When Should Stinging Nettles Be Harvested?

Nettles have nutritious properties that make them not just an herbal remedy but a "superfood" substitute for almost any leafy green in many of your favorite recipes. The best time to harvest nettles is in the early spring, but handle with caution as the stems of this herb have earned it its full name of stinging nettles.

Identification

• Unless you have planted nettles in your garden, you will harvest your nettles by foraging for them---a practical way to save money at the grocery and health food store. Safe foraging requires learning to recognize plants in the wild. Use a plant identification book, consult an online herbal source or bring an herbalist friend with you for your first foraging expedition. Nettles love manure-rich soil near farmlands and the same kind of moist thickets and woodlands that support blackberries. The primary distinguishing mark of nettle plants is, of course, the stingers on its stems.

Preparation

• Avoid learning the truth of the plant's name by wearing long sleeves, socks and long pants so when you stoop and reach into a patch of greenery, you don't get scratched. Bring sturdy gloves, scissors or gardening shears, and a bag to hold the plants. Once you take the nettles home and steam them, their sting disappears.

Timing

• Early spring is the best time to get tender, green nettles. Depending on where you live, this means late March through May. Look for emerald leaves with a slight purple hue and pick the plants before they have flowered. Later in the season, nettles have a more bitter taste and a tougher, fibrous texture. Cut only the top 4 to 6 inches of the plant so the patch will yield more food for you next year. Foraging for wild plants---and using them for cooking and healing---makes up an entire subculture, with many websites and books devoted to herbs. You can learn more through joining an herbal group or taking herbology classes.