Nettle is a common plant that grows effortlessly in gardens, orchards, etc. For those who ignore its usefulness, it's just an annoying weed, therefore, we will provide more information about one of its properties and uses, specifically in our organic garden.
You have to start by saying that it is a raw material very easy to get and that it will not cost us anything, then if we focus on its use in the garden, one of the valuable properties is its rich nitrogen content, good for making organic compost and other components that make it an effective antibacterial and pesticide.
Why is nettle so useful in the garden, what properties does it have?
These properties along with many others are quite useful for get as much liquid manure to nourish the plants as to prepare preparations that protect them.
For the production of compost and pesticides, you only need the nettle and water and is that the nettle, (about 100 gr. Approximately) must be submerged in a liter of water for its fermentation for about two weeks or until bubbling stops; if we are going to use it as compost, it must dilute in 20 liters of water Once diluted, the soil is watered with it. Now, if we are going to use it as a pesticide, we are going to dilute it in 10 liters of water and proceed to apply it to the surface of the plant.
The use of nettle brings great benefits for our orchards and gardens since its use as fertilizer provides plants with nutrients necessary for their growth, such as calcium, silicon, phosphorus, nitrogen, iron and help in the prevention and treatment of pests; the best thing about all this is that it is totally ecological and therefore harmless to nature.
We can also grow our own nettle plants, so we would not only have the raw material to make compost and pesticides on hand, we would also take advantage of their medicinal qualities given its other components such as vitamins A, B, C and E, iron, flavonoids, mineral salts, histamines, serotonin, silicon, resin, calcium and zinc, which makes it very useful to treat some health conditions; in addition, its growing cycle is fast, only about 6 weeks.
The so-called weed, belongs to the urticaceae familyIt should not be handled directly because it itches and inflames the skin. To avoid allergic reactions to contact with the hairs of the plant, gloves are recommended, from the plant you should use either the stem or the leaves, not the whole plant.
Types of Nettle
The so-called greater nettle or green nettle. The plant can grow up to 150 centimeters, generates flowers in small clusters and its leaves are oval in shape. You have to be very careful not to pick them up with your bare hand.
The lesser nettle, is better known for its medicinal properties, its size is about 60 centimeters and the stinging effect on the skin, to the touch, is not as powerful.
Nettle leaves have jagged edges simulating the blade of a saw and that end in a point, its color is quite striking green while its flowers are less intense yellow and these in turn are divided into males and females. They have a rigid trunk, although hollow inside and this is where the hairs that resemble very fine fluff and how much itching they cause to the touch.
Other lesser known varieties of nettles are: urticaardens, urticaatrovirens, urticaangustifolia, urticadubia, urticaferox, urticagaleopsifolia and urticafissa.
As we have seen, there are many properties that we get Thanks to the nettle, however, and for its use in orchards, it is very useful and practical to know them and put them into practice to obtain well-nourished and healthy plants, given how effective a preparation based on it is to repel pests and fight infections. .