The nettle season ends when the plant begins to bloom. If you want to enjoy the benefits of nettle infusion for many months, you can dry its young leaves. There are a few rules that you should follow, such as that the last quarter of the moon is for drying the herbs and your herbs will retain their maximum he alth benefits.
When to pick the nettle?Nettle harvest begins when its leaves are well developed. Young leaves have the most healing properties.
Remember that harvesting should be complete before the plant blooms. Most often, the picking period is limited to the spring months of April and May.
Protecting ourselves from burns, we can cut off the whole shoots and leave them until they wither, losing the unpleasant stinging properties.
It is important that you break each leaf separately and make sure that they do not stick together. Remember not to pick the nettles near roads and in places where they are exposed to pollution.
However, if you still decide to harvest in such a place, thoroughly wash each stem before drying.
How to dry nettle?
Dry the nettle very quickly after picking, spreading the leaves on a piece of paper, a straw mat or a net. We leave it in a well-ventilated and darkened place, because medicinal plants exposed to the sun during drying lose their healing and taste qualities.
In exceptional circumstances, e.g. due to rainy weather, you can dry the nettle in the oven. The drying temperature should then not exceed 35 degrees, and the oven door should be left open all the time, allowing the steam to escape.
After drying, the leaves should be dark green with a clearly visible mesh of white veins. The brown leaves indicate that the herb has been dried for too long or in inappropriate conditions.
If you are unsure if you can pack the herbs already, check if the leaves are crumbling in your fingers. The dried leaves smell bitter and the taste is slightly s alty.
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Nettle cultivars found in Poland
- Common nettle- common nettleplant, often considered a weed. It grows in lowlands and in the mountains. It has healing properties in the form of raw and infusions of dried leaves. Leaves, stems and roots can be dried.
- Nettle- found all over Poland. It reaches a height of 20 to 50 cm. Its stem is covered with short bristles and longer stinging hairs, its stems do not become thick and the leaves do not reach large sizes. It has healing properties similar to common nettle.
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