by James Alexander-Sinclair
Nettles, like midges, are one of those things for which it is difficult to feel much affection ... they seem to have little purpose beyond stinging our children.
Nettles, like midges, are one of those things for which it is difficult to feel much affection. Never welcome, they grow everywhere and, to the gardener at least, seem to have little purpose beyond stinging our children. The sting comes from thousands of miniscule hairs that easily pierce the skin and administer a complex cocktail of chemicals that hurt and irritate. Rubbing the affected area with a dock leaf can bring relief - no doubt there are other cures out there.
It would be foolish to disregard nettles as a useless (and delinquent) weed, as they can be very useful. Nettles make strong rope and tough cloth; up until the First World War the Germans harvested tonnes of nettles and made them into military uniforms (the sting is neutralised by boiling). They also provide food for the caterpillars of some of our loveliest butterflies, including red admirals, small tortoiseshells, peacocks and the lovely comma . They not only feed butterflies and ladybird larvae, but can also feed us (although most people seem to prefer Tesco to fossicking around in hedgerows). It's well known that nettle soup can be made from the tips, but less well known are Scottish nettle pudding (that includes oats, onions, sprouts, butter and gravy as well as nettle) and nettle porridge (as eaten by Samuel Pepys).
Nettles need good ground to thrive so you can, at least, take a crumb of comfort from the knowledge that at least part of your garden is brimming with fertility and phosphates. One of the best uses for nettles, as with comfrey, is as a plant food. If you soak the crushed nettles in water for about a month, you'll end up with a liquid feed that should be diluted by one part in ten before application. If sprayed on plants it can also prevent fungal disease. Nettles also add a good dose of nitrogen to compost heaps.
I think we've seen that nettles are much more useful than midges: nobody has ever considered making soup from midges. We should also be grateful that we don't have any of the southern hemisphere nettles, which are much bigger and have a sting that can last months and cause lockjaw. You would need a dock leaf the size of a double duvet to deal with that.
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