# Feeding Stinging Nettle



## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

They can take ages to sprout but once they do, they'll thrive under a daylight CFL.

I find their cell walls break down better when frozen than spinach. Much more convenient to feed.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

somewhatshocked said:


> They can take ages to sprout but once they do, they'll thrive under a daylight CFL.
> 
> I find their cell walls break down better when frozen than spinach. Much more convenient to feed.


Yikes, had no idea it would take that long. I noticed that they sell roots on ebay as well. Do you think there would be an advantage over just the seeds?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Growing from seed always gives me the best results indoors. They're awfully finicky for being a weed, though.

Some say you have to cold stratify in the fridge but I've never done that. Just keep the soil moist and the lighting strong and they'll sprout in the same amount of time it would take to stratify (a month or a month and a half). 

I've got a pot of them in my office that are on their third year. The first year, they were rather small. Second year? They exploded. Looking like they're going to be much bigger with their coming growth spurt in year three.

Since you keep shrimp, I think you'll really enjoy growing them. Can also take them outside in the summer if you want. I never do, as I don't want to risk pests or having something chow down on them.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

somewhatshocked said:


> Growing from seed always gives me the best results indoors. They're awfully finicky for being a weed, though.
> 
> Some say you have to cold stratify in the fridge but I've never done that. Just keep the soil moist and the lighting strong and they'll sprout in the same amount of time it would take to stratify (a month or a month and a half).
> 
> ...


Awesome, thanks for the tips. I should be getting them this week so I'll get right to it.


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## dougolasjr (Mar 3, 2010)

somewhatshocked said:


> Growing from seed always gives me the best results indoors. They're awfully finicky for being a weed, though.
> 
> Some say you have to cold stratify in the fridge but I've never done that. Just keep the soil moist and the lighting strong and they'll sprout in the same amount of time it would take to stratify (a month or a month and a half).
> 
> ...


Do you used them to feed your shrimp?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Yep.



dougolasjr said:


> Do you used them to feed your shrimp?


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

somewhatshocked said:


> Yep.


Do you blanch them or just raw?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

They're easy to blanch. But since they're thinner than spinach, their cell ways break down really well when frozen. So I usually stick them in the freezer and then feed them. 

Freezing works really well when you have a ton of leaves and need to save them.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Here's a look at a first-year crop that's about 100 days old:










The small growth is about 20 days old.

Grows about 10x faster in the second year.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Here's a plant database of weeds. You can search for edibles. There are tons.
http://www.pfaf.org/user/plantsearch.aspx


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## stevenjohn21 (May 23, 2012)

Urgh, those pics give me the shudders ! When i lived in England they were all over the place, and as kids we were always getting stung by them ...... I can feel the burning itching sensation now ha ha. 
Is it the actual leaf or stem that stings you ?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Leaf. Tiny little silica "hairs" that jab you.


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## dougolasjr (Mar 3, 2010)

Wow that is slow growing.


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## jczernia (Apr 16, 2010)

I have a friend with a small farm with some chickens I always see it there and stay away from it, as a kid growing up in Poland I fell in to this stuff many times and it stings if you touch it. Next year I will go picking the stuff.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Luckily a little mud (usually easy to find where nettles grow) takes care of the sting.


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## morgan (Apr 4, 2012)

Yeah in england they grow every were .A tip on touching/handling them without a sting. The tiny hairs only grow 1 direction , brush up on the leaf = sting . brush downwards = no sting .

But yeah i def will be trying nettles as a food source nxt summer. 
Thanks


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## HighDesert (May 8, 2012)

I've noticed this in the local herb store dried and in bulk. Has anyone used the dried version?


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

Yes I've fed dried organic. Not much interest. They swarm at first then leave it. The snails love it though. I have it all over my farm though so gonna try fresh this week.


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## HighDesert (May 8, 2012)

I would probably buy it for the snails alone.  I love my snails. ;-) My mom used to grow it, but it has a horrible time out here with the dry climate. Let us know how it goes with your wild harvested leaves!


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## plamski (Sep 25, 2009)

I bought 2 pounds fresh leaves here in USA. Around $40 with shipping. Unfortunately we can buy from end of MAY till 15 SEPTEMBER only. I thought to grow some here in Florida winter time but we have company to spray every week or 2 for spiders ,fire ants etc.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

plamski said:


> I bought 2 pounds fresh leaves here in USA. Around $40 with shipping. Unfortunately we can buy from end of MAY till 15 SEPTEMBER only. I thought to grow some here in Florida winter time but we have company to spray every week or 2 for spiders ,fire ants etc.



