"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in
message ...
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:09:32 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

I hesitate to suggest growing some nettles in a pot, as
you would need
to prevent them seeding.

IIRC, nettles are dioecious. That is, individual plants
bear
either male or female flowers exclusively. It should be
easy to
select a male plant from the nearest wild patch thereby
obviating
any risk of seeding.

Useless information in my case, since the whole back yard of
one of my neighbours consists almost exclusively of nettles.
{:-((

Franz

"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in
message ...
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:09:32 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

I hesitate to suggest growing some nettles in a pot, as
you would need
to prevent them seeding.

IIRC, nettles are dioecious. That is, individual plants
bear
either male or female flowers exclusively. It should be
easy to
select a male plant from the nearest wild patch thereby
obviating
any risk of seeding.

Useless information in my case, since the whole back yard of
one of my neighbours consists almost exclusively of nettles.
{:-((

Franz

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:40:10 +0000 (UTC), Franz Heymann wrote:

[selecting a male nettle]

Useless information in my case, since the whole back yard of
one of my neighbours consists almost exclusively of nettles.

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

And isn't there a recipe for nettle soup?

You may laugh at the suggestion implied in that, namely that you
eat your neighbor's nettles out of existence. Let me draw your
attention to one-time neighbors of mine who eradicated groundsel
in their garden by feeding it to their cockatiel.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes
On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:40:10 +0000 (UTC), Franz Heymann wrote:

[selecting a male nettle]

Useless information in my case, since the whole back yard of
one of my neighbours consists almost exclusively of nettles.

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

Yes, they are good - they're a lot more tasty and substantial than some
of the other leaves offered as a 'spinach substitute'. But your finger
pads feel a bit strange after you've picked a pound or so.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:37:55 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

Yes, they are good - they're a lot more tasty and substantial than some
of the other leaves offered as a 'spinach substitute'. But your finger
pads feel a bit strange after you've picked a pound or so.


From a post in 1999..

Nettle Soup

1 large onion, 1 clove garlic
2 potatoes
2 large handfuls nettle tops, washed!
olive oil, salt, pepper
Pint and a half stock
quarter pint single cream

Peel & chop onions, garlic and potatoes, fry for 3 to 4 minutes in
olive oil. Trim away stems from nettle tops, add to pan, add stock.
Boil rapidly for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Liquidize to
suit, reheat, season, stir in cream when serving.

For the stock, use either a vegetable stock or a light chicken stock.
If anyone needs a vegetable stock recipe, I have one of those too.
This'll serve three or four people - you can adjust the quantities as
you wish.

Recipe taken from Wild Foods, by Roger Phillips.
Pan Books, isbn 0-330-28069-4
Highly recommended folks, lots of curious recipes - such as Broom bud
salad etc!!

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:37:55 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

Yes, they are good - they're a lot more tasty and substantial than some
of the other leaves offered as a 'spinach substitute'. But your finger
pads feel a bit strange after you've picked a pound or so.


From a post in 1999..

Nettle Soup

1 large onion, 1 clove garlic
2 potatoes
2 large handfuls nettle tops, washed!
olive oil, salt, pepper
Pint and a half stock
quarter pint single cream

Peel & chop onions, garlic and potatoes, fry for 3 to 4 minutes in
olive oil. Trim away stems from nettle tops, add to pan, add stock.
Boil rapidly for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Liquidize to
suit, reheat, season, stir in cream when serving.

For the stock, use either a vegetable stock or a light chicken stock.
If anyone needs a vegetable stock recipe, I have one of those too.
This'll serve three or four people - you can adjust the quantities as
you wish.

Recipe taken from Wild Foods, by Roger Phillips.
Pan Books, isbn 0-330-28069-4
Highly recommended folks, lots of curious recipes - such as Broom bud
salad etc!!

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:37:55 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

Yes, they are good - they're a lot more tasty and substantial than some
of the other leaves offered as a 'spinach substitute'. But your finger
pads feel a bit strange after you've picked a pound or so.

From a post in 1999..

Nettle Soup

(snip)

Recipe taken from Wild Foods, by Roger Phillips.


Try with caution, folks: I did, and I & my mum & sister thought it truly
revolting. Even the dogs refused it. YMMV.

If you fancy munching weeds/wildflowers, I do recommend ground elder and
ramsons - both can be used as a pizza topping or cooked in butter, and much
nicer than nettles.

Victoria

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:37:55 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

Yes, they are good - they're a lot more tasty and substantial than some
of the other leaves offered as a 'spinach substitute'. But your finger
pads feel a bit strange after you've picked a pound or so.

From a post in 1999..

Nettle Soup

(snip)

Recipe taken from Wild Foods, by Roger Phillips.


Try with caution, folks: I did, and I & my mum & sister thought it truly
revolting. Even the dogs refused it. YMMV.

If you fancy munching weeds/wildflowers, I do recommend ground elder and
ramsons - both can be used as a pizza topping or cooked in butter, and much
nicer than nettles.

