A Word on Nettles

I particularly love nettles not only because of their mild, somewhat briny flavor, but also because they are most often thought of as a weed. I’ve spent enough time helping out the farmers at Green Gulch to know this! Pesky nettles will grow all around the crops and sting you as you walk through to harvest. The farmers don’t use gloves when harvesting, despite the nettles, as though it’s something you just get used to. I have never particularly desired to be stung by a nettle, but I definitely never desired to be teased either, so I’ve braved the rows of crops barehanded, getting stung all along the way. Despite this, once I really stopped to think about the somewhat exhausting number of wild nettles that grow on the farm, I realized that it’s a free (and delicious) crop that’s stubborn enough to grow where it wants to, so we might as well use it. I’ve been reluctantly enamored ever since, and I always make a point to showcase this plant along with the other green icons of spring.