I’m offering Stinging Nettle seeds for the first time in my store. I find it to be such a valuable plant to have in the garden. It has medicinal and nutritional qualities and can be drank as tea or eaten in soup (recipe below). Nettles have many health benefits, which you can read about further on.

I have been harvesting nettles near River’s Edge Farm for the past 7 years and started collecting the seeds last year. The plants are organic and have never been exposed to chemicals or pesticides. In fact, they grow in the wild and were already established by the time I found them.

The plant is a perennial and will spread out a little more every year.

Scatter the seeds in a bed that gets sun and shade. The nettles start coming up in the Spring and can have more than one growth period. Wear gloves when harvesting.

Stinging Nettle has a long history of human use, dating back thousands of years. It has been valued for its medicinal properties, as well as for its utility as fiber and food.

Nettles were referred to as survival food back in the 18th century because many people found they had just about run out of food by the end of winter, and nettles were the first edible foods to come up in the spring.

Native American communities harvested young plants, picking the tender first leaves and cooking them, a nutritious addition to their diet.

Did you know that Nettles are high in Vitamins A and C. in iron, potassium, manganese and calcium. They are also high in protein.

 Did you know that nettles are the larval food plant for several butterfly species, such as peacock butterfly and red admiral butterflies.

Nettles prefer to grow in phosphorus-rich and nitrogen rich soils that have recently been disturbed (and thus aerated), so the growth of nettles is an indicator that an area has high fertility and good soil.

Nettles contain nitrogenous compounds, so are used as a compost activator. Add chopped nettles to your compost!

Nettle Soup Recipe

by Laura Silverman of The Outside Institute

Ingredients

8 ounces of nettles (the tender tops)

½ Tbsp. olive oil

½ Tbsp. butter

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

4 cups nettle blanching water

*Heavy cream, not essential

Directions

Add 4 cups of water to a pot and boil.

While wearing sturdy gloves, pick the tender tops of the nettles until you have 6 ounces. Add 1 Tbs. of mineral salt to the boiled water and use tongs to transfer the nettles to the pot. Blanch for 5 minutes, then remove the nettles using the tongs and set aside in a bowl. Save the blanching water.

In a separate larger pot, add the olive oil, butter and chopped onion and sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, and the 4 cups of blanched nettle water. Cook for about 12-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Then add the nettles and cook for another 5 minutes.

Turn the heat off and use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a dollop of heavy cream if you wish.

I make a double batch and as the soup freezes well in glass jars, to be enjoyed when the nettles are no longer in season.

The stinging nettle seeds were wild harvested near River’s Edge Farm, a climate resilient, carbon neutral, zero waste, pollinator supporting regenerative organic mini farm in the Hudson Valley, in upstate New York. More information available on its page on Instagram