Leisha In my 30s, roaming Canada’s wild corners, I felt stuck, like life had dulled my edges. Nettles were just childhood foes then, stinging my shins during backyard adventures. But one quiet day, I brewed a nettle seed tea, curious about its emerald-green glow. That nutty, vibrant sip woke me up, not just my body but something deeper.
Nettle became my guide, pulling me into herbalism. Her character, strong, courageous, protective, yet nourishing, made her a mainstay in my apothecary. Now, years later, having carried that love to Ecuador in my 40s, I’m sharing why nettle seed, the quiet spark of Urtica dioica, might call to you too.
We learn young to dodge their prickly sting. Our language holds their bite: nettle someone to annoy, grasp the nettle to face a tough spot, nettle rash for that fiery itch. Owwwww I used to laugh at urtification, stinging yourself for health. Most know nettle leaves for soup, tea, or my favorite, nettle curry, but the seeds? They’re a hidden gift, waiting to be found.
By spring, female nettles bloom with tiny flowers, soon replaced by green seeds hanging like catkins. Summer ripens them, packed with oils: linoleic, linolenic, palmitic, oleic, stearic acids, which our bodies shape into omega-3, omega-6. Picked green before browning, they’re crunchy, nutty, alive.
Nettle seed is a Western adaptogen, soothing tired adrenals, lifting worn spirits. I turn to it for energy, to ease burnout, spark joy. Its power lies in acetylcholine, serotonin, choline, histamine, sharpening focus, mood, intuition. Acetylcholine might explain urtification’s pain relief, folklore meeting science. Serotonin balances sleep, appetite; dopamine adds a happy hum. A pinch feels like that first green tea, life in a breath.
Harvesting nettle seed is my ritual. I clip each plant’s top third, dry them on a sheet in the sun, turning until leaves crisp. Gloves on, I rub seeds into a bowl, sifting through a sieve to clear bits. A mask saves you from itchy dust on big batches. For others, I toast seeds lightly in a dry pan, melting crystal hairs, drawing out hempy warmth.
They shine in cooking. Swap for poppy seeds on breads, crackers, salads, or stir into yogurt, smoothies, overnight oats. They float in juice, so skip that. I grind them into honey, peanut butter for toast, snack bars, or mix with seaweed, spices, salt for seasoning. For healing, I crush seeds, steep in sunflower oil two weeks: salad oil or arthritis liniment with essential oils.
Nettle seed heals deeply. It strengthens kidneys, boosting glomerular function, lowering serum creatine to slow decline. It guards livers, thanks to choline, tied to cirrhosis, hepatitis care. It soothes colitis, fights oxidative stress without bad cytokines, studies show. Urtica dioica agglutinin, a lectin, revs immunity, T-cells, gently bolstering defenses.
Centuries back, horse traders fed it to old steeds, reviving shine, spirit, as Victor Hugo wrote in Les Misérables. Poultry fattened on it. You can blend it with green oat seeds for a calmative and for low mood. cleavers, seaweed (kelp) for sluggish systems. Old herbalists praised it for coughs, goitre, and Culpeper stated it is a venomous bite cure. If you have a rash, histamine, she also cans to the rescure.
To me, Nettle’s courage teaches grit.
Start with one to two teaspoons fresh or dried nettle seed daily, about five grams per tablespoon. Chew up to twenty grams, but one teaspoon’s my sweet spot. Tincture? Crush seeds, soak one part to five parts forty percent vodka three weeks, strain. Take up to two ml, four times daily. Simple, potent.
But go easy. Over thirty grams can buzz too hard, like an espresso overload. I once brewed a strong tea, twenty-five grams in three hundred ml water, and stayed awake days. Nettle’s strong; respect her.
Nettles reshaped my path. That emerald tea in my, a love I took to Ecuador in my 40s, where plants are my world and Canadian Nettle adorns my gardens.
Nettle, protective yet nurturing, grows anywhere, thriving in rough soil like we can in hard times. Her seeds are a small ritual, a nod to wild wisdom that’s carried me. Try them, maybe with my nettle curry below, and feel her strength.
Nettle Curry Recipe
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh nettle leaves (wear gloves to pick, blanch to remove sting)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch ginger, grated
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 cup diced potatoes
1 cup chickpeas, cooked
Salt, pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
Instructions:
Blanch nettles in boiling water for 1 minute, drain, chop.
Heat oil in a pan, sauté onion until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, curry powder; cook 1 minute.
Stir in coconut milk, potatoes, chickpeas; simmer 15 minutes until potatoes soften.
Add nettles, cook 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper.
Garnish with cilantro if you like. Serve with rice or flatbread.
This curry, warm and earthy, brings Nettle’s nourishment to your table, just as she’s done for me.
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