Yes, you heard me. Stinging Nettles - What do you know about them? Other than they can give you a serious prickly sensation after you come in contact with them.
It is a multi-faceted plant when it comes to practical uses. Not only are stinging nettles edible but you can make beer, garden fertilizer, nutritional supplements, folk medication, shampoos,skin care products and using the fiber. Only most of us aren't aware of what it can do for us - we consider it an invasive menace. It has been used in Europe,Asia and Northern Africa for centuries.
Last week I harvested some new spring leaves and cooked them up just like spinach. The instructions I found said to use the first growth of the spring. Plants are not to be more than a foot tall, using the leaves only from the top four inches. Unlike cooked spinach the leaves didn't become limp but had texture. Yes, the "sting" was removed.
Find out more about Urtica dioica here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle
