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Posts Tagged ‘Urtica dioica’

Invasive weeds or Earth healers?

Friday, May 29th, 2009

After posting about nettles and docks, I got to thinking about brambles (Rubus fruticosus) and bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) as well. Also mint (Mentha arvensis) which we have in abundance and which spreads in a similar fashion, and mimosa (Acacia dealbata) which we don’t have on the quinta but which is another “problem” plant in Portugal. All these plants are vigorous, resilient and quickly outcompete most other herbaceous species. The primary means of their rapid spread and apparent monocultural tendency are their extensive creeping rhizomatous root systems.

Urtica dioica, Rubus fruticosa, Pteridium aquilinum, Acacia dealbata

Nettles, brambles, bracken and mimosa

What I was thinking about was what do all these plants have in common besides these characteristics? What’s their role in nature? Is there an analogous process we can easily relate to that’s more useful and true to the state of things than this notion of “noxious weeds”?

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Weeds? What weeds!

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

Something that we presently have growing abundantly in the damper parts of the quinta by the stream are stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) and docks (Rumex spp.). Far from being unwanted plants, these are valuable food and medicinal plants.

Nettles accumulate nitrates and are high in minerals (especially iron, silicon, and calcium) and vitamins (A and C). They make liquid fertiliser, an insect repellent and a hair tonic. The juice of the leaves, or a decoction of the herb, can be used as a rennet substitute in curdling milks. An infusion of the stems and leaves provides an organic pesticide against plant mites or aphids. They make tomatoes resistant to spoilage, encourage strawberries to grow, and increase the essential oil content of nearby aromatic herbs. They tend to grow in soil rich in phosphorus and nitrogen, so are indicators of good soil fertility, and are among the first colonisers of disturbed soil.

Docks with their deep roots are also good mineral accumulators and both make excellent compost activators and a nutritious mulch. Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) is relatively high in phosphate and potassium levels in the leaves, and is particularly high in magnesium.

In this video, herbalist Frank Cook talks about the usefulness of nettles as food and medicine (there are videos about docks from the same source). In the background is Agroforestry Research Trust‘s Martin Crawford, the creator of the forest garden behind Schumacher College in Dartington, Devon, which is where the video is filmed. 15 years ago this woodland was pasture.

Nettles also make a fabric that’s stronger than cotton, finer than hemp, and is naturally fire retardant. Finally a use for the old weaving loom I have sitting in the attic! It should make a perfect complement for all that hand-knitted yoghurt …

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