It's actually not raining yet today. So I took the wheelbarrow on to the veg plot and pulled nettles and grass and filled it and pushed to where the pigs and hens and ducks are residing for the Winter.
I of course remembered to wear some work gloves to avoid getting stung.
Some people say you should let the nettles wilt and dry before feeding it to your livestock. But I just threw armfuls of the stuff. One of the pigs used the McDonald's slogan:
'I'm lovin it!"
Nettles will give them vitamins and add flavour to the eggs and meat.
There are many uses for nettles. We've made a liquid garden tea, nettle tea and soup. Army uniforms can be weaved out of it and you can even make rope with it. Their seeds are supposed to be good dewormers. It's also good for arthritis especially if you lie in a patch of them.
The best thing about nettles is they are FREE!
Do you feed nettles to your livestock? Have you ever made nettle hay?
Nope! I do not feed nettles to my livestock and I have never made nettle hay but I have been to a village in Lincolnshire called Nettleton and I once watched an episode of "Bergerac" starring John Nettles.who is now 79 years old and has a daughter called Emma Nettles. He lives in Cornwall and is now a nettle farmer.
ReplyDeleteWas it on Nettlefix (Netflix) YP?
ReplyDeleteYour response has really nettled me!
DeleteThe nettle had been grasped.
DeleteP used to make nettle liquid fertiliser for the garden. Stinky stuff.
ReplyDeleteI once fell off my bike into a nettle patch. Ouch.
Those pigs must have no feeling in their mouths to eat raw nettles!
Yes JayCee I fill an old pillowcase with nettles and tie a knot in it and tie a piece of string on it in a bin and weigh it down in the water with a stone. I have made garden teas like this with comfrey and also seaweed. They don't seem to sting the large pigs. They love them. Plus it's quicker than composting the nettles.
ReplyDeleteI look for nettles since you once mentioned how good they are as a fertiliser tea. They all seem to have disappeared in our area.
ReplyDeleteYour animals are obviously healthy and happy
They make a great herbal tea LA for humans to drink and also they can be used for a garden tea. Your nettles probably burnt up in the Poros heat. Believe it or not you can buy nettle seeds online. Not that I have that problem living in the verdant Emerald Isle.😊
ReplyDeleteThey also make a great substitute for spinach in a Greek spanakopita/hortopita. The humans it was tested on in our house didn't know the difference (just the soft tips leave though - the older ones can be bitter)
DeleteThanks Tigger. I have tried nettle tea and nettle soup.
DeleteAre you joking about laying in a bed of nettles, lol. I can just see me flattening the bed, I need something for my arthur it's killing me.
ReplyDeleteLove those pigs, are you intending to eat them? I couldn't do that myself but then that is being a hypocrite isn't it as I love pork and am happy for others to do the dirty job for me.
Am not posting at the moment as Tom is quite ill but will resume at some time. In the meantime I love reading yours.
Briony
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Thanks Briony. Apparently it was said to be good for arthritis if you lay in a nettle patch. Yes we eat the pigs and poultry. I don't like sending them to the butchers but I have got use to having a chest freezer full of meat. Homegrown veg and meat is thee best
ReplyDeleteForgot to say I hope Tom is feeling well again and you start writing blog posts again real soon.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if I am missing out!
ReplyDeleteNettles are completely different from thistles, aren't they? I'm not sure I ever 'met' nettles, but I had a pony who loved grazing on thistles - especially the flowers. We'd walk in the rough patches on the roadsides and he have a lovely time reaching for the best bits. Now that was 'some time ago' - nearly 60 years!! Memory sparked. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDo Nettles not grow over there Debby?
ReplyDeleteYes Virginia they are different. Our donkeys like eating thistles. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDelete