Kurto83 Posted January 9, 2013 Does anyone have stinging nettle seeds? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THCixx420 Posted January 9, 2013 I have never collected any seed but I have plenty growing around the stock yards and farm. Bad weed which I hit with chem on the weekend. If you are close to a cattle or sheep sale yard or know a farmer close by - go there for a look around the yards and fenclines looking for live plants. Animals have most likely walked and rubbed seed off in these areas and plants will be growing. Stinging nettle is everywhere. Make sure you get yourself some dock weed to rub on the stings if required. 9 times out of 10 dock will be growing with or close to the nettle. Big round leaf - cant miss it. I'm interested in how you are using it? Eating or drinking? Good luck with your hunt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurto83 Posted January 9, 2013 Thanks THC. Definitely not eating or drinking it!! Trying to get rid of aphids and spidermites. 1/2 cup of horsetail 1 cup of stinging Nettle 1 L water A little dishwashing liquid Boil,cool, spray and then give evil laugh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toast Posted January 9, 2013 Nettle can be both eaten and drunken, and has many medical qualities. It is high in iron and a good liver cleanser and general health tonic. It was traditionally used as a vegetable in stews and soups etc. Blanching removes the stings. I would also be interested in seeds if there are any available 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted January 9, 2013 not easy to grow, from seed! stinging nettle must be one of those plants which, has allies in the soil, the only time, i managed to grow it from seed was, into soil where, the former was growing in befor. stinging nettle brew, is a super soil conditioner aswell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurto83 Posted January 9, 2013 Thanks for the info guys. I will look around for some and maybe try propagating with cuttings. Is this a reasonable tactic ? Sounds like a handy weed to have in the garden. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THCixx420 Posted January 9, 2013 Sounds like I might need to go collection for a few people. Cover post and I'll go collecting a few live plants and see what the seed situation is. There would be thousands around my veggie patch at the block and millions more spread all over the place at this time of year. I have tried nettle in salads, soups and stews, drunk as a tea with a sweetner and rubbed around aching bones. It tastes a bit like spinach I guess and worked a treat rubbed on aches - I don't know if was something in the sting or the stinging sensation itself but it offered some relief from locked up joints when shearing/crutching sheep. An old shearer actually put me on to the uses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THCixx420 Posted January 9, 2013 Seeds need to fall in an area high in nitrogen and phosphate I think. Thats why sheep and cattle yards usually have a blanket of the stuff. Even around farm house septics. Same for hiigh animal traffic areas around the farm - lots of dung seems to mean lots of nettle, dock & horehound close by. Nettle is pretty hardy - you can mow it off and ground level and it comes straight back. I'm sure there is nettle seed in some bird seed - I've found it growing in the bottom of the cage but then again this stuff grows anywhere. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted January 9, 2013 NETTLE! awesome stuff! i watched my father spend a week or so ripping this stuff out and poisoning the roots. i mean a 1/2 acres worth at one point! He then boiled it up in a massive dog food boiler, turned it off and added composted chook poo. this was sat for a day or so (from memory), stirred occasionally and then he'd proceed to bucket the entire contents onto the rhubarb patch. and can i say, you've never tasted rhubarb as good as this! it was so sweet and juicy that sugar wasn't required during our preparation! i am going to sneak in a "nettle, leak and feta pie" onto my table in the next week or so, or when i can find some material. My gal wouldnt go near it if i told her prior what it was, but i bet she'd love it and wouldn't know the difference when eating it without knowledge! ive also eaten it in soups and as blanch salad leaf. goes well with basil. i have smoked it and added to herbal teas with stevia, basil and hops. a nice balance bitter sweet concoction. this is truly a plant forgotten in modern ethnobotony i reckon. Maybe i will put together my top 10, locally sourcable, ethnobotony plants today if i have a chance d00d 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazonian Posted January 9, 2013 Theres a few varieties of nettle, and i am sure they are all beneficial. I drink nettle tea as a liver tonic. I buy it from a health food store as nettle is always sprayed around suburbia. I have grown it it the past as a food plant for caterpillars, but it never seemed to grow as wild as it would in the wild?!. I saw some nettle up bush the other week and was hoping to collect seed, but they were not quite ready. Isn't it awesome that a plant that makes your skin react to its touch, can be so beneficial in many ways... You gotta love nature and all her secrets. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) I grow Urtica diocia and U.urens (the small nettle). seeds need moisture constantly and must run through the cold to good germination. They take off in little niches in my gardens. I have no seed atm,but can collect some extra in the not too distant future....makes a fine soup and very handy species for the compost bin Edit - they like a LOT of humus in the soil and has been used for rheumatism by many cultures while I am at it Biodynamic Preperation 504 (BD504) is made from nettle Edited January 10, 2013 by waterboy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THCixx420 Posted January 17, 2013 Saw some Aussie grown seeds on ebay. Item number 190784647676 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted January 19, 2013 (edited) how can you not find any in the wild?? this shit is absolutely everywhere. i wouldn't recommend growing it, and doing so is almost certainly illegal due to it's noxious weed status. try looking around roadsides and railways (but be careful... ) that being said, it is indeed awesome. i use it instead of spinach. it is free (fuck spinach is costly at the supermarket...) and much more nutritious (i read it is one of the most nutritive vegetables), and better tasting. bit of a pain to pick and prepare. i use two pairs of scissors. one for grabbing, one for cutting. i became interested in it after an episode of ADBC in which it was the secret meal. apparently it is the oldest known recipe (nettle stew), dating from 10 thousand years ago or something silly like that. tastes mighty fine. yum yum Edited January 19, 2013 by frank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted January 19, 2013 Which states list nettles as a noxious weed in their weed laws? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted January 21, 2013 how can you not find any in the wild?? this shit is absolutely everywhere. i wouldn't recommend growing it, and doing so is almost certainly illegal due to it's noxious weed status. try looking around roadsides and railways (but be careful... ) that being said, it is indeed awesome. i use it instead of spinach. it is free (fuck spinach is costly at the supermarket...) and much more nutritious (i read it is one of the most nutritive vegetables), and better tasting. bit of a pain to pick and prepare. i use two pairs of scissors. one for grabbing, one for cutting. i became interested in it after an episode of ADBC in which it was the secret meal. apparently it is the oldest known recipe (nettle stew), dating from 10 thousand years ago or something silly like that. tastes mighty fine. yum yum Not sure where you got your info from Frank - but Urtica incisa is definitely not an exotic sp nor is it listed as a noxious weed. For evidence of this see: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Urtica~incisa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted January 21, 2013 It is really easy to propagate U. incisa from rhizomes and lots quicker and more reliable than growing from seed ;-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites