17
submitted 2 weeks ago by jay2@beehaw.org to c/greenspace@beehaw.org

Does anyone grow stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)? I'm thinking about planting some next year in containers, mostly for fertilizer but I would also like to drink some tea just to see if it helps my allergies at all. Any tips, observations, opinions?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago

They don't help with allergies, unfortunately (that's just pseudoscience bunk), other than in the general ways that nutrients can be helpful to being healthy - but the claims about histamine are magical thinking.

Nettles are a perennial, you don't need to let them go to seed - it's only disadvantageous to do so, since as they flower they form cystoliths in their leaves, which will hurt your kidneys (you can still harvest them but you have to ferment them to make them safe to eat at that point).

Nettles are pretty tasty, more strongly flavored than spinach, though.

this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
17 points (100.0% liked)

Nature and Gardening

7355 readers
2 users here now

All things green, outdoors, and nature-y. Whether it's animals in their natural habitat, hiking trails and mountains, or planting a little garden for yourself (and everything in between), you can talk about it here.

See also our Environment community, which is focused on weather, climate, climate change, and stuff like that.

(It's not mandatory, but we also encourage providing a description of your image(s) for accessibility purposes! See here for a more detailed explanation and advice on how best to do this.)


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS