Ok....This may well sound like one of those uber newbie questions....
But whta the hell...

I has looking through the FAQ and found this....
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/nettle.html

Now...As a man on a very tight budget I can't really afford to go around
buying these really expensive lawn feeds....

Will this work oin my lawn to give a bit of an umpfh???
And as my compost pile is slow to kick in I doubt I'm going to get much out
of that this year! B-)

I have an old 2 gallon plastic beer keg that the last tennants kindly left
and I have been using to collect rain water....And I have access to
literally TONS of nettles....

Is it worth my investing 2 hours collecting the nettles and starting this
off?

On 26 Apr 2003 21:44:33 GMT, Rick McGreal wrote:

Ok....This may well sound like one of those uber newbie questions....
But whta the hell...

I has looking through the FAQ and found this....
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/nettle.html

Now...As a man on a very tight budget I can't really afford to go around
buying these really expensive lawn feeds....

Will this work oin my lawn to give a bit of an umpfh???
And as my compost pile is slow to kick in I doubt I'm going to get much out
of that this year! B-)

I have an old 2 gallon plastic beer keg that the last tennants kindly left
and I have been using to collect rain water....And I have access to
literally TONS of nettles....

Is it worth my investing 2 hours collecting the nettles and starting this
off?


It'll work - though the 'farmyardy smell' is something of an
understatement, I reckon!

I had very good results with the batch I made, particularly on the veg
patch - though the last time I used a leaf feed I opted for a
concentrated seaweed mixture, which was considerably less niffy.

Makes a nice soup, do nettles.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

It'll work - though the 'farmyardy smell' is something of an
understatement, I reckon!

I was a little concerned about that.....But with all the smells in my
garden in a few weeks I don't think I need worry about it

Or is it *that* bad?! B-)

I had very good results with the batch I made, particularly on the veg
patch - though the last time I used a leaf feed I opted for a
concentrated seaweed mixture, which was considerably less niffy.

But I don't hjink I could find seeweed anywhere near here that I coudl pick
up for free!
(Free is the main word here!)

Makes a nice soup, do nettles.


Erk....If its anything like nettle tea...No thanks.....
'Orrible stuff....
(BTW...you can do the same with dandilion leaves aswell I have been
told....)

On 26 Apr 2003 23:07:35 GMT, Rick McGreal wrote:

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

It'll work - though the 'farmyardy smell' is something of an
understatement, I reckon!

I was a little concerned about that.....But with all the smells in my
garden in a few weeks I don't think I need worry about it

Or is it *that* bad?! B-)

I thought it was *that* bad... had me retching!

I had very good results with the batch I made, particularly on the veg
patch - though the last time I used a leaf feed I opted for a
concentrated seaweed mixture, which was considerably less niffy.

But I don't hjink I could find seeweed anywhere near here that I coudl pick
up for free!
(Free is the main word here!)

Next time you're at the beach

I've also used the remnants of sheep shearing ( there's a name for the
crappy bits, which escapes me at the mo...something like 'scrottlings'
etc. ).
Same principle, soak 'em in a butt for a few weeks, strain and spray.

Makes a nice soup, do nettles.


Erk....If its anything like nettle tea...No thanks.....
'Orrible stuff....
(BTW...you can do the same with dandilion leaves aswell I have been
told....)

It's nothing like nettle tea ( thankfully ).

Here's the recipe, taken from Roger Phillips' "Wild Food" ( Pub. Pan
Books ).
1 large onion, 1 clove garlic
2 spuds
2 handfuls nettle heads ( use gloves! )
Olive oil, salt, pepper
Stock ( fresh or otherwise )
Quarter pint single cream

Peel & chop onion, garlic and spuds; fry for 3 or 4 mins in a large
saucepan in a little olive oil.
Trim stems from nettle heads, wash well and add to pan.
Make up pint and a half of stock, bung into pan.
Boil rapidly for 15 mins until spuds are cooked.
Liquidize to preferred texture, return to pan, season with salt and
pepper to taste.
Pour into warmed serving bowl and stir in the cream.

I use a freshly made vegetable stock ( boil up yer trimmings ), as
it's quite a delicate flavour that the nettles impart, and a chicken
stock can smother it. If using stock cubes you might want to omit the
salt.
At this time of year you might find Ramsons ( wild garlic ) growing
locally... a few chopped leaves in place of the garlic adds a seasonal
freshness to the soup.

Happy eating...



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

In article , Rick McGreal
writes
Ok....This may well sound like one of those uber newbie questions....
But whta the hell...

I has looking through the FAQ and found this....
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/nettle.html

Now...As a man on a very tight budget I can't really afford to go around
buying these really expensive lawn feeds....

Will this work oin my lawn to give a bit of an umpfh???
And as my compost pile is slow to kick in I doubt I'm going to get much out
of that this year! B-)

I have an old 2 gallon plastic beer keg that the last tennants kindly left
and I have been using to collect rain water....And I have access to
literally TONS of nettles....

Is it worth my investing 2 hours collecting the nettles and starting this
off?

Definitely YES!. We have used this method very successfully for many
years. Nettle infusion is an ideal organic plant feed and insect
repellent, and it is free. I do ours in a 45 gallon plastic drum,
topping up either the water or the herbage as necessary.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

Alan Gould wrote in
:

Is it worth my investing 2 hours collecting the nettles and starting
this off?
Definitely YES!. We have used this method very successfully for many
years. Nettle infusion is an ideal organic plant feed and insect
repellent, and it is free. I do ours in a 45 gallon plastic drum,
topping up either the water or the herbage as necessary.

Erm...When you say insect repellant...
Will it kill off worms and other 'Nice' creatures?
(Butterflies are MOST welcome in my garden!)

And although I don't like wasps and bees....They do help the garden to a
degree

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

Or is it *that* bad?! B-)
I thought it was *that* bad... had me retching!

Erm.....I'm having second thoughts now!!!

I will try it once....If its far too bad (Or others complain) then I won't
do it again
Only way to tell really!

But I don't hjink I could find seeweed anywhere near here that I coudl
pick up for free!
(Free is the main word here!)
Next time you're at the beach

And my wife will just love me for trapsing home with a half ron of smelly
seaweed in the car!

It's nothing like nettle tea ( thankfully ).

NOTHING is like nettle tea...!

Here's the recipe, taken from Roger Phillips' "Wild Food" ( Pub. Pan
Books ).

snip recipe

I've printed it out....One day....When I';m feeling brave...I will try it
out!

I use a freshly made vegetable stock ( boil up yer trimmings ), as
it's quite a delicate flavour that the nettles impart, and a chicken
stock can smother it. If using stock cubes you might want to omit the
salt.

I have done my own stocks in the past...Adn sometime found them better than
shop baught ones...But they are just too hard to do at times....
And its just far too hit and miss....So now I don't bother and simply
compost it all up

At this time of year you might find Ramsons ( wild garlic ) growing
locally... a few chopped leaves in place of the garlic adds a seasonal
freshness to the soup.

Never found any wild veggies before....
I used to live in city centre Manchester....Now I live in a tiny village
just outside Wakefield

I may go searching...See what I can find!

Happy eating...

B-)

Alan Gould writes
Nettle infusion is an ideal organic plant feed and insect
repellent, and it is free. I do ours in a 45 gallon plastic drum,
topping up either the water or the herbage as necessary.


I started off somewhat smaller scale last week with a bucket of the
stuff. Now I have a potent-looking brown/black liquid which does smell
somewhat I have to admit, but fortunately it's located where I'm the
only one who's likely to get close enough to get the full effect. What
I am interested in is the fly situation. This open bucket seems to be
attracting them at an incredible rate. I'm wondering would it be better
to decant the lot into a bucket with a lid, or do I just put up with the
flies for the next couple of weeks until I get it bottled up ?
--
Judy
http://members.lycos.co.uk/bluelotusrising/index.html
http://www.rigbys.demon.co.uk

Judy Rigby wrote in
:

I started off somewhat smaller scale last week with a bucket of the
stuff. Now I have a potent-looking brown/black liquid which does smell
somewhat I have to admit, but fortunately it's located where I'm the
only one who's likely to get close enough to get the full effect. What
I am interested in is the fly situation. This open bucket seems to be
attracting them at an incredible rate. I'm wondering would it be better
to decant the lot into a bucket with a lid, or do I just put up with the
flies for the next couple of weeks until I get it bottled up ?

I thought this was supposed to be an insect repellant?!

"Rick McGreal" wrote in message

I will try it once....If its far too bad (Or others complain) then I won't
do it again
Only way to tell really!


If it was kept in a lidded bin or bucket, would the smell still come
through. I would love to have a go but the 'lady' at the bottom of my
garden would probably attack me with my spade)

I realise it would smell when some was taken out, but if it were sprinkled
lightly on a rainy day.... ?

Am I talking rubbish? I am here to learn all I can so please forgive me if
this is the case

O

Alan Gould wrote in message ...
In article , Rick McGreal
writes
Ok....This may well sound like one of those uber newbie questions....
But whta the hell...

I has looking through the FAQ and found this....
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/nettle.html

Now...As a man on a very tight budget I can't really afford to go around
buying these really expensive lawn feeds....

Will this work oin my lawn to give a bit of an umpfh???
And as my compost pile is slow to kick in I doubt I'm going to get much out
of that this year! B-)

I have an old 2 gallon plastic beer keg that the last tennants kindly left
and I have been using to collect rain water....And I have access to
literally TONS of nettles....

Is it worth my investing 2 hours collecting the nettles and starting this
off?

Definitely YES!. We have used this method very successfully for many
years. Nettle infusion is an ideal organic plant feed and insect
repellent, and it is free. I do ours in a 45 gallon plastic drum,
topping up either the water or the herbage as necessary.

Hello, I'm new to newsgroups but not to gardening. I would really
like to know more about the smell of nettle manu specifically, how
does it compare to the smell of comfrey manure? I make a liquid
manure from comfrey but, committed though I am to organic gardening, I
do think it smells really VILE - though still worth making. I don't
have nettles in the garden, but I may go out and pick some this year.
Opinions welcome. Irene

The message
from Rick McGreal contains these words:

I has looking through the FAQ and found this....
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/nettle.html

Now...As a man on a very tight budget I can't really afford to go around
buying these really expensive lawn feeds....

Will this work oin my lawn to give a bit of an umpfh???
And as my compost pile is slow to kick in I doubt I'm going to get much out
of that this year! B-)

I have an old 2 gallon plastic beer keg that the last tennants kindly left
and I have been using to collect rain water....And I have access to
literally TONS of nettles....

Is it worth my investing 2 hours collecting the nettles and starting this
off?

Yes, but filling a two gallon container with nettles will take you
about 5 minutes max if you wear gloves and use a serrated breadknife to
cut the stems.

Cut green nettles in 6 " layers between other compost ingredients,
will also apply some oomph to your compost heap and get it working. They
can also be used as a weed and slug suppressing mulch between rows in
the veg garden.

Janet.

In article , Rick McGreal
writes
Erm...When you say insect repellant...
Will it kill off worms and other 'Nice' creatures?
(Butterflies are MOST welcome in my garden!)

It doesn't kill off anything, if it did it would be an insecticide, not
a repellent and thus illegal to make and use. Nettle infusion is very
effective for aphids such as white-fly etc. which congregate in
greenhouses, poly-tunnels and conservatories. We use it as a foliar feed
when the plants are in full growth and producing. As a result we rarely
see any aphids on our plants, we never need to use any chemical
insecticides or fertilisers, and our crops are healthier and tastier.
Nettles are a wonderful plant, nature's gift to understanding gardeners.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In article , Rick McGreal
writes

I thought this was supposed to be an insect repellant?!

It is - when it is on growing plants.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

Janet Baraclough wrote in
:

Is it worth my investing 2 hours collecting the nettles and starting
this off?
Yes, but filling a two gallon container with nettles will take you
about 5 minutes max if you wear gloves and use a serrated breadknife
to cut the stems.

I have just baught a pair of thick rubber gloves and I am now going to
massacre the mass of nettles at the back of my house tomorrow (When the
kids are back in school)

My next door neighbour is always complaining about hem so I will make a
start on hers.....
Maybe she will stop moaning at me about
Not that it has anything to do with me...Or that indeed I can do anything
lasting!

Cut green nettles in 6 " layers between other compost ingredients,
will also apply some oomph to your compost heap and get it working.
They can also be used as a weed and slug suppressing mulch between
rows in the veg garden.

I'll also get some into my heap too....God....This compost heap had better
start running off soon with all the help its been getting!!! B-)