Grasping the Nettle: Fallacy

» biogardener - Fallacy

Apparently Dr. Weil assumes that stinging nettle is not available fresh to people which, of course, is not true. I just picked my first stinging nettle of the year an hour ago. It is lovely and tender, 2 inches high, and washed by last night's rain. I made some tea with it fresh, and shall eat the softened herb afterwards. I added one other herb which has sprouted just for flavor, because nettles by themselves have almost no taste.

Nettles, like almost all herbs, are used dried only if not available fresh. In Germany, where the allergy cure comes from, people go through herbal cures first thing in the spring, as soon as fresh herbs are available outdoors. Then they drink tea from freshly picked herbs all summer long. If they don't have a garden, they know of protected areas where wild plants grow without being touched by herbicide, or they buy them fresh at a farmers' market.

If you don't have access to organically grown nettles, dig some up and plant them in your organic garden. By the time they come up next year, they will be fine to use. That is how I did it.

For winter use, I simply freeze my herbs without drying them except for the relaxant herbs which I want to place in pouches and pillows.

-- posted by biogardener