Grasp the Nettle!
Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) are a spring tonic, a wild medicine, and a nourishing herb both for the body and the garden.
Grasp the nettle! A saying that means doing something difficult BOLDLY! The idea is that when you pluck nettles strongly and without hesitation, they won't sting as badly as they do with a tentative touch.
For internal use, nettle leaf must be cooked, infused in hot water, dehydrated, or very well blended in a blender - thus taking out the sting! As a food nettles are tasty when cooked like any other green, and can be used in any recipe that calls for spinach. They make delicious pesto, soup, sautée, creamed nettle, pureed nettle…. you can even freeze them for later use, or soak in vinegar.
“When in doubt, use nettle”, Herbalist David Hoffman says. Rich in minerals and iron, nettles support the body's elimination of waste and have been known to reverse kidney damage! Topically the stinging nettle has a history of use improving circulation in rheumatism and stiff joints (yes, stinging yourself on purpose!) The important medicinal actions of nettles include alterative, astringent, diuretic, nutritive and tonic. This is a healthy food and herb for all ages, without contra-indications — just watch out for the sting that causes some short-lived skin irritation. Try adding lemon or lime juice to a (hot or cold) nettles tea, as the vitamin C aids the body’s absorption of iron!
Nettle leaf is best harvested in early to mid-spring (April/May in Toronto) when the plants are young and fresh, at their early stage of growth before they begin to flower. In your garden, if young leafy plants are cut down to the ground repeatedly before flowering, they can be harvested as “cut and come again” herbs multiple times per season! They grow wild around parts of the GTA and are also beneficial in plant teas to feed the garden, enhance the compost pile, and even as a mulch. Remember, when harvesting any plants from the wild, err on the side of caution and only pick a small fraction of the plants you find - one in ten is a good rule for urban harvesting. Always give thanks for the beautiful bounty from nature’s medicine cabinet.
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About the lino-cut at the top of the page: printed in January 2021 on 18x24” paper, this block print was carved from an offcut piece of linoleum flooring. The yellowy orange circles are meant to remind you of suns or moons, as a reference to the natural cycles of plant growth through the year. I adpated this print from the illustration of stinging nettles in my book Grow Without A Garden.