Nettle leaf foliar spray

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Blitz35

Well-Known Member
I read quite a few articles stating the benefits of using nettle leaves to make a foliar spray, or drenching soil with it. However, after hours of research..i can't find if it's possible to make this foliar spray out of dry nettle leaves (from tea bags). I cant make it the way I keep reading..to ferment fresh leaves in a bin for 2-3 weeks. The smell wouldn't be appealing to my neighbours! Was wondering if there is a quicker or 'cleaner' way to prep it yet still effective. Would be adding the liquid to a banana peel/egg shell/Epsom salt solution and will be using it as a foliar spray until flowering starts.
 
Blitz35 said:
I read quite a few articles stating the benefits of using nettle leaves to make a foliar spray, or drenching soil with it. However, after hours of research..i can't find if it's possible to make this foliar spray out of dry nettle leaves (from tea bags). I cant make it the way I keep reading..to ferment fresh leaves in a bin for 2-3 weeks. The smell wouldn't be appealing to my neighbours! Was wondering if there is a quicker or 'cleaner' way to prep it yet still effective. Would be adding the liquid to a banana peel/egg shell/Epsom salt solution and will be using it as a foliar spray until flowering starts.
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if you only have access to the dry stuff, i'd put that in your soil instead, topdress, and cover with worm castings or some other type of microbial-heavy media, compost, established living soil etc
 
I mean no room to add dry nettles and then pack compost on top of it..its gonna bury the bottom of the plant. Its why I wanted tpo use it as a foliar spray, but will find something else to use instead.
 
I went out ginsenging the other day...just scouting since it's not in season ...but I found the biggest and largest patch of nettles I have EVER seen and iv seen a lot of them in my days....they were already up to my waist and higher ...I have been wondering about using them in my compost pile as a green input ...should I use the leaves or the whole prickley things .....and what benefits do they add again...I need to get some green in my pile asap...and should I use the roots and all...I hope it's the same thing ever one talks about when they say nettles ...these fuckers will burn u up and make u itch lIke fucking crazy ...hurt like a bitch after a while day of walking through them
greasemonkeymann said:
if you only have access to the dry stuff, i'd put that in your soil instead, topdress, and cover with worm castings or some other type of microbial-heavy media, compost, established living soil etc
Click to expand...
....and can I dry them out and make teas from them w.o fermenting them or anything
 
GoRealUhGro said:
I went out ginsenging the other day...just scouting since it's not in season ...but I found the biggest and largest patch of nettles I have EVER seen and iv seen a lot of them in my days....they were already up to my waist and higher ...I have been wondering about using them in my compost pile as a green input ...should I use the leaves or the whole prickley things .....and what benefits do they add again...I need to get some green in my pile asap...and should I use the roots and all...I hope it's the same thing ever one talks about when they say nettles ...these fuckers will burn u up and make u itch lIke fucking crazy ...hurt like a bitch after a while day of walking through them

....and can I dry them out and make teas from them w.o fermenting them or anything
Click to expand...
A photo would help........but.........the whole plant is irritating as fuck if you touch it with bare skin, immediately, non of this 'after a while walking through it', you don't walk through it, you avoid it as soon as you see it. I share a sort of allotment and when I first went on, I cut all the nettles down to throw on the compost, but the guy I share it with went mad, cos it does keep mindless vandals out, or deters them at least.

Not the clearest photo, but these are defo stinging nettles, I took the snap last week
IMG_4257.JPG
 
The only way I have access to the internet really is from my gfs phone and I only get to get on here when I'm around here ...I have a camera I might be able to take a snap shot or something and get it on here next time I go up there but it's bound to be the same thing
 
Oh.....and by the way......nettle tea, tea bags would be an extremely expensive way to get the benefits of nettles to your plants. Anything marketed towards the 'health conscious' has serious mark ups on them. Nettles are free and fresh, nettle tea bags are expensive and been sat on a shelf for a couple of months at the very minimum.

If nettles aren't native to your locality, research which dynamic accumulators are native to your region and use those. Comfrey, dandelions and nettles are the big 3 you read about all the time, but we shouldn't be fixated on just these IMO

Did a little googling and found this http://permaculturenews.org/2015/04/10/the-facts-about-dynamic-accumulators/

interesting little read
 
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