SMALL fARM

Today, I’m going to ramble on about an old favorite—stinging nettle, a nutrient-packed, free food gifted to us by nature.

My connection with nettles began about three years ago. It started with occasionally eating them, collecting them to make green manure for my vegetables, and gradually incorporating them into my diet more regularly.

Nettle soup, nettle salad, dried nettle leaves ground into powder to add to dishes, and even collecting and drying their seeds to make them a daily staple. Now, nettles are a regular wild vegetable in our household.

My son used to have mild pollen allergies, but this spring, surprisingly, he had no flare-ups. Later, I learned that nettles can help with allergies, and I suspect our frequent use of nettles has improved his symptoms.

Beyond being food for our family, dried nettles are also a great way to boost nutrition for our animals in winter. I occasionally toss some dried nettles to our chickens and rabbits as a treat, and they eat them happily.

Because of my encouragement, the area around our home has more and more patches of nettles, making it quick and easy to gather them. Every time I collect these superfoods, I can’t help but think, “This is how humans were meant to live.”

The Creator has given us so many near-miraculous, free foods. They’re resilient, growing wild and abundant, and so easy to harvest. I hope more people start to see this, eat the foods we’re meant to eat, and live healthier, simpler, happier lives.