They’re back and they’re bad – as my fingers, still stinging two days later, can attest. So far this year I’ve only picked a few nettles, to add to teas or green juices, so it was a pleasure to get out in the bright sun this weekend and gather some fresh young tops for making a spring tonic tincture.
Sarah Furey told me that Stephen Church of The Herbarium told her (who says the oral tradition is dead) that the young nettles appearing at this time of year which have a reddish tinge to their leaves are particularly high in minerals and make for an exceptionally nourishing spring tonic tincture. It makes sense doesn’t it, when you think that the reddy colour can often signify the presence of iron.
This is one of those wonderful examples of how using our senses to observe the subtle changes in plants throughout the year can give us so many clues as to their healing virtues.
Later, when the nettles grow tall and vibrantly green, their diuretic and kidney tonic properties are more prominent.
In the true spirit of enquiry, I decided to make two nettle tinctures this year to compare and contrast the differences in taste and action.
I gathered enough young nettle tops for a couple of litres of tincture, washed them thoroughly and allowed to drain. I made a 1:2 tincture but, as the nettles were fresh, it will probably end up more in the region of a 1:3. If you’d like specific advice on tincture making, the best place to visit is the afore mentioned Herbarium which has brilliant instructions for making tinctures from various different plant parts. You can read the first part of the series here.
I packed my blender with the nettles and alcohol (vodka is fine for this tincture) and pulsed it until the nettles were nicely broken down but not pureed. Then it went into the jars where it will macerate for two weeks in a cool dark place being shaken and blessed daily.
And there were just enough left over to add to a green juice with some cleavers, fennel, celery, cucumber, apple and ginger.
Delicious and radiant, the nettle is so abundant and full of virtues we should count ourselves very lucky to be surrounded by it.
Hey Lucinda, thank you for this useful info. Just a quick question, might be obvious; but the nettle’s s don’t sting once they we’ve been mashed? Am thinking to put them in my juicer, will that be enough to neutralize the sting? I know cooking does it, if you want to make a nice soup.
love, mxxx
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Hi M,
Yes as soon as you break the stings they are harmless, even mashing them up with your fingers into a ball will do it but juicing or blending will do the job nicely!
Here’s a link to a post I wrote on eating raw nettles –
https://whisperingearth.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/how-to-eat-raw-nettles/
and one on nettle soups –
https://whisperingearth.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/variations-on-a-theme-nettle-soup/
Hope that’s helpful.
Lucinda xxx
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Can we have the spring tonic tincture recipe pretty please? The nettles are only just pushing through here, be another week or so before I can harvest them for making yummies!
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Hey Debs, it’s just the young nettle tops and alcohol, 1:2 25%. I called it a spring tonic tincture because of all the minerals in the tops.
xxx
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Nettles, my loves, nettles. This is one of those times when my heart keenly longs to bust free of this city….one day, one day….. In the meantime I’ll keep taking notes from your idea-rich posts on them. Never heard this about the early nettles, but it does make sense! We do get fresh nettles at our greenmarket so I’ll wait for them to arrive. Rosemary Gladstar told us once, that she makes up a couple jars of fresh nettles in raw cider vinegar to eat in the winter. Have you ever done this? Doesn’t it sound yummy? We tasted some…tender and scrumptious! Thanks for the great article and pics!
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p.s. I am drooling on my keyboard over that green drink. Did you vita-mix it or use your juicer?
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I used the juicer for it but blending would work too with the addition of a little water. I love green juices and smoothies, they make me feel so alive!
I made a nettle cider vinegar once last year, I really liked it and it’s so full of minerals and goodies. My favourite spring vinegar is probably cleavers though, I love the fresh taste.
That’s great that you can get nettles at your market, I’ve never seen them here in the UK.
xx
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Mmmmm, cleavers cider vinegar. yummy. I just saw our little railroad growing cleavers are up. Too much traffic for harvesting though. I did respectfully adopt a cleavers clump yesterday evening and planted my new baby in the garden. hope she has lots of babies one day. Around here cleavers only seem to grow where there is so much car traffic. Telling, right?
Yes, I am so grateful for the nettles in the farm market. perhaps it is so easy to get them in the wild in England that there isn’t a need?
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Hi Lucinda, how wonderful to see nettles featured on your blog. I am allergic to nettles, however, I drink a very very mild solution of nettle tea most days. A herbalist told me it would help with the allergic reactions and sure enough it has worked. I have just a mild reaction to them now.
Let us not forget that they are the host plant for many of our native butterflies……long live the nettle!!!
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Yes, I should have mentioned how important they are for insect life, thanks for making such an important point
That’s very interesting that small doses have helped rid you of your allergy. Nettles are often combined with elderflowers in tea for allergies and hayfever.
I wholeheartedly agree… Long live the nettle!
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Here here to everyone’s nettle praises! I’m so jealous that you’ve nettles already…I wish I could dash over and pick some with you as I am just dying for a little green! Very interesting about the reddish tinge indicating a higher mineral content – it truly does make sense! Your nettle juice looks so vibrant – I bet you feel like a million bucks (pounds?) after drinking it 🙂 Gorgeous pictures too – I can almost feel those stings!
XOXO D
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Yes that would be lovely. Shame it’s a bit far to come, teleportation would be handy at this time of year!
Do you still have snow?
Hopefully the nettles will be with you soon.
xxx
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The oral tradition certainly isn’t dead amongst herbie types it seems:) Your photos are amazing, and inspired me to dash out in the drizzle to peak at mine! They are just barely up, and like yours, very red tinged! Yea! I will follow your lead and when they get a tad bigger, make one tincture with these red tinged ones, and then later, another tincture so I can join your experiment and see if I too can see if I can discern any taste or actions. Just call me the herbal copy cat! lol I can’t resist trying it out though too, Lucinda:) Well, I am off to follow the link to making tinctures on the Herbarium site! Thanks for sharing. Big herbal and honey hugs to you and oh yea, that drink looks so vibrant!! xx
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Great, it would be fab to compare notes on the nettle tinctures. I got the idea off Stephen anyway which means you’re only as much of a copy cay as i am. 🙂
Happy nettle watching,
xxx
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Happy nettle watching to you too:) xx
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Hi Lucinda – and everyone writing above – I was really inspired by your post and went out in to the pathways near Iford yesterday and picked nettles and cleavers – it was like a juicy green paradise out there –
I’ve been making tea – and I’d like to make a cleaver vinegar – do I just cover with the vinegar and leave or should I drain them out at some point?
Thanks Lucinda and I’m inspired by todays post with the violas – about to infuse some honey!!
loving the herbal inspirations and sharings xx
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Hi Liz,
I’m glad you had a successful harvest of nettles and cleavers!
To make the vinegar you want to find a jar or wide mouthed bottle with a plastic lid and loosely fill with the fresh cleavers, then cover with apple cider vinegar. Metal lids are not great with vinegars because they can erode, if that’s all you have though then just put a couple of layers of squares cut from a plastic bag between the lid and the jar. Let it infuse somewhere quietly for a month to 6 weeks, then strain the plant material out and rebottle. The young nettle leaves make a lovely vinegar too. I have some nettles infusing in cider vinegar but I might try some in red wine vinegar too to make something a bit more full bodied!
Thanks for your comment.
Lucinda x
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I suffer from sleep apnea and have recently been trying herbs as a solution. I have gotten good results so far. This nettle cider vinegar is the next thing that I am going to try. Looks like it stands to help my night allergies and breathing through nose!
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Hi Praveen,
I hope it is helpful for you, do let me know how you get on!
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