Victoria

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:37:55 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

Yes, they are good - they're a lot more tasty and substantial than some
of the other leaves offered as a 'spinach substitute'. But your finger
pads feel a bit strange after you've picked a pound or so.

From a post in 1999..

Nettle Soup

(snip)

Recipe taken from Wild Foods, by Roger Phillips.


Try with caution, folks: I did, and I & my mum & sister thought it truly
revolting. Even the dogs refused it. YMMV.

If you fancy munching weeds/wildflowers, I do recommend ground elder and
ramsons - both can be used as a pizza topping or cooked in butter, and much
nicer than nettles.

Victoria

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:37:55 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes

The young shoots of nettles are supposed to be a fairly good leaf
vegetable when cooked, having the great virtue of being available
in early spring when little else is.

Yes, they are good - they're a lot more tasty and substantial than some
of the other leaves offered as a 'spinach substitute'. But your finger
pads feel a bit strange after you've picked a pound or so.

From a post in 1999..

Nettle Soup

(snip)

Recipe taken from Wild Foods, by Roger Phillips.


Try with caution, folks: I did, and I & my mum & sister thought it truly
revolting. Even the dogs refused it. YMMV.

If you fancy munching weeds/wildflowers, I do recommend ground elder and
ramsons - both can be used as a pizza topping or cooked in butter, and much
nicer than nettles.

Victoria

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote in message ...
In article , Tumbleweed
writes

I'd say they probably are threatened, certainly as a kid I used to see lots,
very rare these days, I see more tortoiseshells and those brown one's whose
name I forget.

Probably Speckled Woods - food plant is Garlic Mustard, which occupies
the base of the hedgerows round here.


I think you are confusing them with Orange Tips (which do use Garlic Mustard).
Speckled Wood caterpillars re grass feeders. I have successfully bred them on
Couch Grass.

Neil Jones
http://www.butterflyguy.com/

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote in message ...
In article , Tumbleweed
writes

I'd say they probably are threatened, certainly as a kid I used to see lots,
very rare these days, I see more tortoiseshells and those brown one's whose
name I forget.

Probably Speckled Woods - food plant is Garlic Mustard, which occupies
the base of the hedgerows round here.


I think you are confusing them with Orange Tips (which do use Garlic Mustard).
Speckled Wood caterpillars re grass feeders. I have successfully bred them on
Couch Grass.

Neil Jones
http://www.butterflyguy.com/

Stinging-nettle soup for your garden: :-)


Fill a big pot/drum with nettles, fill 3/4 with water and stand pot in a
warm location do not cover. It should start fermenting - leave for a week
or two, stirring every day or so. When it's finished fermenting it should
be a dark brown colour (and probably smell awful). Remove nettles and bung
on compost, you can now cover the pot if you want.

Dilute 1:50 and spray to fight aphids.
or 1:10 or stronger as a liquid feed. Rich in nitrogen and potash.
Or so I'm told.

You can do a similar thing with field horsetails (Equisetum arvense). Wait
until mid summer until you collect the horsetails. Good for mildew and
fungal infestation.
Leave 1kg horsetails in 10 litres water to soak overnight. Then simmer the
mixture for about an hour. Cool and sieve. Dilute 1:5 and spray infected
plants.

Other horsetails are pretty inefective.
--
Tim C.

Stinging-nettle soup for your garden: :-)


Fill a big pot/drum with nettles, fill 3/4 with water and stand pot in a
warm location do not cover. It should start fermenting - leave for a week
or two, stirring every day or so. When it's finished fermenting it should
be a dark brown colour (and probably smell awful). Remove nettles and bung
on compost, you can now cover the pot if you want.

Dilute 1:50 and spray to fight aphids.
or 1:10 or stronger as a liquid feed. Rich in nitrogen and potash.
Or so I'm told.

You can do a similar thing with field horsetails (Equisetum arvense). Wait
until mid summer until you collect the horsetails. Good for mildew and
fungal infestation.
Leave 1kg horsetails in 10 litres water to soak overnight. Then simmer the
mixture for about an hour. Cool and sieve. Dilute 1:5 and spray infected
plants.

Other horsetails are pretty inefective.
--
Tim C.

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:31:33 +0100, Victoria Clare
wrote:


Try with caution, folks: I did, and I & my mum & sister thought it truly
revolting. Even the dogs refused it. YMMV.

What did you use for the stock base?
I knock this soup up every year round about now - even the kids love
it ( and kids aren't known for being 'into soup' ).

If you fancy munching weeds/wildflowers, I do recommend ground elder and
ramsons - both can be used as a pizza topping or cooked in butter, and much
nicer than nettles.

Could get on with Ground Elder - I found the taste insipid...couldn't
quite place the flavour, but it seemed vaguely metallic.
I was disappointed - I really quite relished the thought of being able
to eat the damn stuff into extinction!

I'd imagine that anything eaten with Ramsons would taste just fine
though - I get hungry just walking past them ( until they turn! ).

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk