Get Nettled

"Ouch!" - or is that "yum?"

Maybe it's a little of both.

Where I live in central Wisconsin, the nettles have poked their sharp little dark green noses up out of the ground.

Despite their nasty sting, nettles are my absolutely favorite wild plant. I met a man once who had grown up in Nazi-era Germany. He said he owed his life to nettles. After the war his family had very little to eat- but the abundant nettle patches near his home kept them from starvation. Since hearing his story I have held a deep respect for nettles.

But the more I learn about them, the more my respect grows. Did you know that nettles:

• Are full of iron, vitamin A and a slew of other vitamins and minerals and are used as a nutitional supplement for animals and people alike
• Have anti-inflammatory properties
• Are great for your garden
  
• Yield not one but two natural dyes - green from the leaves and yellow from the roots
• Have been used like hemp and linen to make clothing for over two thousand years?

This last point is especially intriguing, considering how dependent we are on cotton and how wretched cotton production is for the environment. Even organic cotton is hard on the soil and requires an obscene amount of water. Nettles, on the other hand, grow like the weeds they are with little or no irrigation, herbicides, pesticides or artificial fertilizer.

And they're tasty, too!

Pick the leafy tops in the spring when the plants are young (be sure to wear gloves!) Take them home, wash them, drop them in a covered pot with just a little water, and simmer until tender. Cooking neutralizes the sting. Look for a second crop after the weather turns cool and rainy in the fall.

Nettles are delicious eaten with butter, salt and pepper; in casseroles, soups, or omelets - wherever you might enjoy spinach. You can also steep the dried leaves for a nutritious tea.

Next time you come across a patch of nettles, don't just dismiss them as vicious weeds. Give 'em a try. You may find they grow on you!