Any particular reason for the time? Only asking because I'm trying to figure out if there would be any reason NOT to harvest leaves right now. I'm also double checking to be 100% stinging nettle is what I have (looks like it...stings...but a lot of weeds have those little stingy barbs). Took some pics today and will post after dinner


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

mistergreen said:


> Here's a plant database of weeds. You can search for edibles. There are tons.
> http://www.pfaf.org/user/plantsearch.aspx


Good find. Thanks for posting.


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## KING JAMES (Oct 10, 2012)

ravensgate said:


> Any particular reason for the time? Only asking because I'm trying to figure out if there would be any reason NOT to harvest leaves right now. I'm also double checking to be 100% stinging nettle is what I have (looks like it...stings...but a lot of weeds have those little stingy barbs). Took some pics today and will post after dinner


 Probly the time that it grows the most (quickest growth period = plenty to sell). When in doubt just run your wrist backwards down the leaf and you will find out.


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## AVN (Oct 3, 2012)

Ugh, this thing... every 6 months I have to rip out 5-6 foot tall plants from my backyard, it always comes back, even without its roots. The stings burn like hell, and lingers for at least half an hour, I have to wear thick gloves and a long sleeved shirt to even be handling this stuff, you're a bit nuts for growing it to harvest!

I guess I'll try to see if my shrimp like it.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

KING JAMES said:


> Probly the time that it grows the most (quickest growth period = plenty to sell). When in doubt just run your wrist backwards down the leaf and you will find out.



Like I said, it stings But there are lots of weeds/plants with those little stingy type barbs on them. Here are cell phone pics I took today. The horses don't eat them (they're toxic to horses) so it's bare pasture in areas with this sticking straight up so they stand out like a sore thumb.


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## jeander (Sep 9, 2012)

Is the 3% copper good? Let us know how it goes 

Jeander


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

jeander said:


> Is the 3% copper good? Let us know how it goes
> 
> Jeander


Can't tell if that's tongue in cheek or not but shrimps need trace amounts of copper. It's even in Hikari Shrimp Cuisine, right there in the description on the back of the bag And many shrimp keepers have been feeding stinging nettle for years and there are even processed shrimp foods with it in there.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Shrimp need copper in some forms to survive. It's not all bad.


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## HighDesert (May 8, 2012)

ravensgate said:


> Like I said, it stings But there are lots of weeds/plants with those little stingy type barbs on them. Here are cell phone pics I took today. The horses don't eat them (they're toxic to horses) so it's bare pasture in areas with this sticking straight up so they stand out like a sore thumb.


Are those ARIATS in your photo??? I'm an Ariat addict...


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

HighDesert said:


> Are those ARIATS in your photo??? I'm an Ariat addict...


HAHAHAHA, goodness no..I wish. Those are some el cheapo boots my mom bought for me to knock around the farm in. And she must thing I'm still 14 because it's like baby blue flowers on the upper part of the boot. I normally wear steel toed boots around the horses but they started hurting my back so switched it up to see if it would get better. I was trying to get a pic of that plant next to my jeans so it would stand out better. LOL!

Back to your regular shrimp scheduled program

Can anybody tell for sure if those pics I posted are stinging nettle? If nobody can tell I'm gonna dig it up (cause it won't 'pull' up...stuck in the ground strong) and drag it down to the Agricultural office just to be 100% sure.


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## HighDesert (May 8, 2012)

ravensgate said:


> HAHAHAHA, goodness no..I wish. Those are some el cheapo boots my mom bought for me to knock around the farm in. And she must thing I'm still 14 because it's like baby blue flowers on the upper part of the boot. I normally wear steel toed boots around the horses but they started hurting my back so switched it up to see if it would get better. I was trying to get a pic of that plant next to my jeans so it would stand out better. LOL!


I love boots... I'm a complete boot whore. And Ariats are by far my faves. I had a great pair of composite toe boots that were really nice for around the horses. They hurt, though! 



> Back to your regular shrimp scheduled program
> 
> Can anybody tell for sure if those pics I posted are stinging nettle? If nobody can tell I'm gonna dig it up (cause it won't 'pull' up...stuck in the ground strong) and drag it down to the Agricultural office just to be 100% sure.


Sorry about the boot segway... Those look almost identical to the ones my mom grew, BUT, plants often look a bit different out here due to the fact that there isn't much water. They tend to grow more compact. I love the extension offices for IDing stuff.


