Rain or not, about February/March weed season starts. You don't have to water them or care for them at all. The weeds just appear. One of the weeds we get in our yard is stinging nettle. That's a healthy little patch of nettle pictured above. The nettle is easy to spot with its bright green color and jagged leaves.
And, as weeding goes, a nettle is fairly easy to pick out of the ground. Root and all, the nettle plant comes right up. But, there is one thing about stinging nettle -- and that's the stingers. The leaves have some barbs, but its the barbs on the stalk that can really get you. So, gloves are good when picking or handling nettle.
The fun thing about stinging nettle is that it automatically arrives in our yard every year and is a legitimate food source. With a little seasoning, nettle tastes good and it is also good for you. Think of nettle leaves as kind of like spinach in that it is a dark leafy green packed with nutrients. When cooked, the nettle sting goes away and you can handle the plant without fear of stingers. There are lots of nettle recipes but we generally just pick off the leaves and use the fresh nettle leaf like we would spinach.
The fun thing about stinging nettle is that it automatically arrives in our yard every year and is a legitimate food source. With a little seasoning, nettle tastes good and it is also good for you. Think of nettle leaves as kind of like spinach in that it is a dark leafy green packed with nutrients. When cooked, the nettle sting goes away and you can handle the plant without fear of stingers. There are lots of nettle recipes but we generally just pick off the leaves and use the fresh nettle leaf like we would spinach.
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