While many green-fingered folk see nettles as nothing more than weeds, they can actually provide gardeners with a vital tool to protect their plants.<\/p>

More related content:<\/p>

Wild garlic guide: where to find, how to cook it and recipe ideas<\/a><\/li>
Monthly foraging guide: what\u2019s in season, where to find it, and how to forage responsibly<\/a><\/li>
Blackberry guide: where to find, how to cook and recipe ideas<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>
What are the health benefits of stinging nettles?<\/h2>
Nettles are packed with nutrients. High in vitamin C, vitamin A, and full of calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium; they are also a good source of protein. Like spinach, when cooked, nettles reduce to about a quarter of their fresh amount when cooked, so a carrier-bag-full will yield about 500g\/1lb when cooked.<\/p>
Boiling nettle leaves into a tea is a popular way to extract their subtle flavour and get rid of the sting at the same time. They have an earthy, wholesome flavour similar to spinach and other greens.<\/p>
$\"478863145-a140355\"$
Nettle tea is said to help reduce inflammation and pain associated with osteoarthritis. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
Nettles are used to coat Cornwall\u2019s delicious Yarg cheese, and in Northumberland the leaves are ground and sprinkled into the cheese during production by one cheese-maker. Horse breeders have long fed nettles to horses to help provide a sleek coat, and in Sweden nettles are grown by farmers, dried out (causing them to lose their sting) and fed to dairy cattle, as the plant increases milk production.<\/p>
Nettles have traditionally been used for medicinal purposes by many cultures. Native Americans used the fresh leaves to treat aches and pains. European herbalists used the leaves in a similar fashion to treat gout and arthritis. Also, when the plant is dried to neutralise the acid in the sting, the leaves become a natural antihistamine. Some of these uses are now being scientifically tested, with some surprising results.<\/p>
How to make plant feed from nettles<\/h2>
Like comfrey, nettles make perfect liquid plant food. Fill a bucket with nettles and top with water. Within 10 days you’ll have a thick dark brown liquid \u2013 rich in nitrogen and smelling like a heap of manure. Diluted with water (10 parts water to 1 part nettle juice) it makes a fantastic fertiliser, but be warned, it stinks!<\/p>
$\"Nettles$
Nettles can be turned into a liquid fertiliser. \/Credit: Fergus Collins<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Nettles help keep fruit fresh<\/h3>
The leaves of nettle plants can, when used to pack fruit, help to keep it fresh and ripe, stopping mould from forming. Their high nitrogen content means they can also be used in compost, fuelling the bacteria to help them break down material more effectively and quickly.<\/p>
Nettle fibres can be spun into yarn<\/h3>
The fibres in the nettle plant are similar to linen and can be spun into yarn; nettle fabric was used to make German uniforms during the First World War. Scientists at De Montfort University in Leicester have used nettle fabric to make dresses in the past. Nettle yarn was often used to make tablecloths and bed sheets in Scotland, and in Russia the juice from the plant has traditionally been used to create a green dye. A yellow dye comes from the roots.<\/p>
Nettles are natural archaeologists<\/h3>
Nettles will grow just about anywhere, but they prefer rich soils and benefit from the waste humans produce. In this way, the presence of large collections of nettles in the wild can sometimes indicate where settlements once existed. The site may not longer be visible on the surface, but the nutrients in the rich soil still provide the perfect conditions for the nettles.<\/p>
$\"GettyImages-552097813-28329-50322a5\"$
Many of us remember the sting of nettles from childhood, so protect your hands with thick gloves when picking. \/Credit: Getty <\/figcaption><\/figure>
Nettle recipes<\/h2>
Easy nettle soup<\/a><\/h3>
$\"Nettle$
Nettle soup served with fresh cream – Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This easy nettle soup recipe is perfect for a light lunch. Discover more delicious soup recipes, including French onion soup<\/a>, leek and potato soup<\/a>, and sorrel soup<\/a>.<\/p>
Wild garlic, nettle and dandelion tart<\/a><\/h3>
$\"Wild$ <\/figure>
This springtime tart is made from foraged ingredients, including wild garlic<\/a>, nettle and dandelion. Try out more recipes using wild garlic or dandelion, such as wild garlic, potato and chorizo tortilla<\/a>, and wild garlic salt<\/a>, or dandelion root coffee<\/a>, dandelion wine<\/a>, and dandelion syrup<\/a>.<\/p>
Nettle pesto<\/a><\/p>
$\"Nettle-Pesto\"$ <\/figure>
Making nettle pesto is simple; all you need to do is substiture cooked nettle leaves for the basil or baby spinach you would normally use. Have a go at these recipes for making pesto from wild garlic<\/a> and carrot tops<\/a>.<\/p>
Crispy fried stinging nettles<\/a><\/h3>
Make these tasty crispy stinging nettles to serve as a side dish.<\/p>
$\"Nettles1_0-e703371\"$
Light, crispy and delicious, eat as a snack or serve with a main meal. Especially good on top of a spring or summer salads – Jessica Graham<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Chicken leg, blue cheese and nettle pie<\/a><\/h3>
Make a warming spring pie from freshly foraged nettles.<\/p>
$\"Chicken$
Make the perfect spring pie for the whole house – Louise Hagger<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Nettle beer<\/a> (on BBC Wildlife Magazine<\/em> website)<\/h3>
Writer and wild brewer Pascal Baudar shares his recipe for making nettle beer.<\/p>
$\"Stinging$
Stinging nettles. \u00a9 Lars Mensel\/EyeEm\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your beginner’s guide to foraging for nutritious nettles, with tips on how to pick to avoid the sting, plus some delicious recipes you’ll want to try today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":36184,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"9"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/04\/nettle-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-pick-safely-and-recipe-ideas.jpg",1414,943,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/04\/nettle-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-pick-safely-and-recipe-ideas-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/04\/nettle-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-pick-safely-and-recipe-ideas-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/04\/nettle-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-pick-safely-and-recipe-ideas-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/04\/nettle-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-pick-safely-and-recipe-ideas-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/04\/nettle-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-pick-safely-and-recipe-ideas.jpg",1414,943,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/04\/nettle-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-pick-safely-and-recipe-ideas.jpg",1414,943,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Your beginner's guide to foraging for nutritious nettles, with tips on how to pick to avoid the sting, plus some delicious recipes you'll want to try today.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/36183"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Nettle recipes<\/h2>