Do you see nettles as a real pest and cut them down wherever they spring up? Fed up of being stung? Maybe you should see nettles as a fantastic asset. Quite apart from being essential for some of our more beautiful (and harmless to vegetables) butterflies and moths, you can make tea from the leaves or use the plant as a dye. But most important of all, you can make one of the simplest yet most effective organic fertilisers from nettles, rich in nitrogen and wonderful for tomatoes.
To make your nettle fertiliser you’ll need only three things… nettles, a watertight container (a large bin is adequate), and water.
Here’s the instructions…
- First take your nettles, these are best as young stems but can be taken at any time
- Next, crush them; this can be done by scrunching the stems in gloved hands or chopping up with shears
- Immerse in water sufficient to cover the nettles
- Leave to brew for about three or four week; unless you think that Swamp is the new season’s must have perfume you may want to consider placing the bucket away from the areas in the garden that you use most as the soup tends to get rather smelly
- Transfer to a separate container so you can start a fresh brew with the nettles that have sprung up in the meantime
- Dilute to taste, usually one part liquid to ten parts water
- Water liberally around or on the plants
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