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11:29 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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Has anyone attempted making plant feed from nettles, someone gave me the 'recipe' the other day and I've spent a happy couple of hours this weekend picking all those nast nettles and drowning them.
Basically that's all there is to it, stuff them in a bucket, crushed up a bit, fill with water, weight down, cover, and leave for 2 weeks, use the resulting soup watered down at a 10:1 ratio. Chuck the manky nettle mush onto the compost heap.
Just realised I might be duplicating discussion here, had a faint memory of discussing this before so did a search and found conversations on another thread. - sorry
8:04 am
Supreme Being
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Sun 2-Oct-11
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My nettles are growing fast too. I like to leave some for the butterflies but will do the plant feed now I know. Can this be used for any plants?
Trying to enjoy life as it is
10:26 am
Supreme Being
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Mon 21-Sep-09
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Yes I do it as I have masses of nettles. One word of warning tho' as the nettles & water brew up in their tub the smell becomes EVIL¦¦
¦keep the container covered, otherwise your neighbours are likely to complain about it¦.!!
You must add lots of water to the liquid when you feed it to your plants¦.do not use on indoor plants, even when diluted, as you will still smell it. It makes a good foliar feed & seems to deter greenfly etc. Add a tiny drop of washing-up liquid to help it stay on the leaves.
Good luck Janet. 
Aly, I have used it on everything that needed boosting in the garden & have never found it harmed a plant.
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
1:50 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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I read somewhere that it's very good for greening stuff up and for anything that needs lots of leaf growth, like lettuce and cabbages etc, but internet seems to imply it's good for anything.
Got mine in an old dustbin - with a lid!
10:43 am
Expert
Sat 10-Oct-09
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MMM love nettels 
beer lol dont forget elderberry leaves make a good poison for blite too.
9:08 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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and supposedly, Rhubarb leaves are a good insecticide, don't have enough rhubarb to try it, but the nettle stew is starting to stink nicely.
10:36 am
Supreme Being
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Mon 21-Sep-09
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I eat a lot of nettles, especially in the Spring. Thick nettle & potato soup, made with chicken stock is wonderful, nettle & chive Scotch pancakes, & I also make a nettle infusion to drink cold. Only use the youngest top leaves for all of these.
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
7:37 am
Expert
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Sat 21-Aug-10
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I like nettle and potato soup, and I sometimes drink nettle tea. It's a good spring tonic, it's said. I don't have any in the garden so I nip the tops of wild ones when I'm out walking.
Not having any in the garden I've not made the plant food, but I do the same thing with comfrey. I have another bin where I put all my perennial weeds and rot those down into a witches brew too. It makes me feel less resentful of things like bindweed when I see it as potential plant food. 
I've been relying on the witches brew and the feed from the wormery and everything seems to do alright on it. I haven't bought any fertilizer for years. Everything possible gets composted and used on the veg beds so I'm hoping they aren't short of anything.
Never assume anything - except an occasional air of intelligence.
12:31 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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Plan on making some again this year and if it looks good, might have a go at selling it on my stall. Not sure if I mentioned but last yer I had it going very nicely in an old plastic dustbin, and then someone tipped it out to use the bin for an extra water trough for the horses. I was fuming!
2:41 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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I remember that - and you fuming! 
Men, eh?
I'll try that again!
8:20 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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I'd be happy to join in and blame men, but this time it was one of the women who has her horse stabled with us....and I'd told her what I was doing when I put the nettles on to stew.
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