Nettles are one of the more common weeds that we deal with in the UK, and they sting. But they’re not all bad… here are three reasons why:
- If you have a lot of nettles growing in your garden, it’s a good indicator that you have very nitrogen rich soil. That’s a good thing. Dig up the nettles and plant nitrogen loving plants in their place and they’ll thrive. Any leafy crops, spinach, chard, lettuces etc will do well with nitrogen.
- You can cut down your nettles and soak them in a bucket of water for a few days. The water then makes a very good liquid feed, full of nutrients for your veg. The wilted nettles will have lost their sting by then, and they can either be added to the compost heap or used as a mulch around the base of veg plants.
- Nettle soup tastes good! Simply boil up 1 potato, 1 leek and 1 onion in some veg stock, and once they’re cooked add 400g washed nettle leaves. The leaves wilt down quickly. Take the pan off the heat, let it cool a little and then pour the mixture into a blender. Blend well and add a little cream. Yum!