wild
Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica
Mineral tea. The spring tonic that actually tastes like food once cooked.
- Part used
- Young tops in spring; dried leaf later
- Gather
- Gloves. Rich damp ground, April–May before it flowers. Dry it and the sting dies.
- Tea
- 1 Tbsp dried leaf, just-off-boil, covered 10 minutes or a long overnight infusion in a jar.
- Tincture
- Fresh tops 1:2. Some people use it for hay-fever season — results vary. Food first.
- Other
Pick with gloves. Do not use the stringing mature plant for tea. Seeds later in the year are a different, stronger medicine — skip them unless you already know them.
Open field plateRecipes
Nettle infusion
Spring mineral jar. Food-like, not a cold cure, but the cup people miss when the greens are gone.