Nettle Tea

[DocLeaf]

Yo folks,,

Nettles Tea is a good source of nutrients,, high in nitrogen,, nice in magnesium, sulfur and iron,, and is practically free

Stinging Nettles Urtica dioica ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle

Net (designed for laundry tabs) stuffed full of nettles...

Nettle net placed in a bowl of water...

Then just leave the leaves to brew for a few weeks,, in a warm place,, and the Nettle Tea will be ready to use.

We will update with some E.C. readings in a few days as this brew slowly ferments.

Peace n flowers
DocLeaf

 

[tonto]

im actually walking out the door now to make some.

 

[Dödsknark]

I love this stuff and so does the ladies. Practically all I use in veg on my OD.

 

[freefields]

There is a much better way than brewing them in a net like that.

Take a 2 litre plastic bottle, stuff it full of chopped nettles, add a little bit of water (100ml will do) and replace the cap.

Drill a tiny hole in the cap.

Sit bottle upside down in a container, a bucket will do.

After 3-4 days the plant material will start to break down and a thick, dark green liquid will start to drip out of the bottle, within 8-10 days you will have about a litre of concentrated nettle juice. Dilute 1:10 and use.

There are lots of other highly useful plants in the British countryside, Comfrey is a prime example, concentrated Comfrey juice produced with the bottle method I described has an NPK of around 8-5-20, wonderful stuff to use until mid flower.

Bracken is high in P and has a fair bit of K too.

Dandelions and Dock are also great stuff.

I have a bunch of info on them, you can make a complete very effective flowering nutrient from Comfrey, Dandelions, Dock and Bracken.

 

[Balarama67]

Great Post - I would +rep but I've used all mine up!

May I suggest using an air-stone also when making teas of any kind?

 

[DocLeaf]

Thanks folks..

We make guano tea as standard,, and have used nettle tea before on veggie crops,, this run is to test the purge rate and see how the ganja reacts to it.

The starting EC of the water was 0.4 - 0.6 EC.

If you have any info about nettles or nettle tea,, please post away

peace n flowers

 

[strawbrrygirl]

when growing outside i pull nettles and throw them directly in my garden the slugs hate them and they also break down very fast now thats organic huh!!!!!!!!

 

[Balarama67]

I did a quick Google and there's literally tons of stuff on Nettle Tea.

It seems to be quite an excellent product. I have some nettles in my garden and a rainwater butt so I think I'll have a go! Not looking forward to the smell though!

 

[DocLeaf]

That's the spirit There's boat loads of info. on nettle tea online ,, because it's gradually becoming standrad organic practise to use "weeds" as nutrients.. GrowDoc has even grown weed in weed before now (check his gallery)

when growing outside i pull nettles and throw them directly in my garden the slugs hate them and they also break down very fast now thats organic huh!!!!!!!!

Nice Info. we might try that on a patch of pumpkins we are having snail issues with Thanks

 

[freefields]

Here is the basic elements to be found in some common European plants:

Dandelion: potassium, phosphorous, iron, soda,

Dock: potassium, phosphorous, magnesium

Comfrey: nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, silica,

Nettles: nitrogen, potassium, calcium, iron, copper, sodium, sulphur, formic acid, ammonia, carbonic acid

Horsetail: magnesium, calcium, iron, silica, cobalt

Chamomile: potassium, phosphorus, calcium, lime

Yarrow: nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, copper, lime, sulphur

I have a ton more info on this subject stored somewhere but atm I can't find it, if it turns up, I'll post it.

I did find some pics of the liquid extraction method I described though.

 

[jaykush]

i use nettles on a daily basis, the best extracts are made soaked in water and agitated every now and then. the key is learning the dilution ratios for how you make it. i like the net idea sort of whats it made of? but yea imo nothing beats nettles for a veg fert for cannabis, cheaper than guano, more sustainable, better growth, pest control, and more.

 

[NUG-JUG]

i use nettles on a daily basis, the best extracts are made soaked in water and agitated every now and then. the key is learning the dilution ratios for how you make it.

How do you learn the dilution ratios? trial and error I suppose...

Also, do you pack the nettles in the bottle\container or leave some air?

 

[Balarama67]

How do you learn the dilution ratios? trial and error I suppose...
?

Hopefully, more trial than error!

I start off weak and then increase the strength, but never stronger than 1 part nettle/plant tea to 4 parts water - also you will appreciate that different batches will have different strengths.

This kind of thing is always suck-it-and-see, so err in your plants favour.

 

[JGP]

Deffo going to make some nettle tea for vegging and some comfrey tea for flowering.Anyone know any recipes for organic bug sprays?

 

[Balarama67]

Deffo going to make some nettle tea for vegging and some comfrey tea for flowering.Anyone know any recipes for organic bug sprays?

Veg Oil and detergent - I read on the back of my shop-bought bug-gun it's 1% of veg oil and detergent to 99% of water. I read on Wiki the oil and detergent coats the bugs and kills them. It needs to be weak for the plants sake and seedlings cannot cope with it.

Also garlic and tobacco sprays work.

 

[jaykush]

How do you learn the dilution ratios? trial and error I suppose...

Also, do you pack the nettles in the bottle\container or leave some air?

it really depends on how you make it. as for the stuffing the bottle method i dont do that. i make liquid soaks. the amount of time it takes depends on wet or dry nettles, chopped or whole, and the outside temperature.

you want the final tea to be a light color. and like Balarama67 said, starting low and moving on up is probably the best way to get the system down. you can always add more, but you cant take away. nettle tea undiluted is used as an herbicide its so strong.

Deffo going to make some nettle tea for vegging and some comfrey tea for flowering.Anyone know any recipes for organic bug sprays?

nettles helps build the immune system of the plant, so its almost a feed and pest control in the same thing. i use nothing but plant extracts and compost teas and never have pests.

 

[Retardo Motabon]

You can drink nettle tea too! Drink a glass each day within a week you can walk right through the nettles without an itch.

 

[jaykush]

have you done this yourself? i drink nettle tea all the time and i still get stung.

 

[trichosaurus]

Anybody use it as a foliar feed? What approximate ratios for foliar feeds do you use?

Unfortunately, I dont have nettles near me. At least I have never seen them. But they do grow in this area just a bit northwest.
So where else can I try and find stinging nettles for sale? Online? Farmers markets? Feed stores?

 

[jaykush]

approximate dilutions are 1:50 for folair spray if you made a thick strong tea.

nettles grow in all lower 48 states, and in almost all continents on the planet. if you really cant find a patch, simply grow your own. its not illegal, and its good food and medicine for you too. it also builds soil quality at the same time.