Harvesting Wild Nettles One of my goals in recent years has been to better learn how to “forage” the wild food around me. Not only is it free, but they are often very good for you as well. Nutrient rich nettles are perfect for picking right now in my area, as they are young and tender. I need to say from the beginning that I am just a beginner at this and if you would like to do the same I encourage you to get expert advice on what to pick and what not to pick. But I figured that nettles were not only very easy to identify (if in doubt, touch it and you will soon found out!) “Nettles are a rich green color revealing its extremely high iron and chlorophyll content. Now, you may be thinking of the time you ran through a stinging nettle patch with shorts on in the summer as a child. And yes, it’s completely edible (and I found delicious too). Since we don’t have any growing at our house, I drove over to my in-laws house, where they have a whole “garden” of stinging nettle. 1-Pick when the plant is young.
Do-it-yourself Survival Kit The Do-it-yourself Coffee Can Survival Kit This is a compact kit that can be carried in the car, on the boat, or in a pack for hunting, hiking, exploring, etc. Most of the contents will fit in a one-pound coffee can which doubles as a pot for melting snow and device with which to dig an emergency snow shelter. (However, if you can carry it, include a small shovel. It is far, far better than trying to use a coffee can.) You should be aware that if this kit is carried while on hiking or hunting trips, you still need to carry the other Ten Essentials not included below. Keep three points in mind when putting together a survival kit. Thirdly, bring enough to enable you to spend at least one night out. Thanks to Allan Priddy who helps teach the Wilderness Survival class for putting this list together. General Items Repair Kit Sewing kit Dental floss (It's strong and useful as thread for sewing, or a fishing line or for lashing branches for improvised shelters.) Nourishment Optional
Nettle: Info & Pesto Recipe Nettles! No matter the weather or date, I know that Spring has sprung when the nettles come up out of the ground. Most people cringe at the mention of nettles, but just say the word and I'll jump in my truck with kitchen gloves and plastic bags ready for harvesting.Urticadioca is nettle's botanical name, dioica meaning "of two houses." This common species of nettles has female and male flowers on separate stems with female flowering stems rising above the males. Hollow hairs covering the underside of the leaves and stems of the plant and sporadically on the top of the leaves contain formic acid, causing the "sting" for which they are so famous. Nettles are excellent sources for ascorbic acids, choline, vitamins A and D, iron, calcium, mineral salts, vitamins and fiber. Dry the plants for infusions later in the season. If you're a vinegar lover, consider making an herbal vinegar with nettles and apple cider vinegar.
Bacon in Every Survival Kit Let me explain... Before you run away laughing at the title and opening of this article, let me go into a bit more detail so that you can see just where I'm coming from. The idea came to me while we were discussing various fuels that you can find or make to use for fires when you're in a survival situation. One of those fuels that can be very useful for it's flammability, storage and portability was - Cooking Grease & Fats. Ordinary cooking grease and oils that we would normally just chuck aside, could easily be saved and stored in case you ever needed to use them for starting a well needed fire in a survival situation. That got me to thinking... Why bacon? Well, it's simple really... Be prepared Bacon also has the added convenience of being very compact in it's packaging, so there is no reason every person could store up to ten packages (or more) of bacon in their freezer, just in case.
Herbal Branch 5: Stinging Nettles the Super Food? Yes, the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica.) This is no April Fools joke. And, some of you will think I’m really strange for wanting to eat the plant that can cause such discomfort when you accidentally brush against it. Early spring is my favorite time of the year because I can harvest nettles and many other wild herbs. Did you know that nettles contain the highest plant source of iron? This is where it gets hard for people, but I make it easy. There are a lot of people who have heard this about wild plants such as nettles and dandelions, but I know you may be asking yourself, “How do I find nettle, gather it, and actually use this plant?” This is EXACTLY what LearningHerbs.com is all about. I am going to make this REALLY easy. First, I will tell you how to cook with nettles. I could list a bunch of recipes, but instead I am going to simply tell you to find any recipe you like that calls for greens, such as spinach or kale. What about the stings?!?!?! Good question. How do I pick nettles?
Extreme Minimalism, A Minimalist Project of Travel and Discovey I’ve drawn an unusual amount of attention to my minimalism project this week. First, Dan Patterson of ABC Radio News interviewed me about my 15 things. Dan is one of those amazing interviewers that you wish you were just watching instead of getting interviewed by. Then came a post by Scott at LaughingSquid, which really showed me the power of Tumblr. That night I had drinks with someone who had seen the story (on Reddit, which I can’t find), and I realized the story had spread. Alex Hillman let me crash on his couch after a panel last week on Rethinking Shelter at P’unk Avenue. The winning caption in a contest is “floordrobe.” The first question someone asks me when I tell them about the project is “How do you define something you own?” I don’t have a permanent address or a second pair of jeans. It’s how I imagine telling someone my child’s name would feel like. So, back to everything I own. Coffee cup? Here is the list, as of May 2, 2011. So what is there to learn from this?
Harvesting Nettle Seeds 23 August, 2010 by Lucinda Nettle Seed I passed a lovely afternoon recently in harvesting my first nettle seeds of the year. They are so abundant right now and so helpful during these busy periods that it was a real pleasure to get out gathering them. There are a couple of great articles on the internet describing how to harvest nettle seeds along with their uses which I highly recommend reading, notably those by Henriette here and here and Kiva Rose here and here. The benefits of nettle seeds have some overlap with those of the leaf, both being strengthening, mineral rich, great for skin and hair and for supporting the kidneys and urinary system. Abundant and ready to harvest. According to Henriette, ‘Nettle seeds are adaptogens. Useful for chronic exhaustion, adrenal fatigue and burnout, nettle seeds have also been used to aid kidney function in both people and animals with degenerative conditions. Harvest now will the seeds are hanging in strands Nettle Patch Nettle Seed Harvest Like this:
Survival Gear Review The Nettle Seed Rebellion: Outlaw Plants &Their Progeny For The Weeds of Summer Blogparty hosted by Darcey Blue over at Gaia’s Gifts Prequel: An Irreverent Introduction to Weeds and Other Wild Things Unruly and feral, weeds annoy us with their promiscuous strut and blatant disregard for convention and known boundaries. Many of them are immigrants and gypsies, with a reputation for sneaking into happy domestic scenes with troubling ease and for taking over the garden party with a sensual but insistent tangle of tendrils and roots. Most all of them have little use for human coddling or outside permission for their movement and growth. Weeds serve as an icon to outcasts and misfits, representing the outlaw nature of all things strong, wild and hellbent on not only surviving, but proliferating. What we call weeds tend to grow in disturbed ground where human impact is obvious, whether in vacant lots, tilled farmland or roadsides. How a Plant Makes You Like Them, or, More Redeeming Features of Stinging Nettle Urtica spp. When to Harvest