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
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
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
MMM love nettels beer lol dont forget elderberry leaves make a good poison for blite too.
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
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.
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