Nettles may also be helpful around the garden as they can stimulate the growth of nearby plants. This may be because clumps of nettles between fruit bushes, for example, will attract beneficial predators which will help to control pests while also providing organic compost and plant food.
Are nettles good for the environment?
These gather certain Micronutrients and Macronutrients. Among these plants are stinging nettles, which can mine for Sodium, Sulphur, Nitrogen , Calcium, Potassium, Iron & Copper, and can in turn improve neighbouring plants’ defence against pest and diseases.
What do stinging nettles do for the environment?
Though we may think of the nettle as a pesky plant, it’s an important food source for wildlife, including: caterpillars of peacock, small tortoiseshell, red admiral and comma butterflies. aphids and the ladybirds that feed on them. chaffinches, bullfinches and sparrows.
What purpose do nettles have?
General Uses. Stinging nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Today, many people use it to treat urinary problems during the early stages of an enlarged prostate (called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH).
Are nettles good for the soil?
Because it’s rich in nitrogen, this is particularly useful for leafy vegetables like kale, chard and spinach. You can also cut nettles to lay, as they are, around larger plants or shrubby fruits, where they will serve as a valuable mulch. Their high nitrogen content also makes them a natural compost activator.
Why are nettles good for wildlife?
Stinging nettles are great wildlife attractors: caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies use them as foodplants; ladybirds feast on the aphids that shelter among them; and seed-eating birds enjoy their autumn spoils.
Are nettles good for biodiversity?
Because nettles are wonderful for wildlife, apparently, and support more than 40 species of insect, including butterflies. “At Butterfly Conservation, being nice to nettles comes as second nature to us – we love them!
Are nettles good for bees?
The dead nettle has bright orange pollen which give the foraging bees an orange stripe on thier heads. This weed is particularly useful to them as that pollen may be in short supply if there are few flowering trees in your area.
Why you should embrace stinging nettles?
The weed, they conclude, is an “ordinary plant with extraordinary properties” and has largely been underestimated. For starters, the trio write, nettles do a lot to improve the environments in which they grow. They can improve soil that has been over-fertilised, and reduce its heavy metal content.
What animals eat stinging nettle?
Stinging nettles are great for wildlife
Peacock, red admiral, small tortoiseshell, comma and painted lady butterflies all have caterpillars whose only, or main, source of food is the nettle.
Do nettles make good fertilizer?
The nutrients nettle fertiliser contains include chlorophyll, Nitrogen, Iron and Potassium. Brewed nettle tea will last up to 6 months, enough to get you through the growing season (spring). It works best on leafy plants and heavy feeders.
Can you touch stinging nettles?
Stinging nettles can cause a rash and other symptoms if people touch them. The reason for this is that stinging nettles contain fine hairs and chemicals that irritate human skin. One of these chemicals is formic acid, which causes the painful rash.
Are nettles poisonous?
Stinging nettle
If touched, these needle-like hairs inject the stinging acid into the skin, triggering a burning, tingling sensation and an itchy rash. Thankfully the symptoms usually do not persist longer than 24 hours. Interestingly, the cooked plant is safe to eat and is popular is some places as a vegetable.
Do nettles fix nitrogen?
To make nitrogen-rich nettle feed, cut or crush the nettles into small pieces and cram into a large container. Weigh the nettles down with bricks, and submerge with water (store away from the house, to avoid the smell). Leave for three or four weeks then dilute for direct use (one part concentrate to 10 parts water).
Can nettles be used as green manure?
As such, they are chock full of vitamins A and C and the minerals iron, potassium, manganese and calcium. If you cut them down (remember to wear gloves!) and turn them back into the soil, you’ll have yourself a nutritious layer of “green manure.”
When should nettles be cut down?
The best time to cut nettles for a liquid plant fertiliser is early spring, as this is when the nitrogen content is at its highest. To ensure that the butterfly larvae are not disturbed it is best to cut in March and again (if you want to) in October.
Do nettles sting butterflies?
Stinging nettles will attract five colourful species of butterfly but you need to manage the area so they don’t take over the garden. Stinging nettles need nutrient-rich soil and should be cut back in June or July to stimulate new shoots to grow, providing more food for caterpillars.
Can stinging nettles compost?
Yes, you can compost nettles. Nettles are considered a natural composting accelerator, especially if you’ve got a “brown“-heavy heap. You can also use nettles to make a liquid fertiliser for the garden – ferment them in rainwater at a ratio of 10:1 for a few weeks, either in a covered bucket or an old fizzy pop bottle.
Are nettles invasive?
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Stinging nettle is considered a weedy, invasive species. It is listed as a noxious weed in several Canadian provinces. Stinging nettle hairs are irritating to human skin, and the pollen is a major contributor to summer hay fever [1].
Do nettles attract ladybirds?
Nettles. Nettles are a favourite egg laying plant for ladybirds and by leaving a patch of nettles to develop in your garden, you will be helping them to increase their numbers, and be able to watch the strange-looking larvae as well.
Are nettles Good?
Nettle leaf is a rich source of antioxidants, which are needed for reducing the number of free radicals in your system. Vitamin C, for instance, is a powerful aid to the immune system and may even provide protection against various types of cancer.
Elvira Bowen is a food expert who has dedicated her life to understanding the science of cooking. She has worked in some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens, and has published several cookbooks that have become bestsellers. Elvira is known for her creative approach to cuisine, and her passion for teaching others about the culinary arts.