Don’t rush to rip out your nettles – here’s three ways to put them to good use

Nettles are rarely considered a welcome sight to gardeners. With their capacity for rampant growth – they spread by rhizome (underground) as well as seed – and the tiny hairs on their stems and leaves that sting any passing bare skin, they are usually uprooted from outside spaces where people are present. Nonetheless, this defensive plant is a common sight throughout the UK and worthy of more than our disdain, given that it boasts a wealth of beneficial properties and that its presence is a sure sign there’s plenty of nitrogen – an essential nutrient for plant growth – present in your garden’s soil.

Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) are wholly edible, although the most commonly eaten part is the leaf. Spring is the best time to forage and consume nettle leaves as the fresh growth is the most tender and delicious, as well as richly nutritious. Not to be consumed raw (because: ouch!), nettle tips can be steeped in hot water and served as a tea, cooked as you would spinach, or added to soups and stews. A friend of mine picks, blanches and freezes a supply of nettles in spring to use for the rest of the year (the plants grow more fibrous and less delectable with time).

There’s another kind of nettle “tea” that’s worth the effort to make. This one is not for drinking but is made in much the same way, by steeping the plant in water. Fill a bucket or plastic trug with nettles then weigh the plant matter down with bricks before covering with water. Place this setup away from your house because the smell that develops isn’t pleasant, then leave for a few weeks until the leaves have broken down and rotted. The resulting “tea” is rich with nitrogen and can be diluted then used as a supplementary feed on all your plants, especially those prized for their leafy growth, such as chard and lettuce.

It’s not just our efforts in the veg patch that nettles can support – they’re of immense benefit to the wildlife we ought to be making welcome in our gardens. Stinging nettles are a food source for many invertebrates including an impressive array of butterflies (well, their caterpillars to be exact), including the painted lady, red admiral and peacock. Then, once they produce seeds, they provide nourishment for seed-eating garden birds such as sparrows and bullfinches. Plus insect-eating birds – such as blue tits – will prey on the aphids that reside on the underside of the nettle’s leaves.

So if nettles have appeared in your garden, perhaps consider whether a well-controlled patch might be a worthwhile addition to a wildlife-friendly growing space. As far as I’m concerned, it isn’t really spring if my inner wrists aren’t covered in angry little bumps that tingle for days after a few hours outside.