Nettle Harvest cont'

I am in love with Stinging Nettle

I love how abundantly it grows

I love eating it

Yesterday, we harvested a bunch for tea. We stripped all the leaves from the stems (which was so easy btw.. like some plants’ leaves don’t pull away from the stem easily & you end up breaking the cutting apart blah blah blah.. but the stinging nettle leaves almost like ‘popped’ off the stem. amazing.) So yeah, put all the leaves into our herb drying rack.

I was then left with all the stems, and although they would have made exceptional compost, I decided to quick pickle them!

The idea of a quick pickle or a nettle ferment had been brewing in my mind for a few days. I did a little research, and a quick pickle is so dang easy so I was like k let’s giver a whirl.

This is the recipe I used: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-quick-pickle-any-vegetable-233882

So simple. So fun

Some of the extra shoots were blanched and then added to dinner.

No spices, no oil.

Nothing fancy, just some boiled lawn weeds.

This morning, I googled “can you eat stinging nettle every day? and how much?”. It’s easy to incorporate into meals & tastes delicious so I’d like to just keep eating until it has all gone to flower.

There wasn’t much RDA advice on google for fresh stinging nettle. It was all about the dried roots & teas for medicinal purposes.. which do have RDAs, so be sure to check that out if you’re using it medicinally.

From my research, and a bit of logical reason.. it seems that stinging nettle, eaten fresh as a spinach substitute, can be eaten every day in moderate amounts. People have been living off this stuff since the beginning of time & we’re all still here so it’s probs okay.

If you start getting belly or head aches, then take a break.

Simple.

Okay so quick pickles are chilling in the fridge for another day, tea is drying, and the nettle is still pumping. I will be sure to keep y’all updated on how they all do!

As always, thank you for taking time to read this 🙏 If you wish to share your fav nettle recipe, or have questions or tips, please leave a comment below!

Happy foraging 🌱