourself

 

Feel free to come to my garden and help yourself any time

 

I do like a cup of nettle tea, but always shop bought, I'll have to consider growing my own! Especially in these cash strapped times!