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## stevenjohn21 (May 23, 2012)

morgan said:


> Yeah in england they grow every were .A tip on touching/handling them without a sting. The tiny hairs only grow 1 direction , brush up on the leaf = sting . brush downwards = no sting .
> 
> But yeah i def will be trying nettles as a food source nxt summer.
> Thanks


Back home we were always told to rub Dock leaves on the rash after being stung. It still hurt so im not sure if that was a myth or not ha ha

I think the nettle plant has to be the ugliest plant ever !


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

So I purchased some from RavensGate on here and my shrimp love it. I dropped it in about 2 hours ago and they are still going nuts.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

YAY! Pics!!!! I never think to take pics of mine eating and half the time they drag it behind a plant and I can't see them with it. 

Glad to see they are liking it. I can't wait for Spring time now that I know where the plants are. I'm sure it's going to be WAY yummier in the Spring than it is late fall


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## plamski (Sep 25, 2009)

hedge_fund said:


> So I purchased some from RavensGate on here and my shrimp love it. I dropped it in about 2 hours ago and they are still going nuts.


 Is it Fresh one ?


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

Well as fresh as it can be for USPS not delivering in a timely manner (been in the mail since last monday and arrived today I believe). I pick fresh and ship the same day. But this morning I checked one pasture and the larger leaves were starting to wither and die. Not sure if it's the end of the growing season or what but I'm going to check my main large patches in another pasture tomorrow to see. The smaller leaves looked fine, just the older leaves were looking pretty bad even since last week when I was picking so many.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

plamski said:


> Is it Fresh one ?


Yeh they came fresh. I put the rest of them in the freezer and will be blanching each week. My shrimp seem to love this much better than spinach.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Thought I'd resurrect this thread instead of creating a new one. 

The pot of nettle I posted in October 2012 is now out-of-control:










That's TWO WEEKS of growth. I trimmed it all the way down just two weeks ago.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

Very nice Jake!


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

For the record: I'm still reeling from accidentally brushing into the plant a little bit ago.

Learn from my mistake, folks, look but don't touch! Ha.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Cool! 

I use to hate these plants as a kid growing up, having my fair share of brushups with them obviously. Just so you all know, you can actually touch the plant with the palm side of your hands and the needles won't pierce through. Don't try with any other part of your body. Touch at your own risk of course . 

Time to go looking for some at the local park now. haha


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

If you live in area that has Asian's grocery don't bother growing it. I buy it from my local grocery for about $1.25 for a big bundle that could last the shrimp months (depending on the population and how much you feed). I feed 1-2 leaves every other days.


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

speedie408 said:


> Cool!
> 
> I use to hate these plants as a kid growing up, having my fair share of brushups with them obviously. Just so you all know, you can actually touch the plant with the palm side of your hands and the needles won't pierce through. Don't try with any other part of your body. Touch at your own risk of course .
> 
> Time to go looking for some at the local park now. haha


They taste very good with Vietnamese noodle =) Try it very minty flavor.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

It's all fun and games until you accidentally brush your face into it while watering your other plants.

CookieM: I agree with you on the flavor - it's great in soups.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

It grows as a weed all over the place here.

You can collect the new shoots in the spring and parboil them like spinach. I think nettles tastes a lot better than spinach.


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## Aquaticus (Jan 7, 2013)

I once helped some family friends clear a sheep pasture of nettles the old fashioned way (scythe). I find the idea of feeding it to my shrimp quite funny!


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## plamski (Sep 25, 2009)

If you burn your skin with nettle wet the place with water and sprinkles some baking soda over.
DONE!


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## aluka (Feb 2, 2013)

CookieM said:


> If you live in area that has Asian's grocery don't bother growing it. I buy it from my local grocery for about $1.25 for a big bundle that could last the shrimp months (depending on the population and how much you feed). I feed 1-2 leaves every other days.


are they labeled as nettle leaf? or is there an asian name?


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

aluka said:


> are they labeled as nettle leaf? or is there an asian name?


If you go to a Chinese/Vietnamese grocery they labeled them as "rau canh gioi"

Best way is to have the picture of stinging nettle and show it to the employees there they will point you to the right place.


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## aluka (Feb 2, 2013)

ahh, cool.

For my shrimps i think i would still prefer to buy from ravengate, since i know for sure she doesn't spray anything lol.

But for my bunny i think it might be worth hitting the chinese markets, lol


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## James M (Jun 21, 2012)

Yeah, funny stuff.


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## aluka (Feb 2, 2013)

Heres a picture of my shrimps eating ravengate's nettle leaves =).

and she was nice enough to dry some for my bunny =D


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