From time immemorial, nettle has been considered a healing herb that saved people from many diseases and provides the beauty of the body. In addition, the plant is used for cooking all kinds of dishes. It is important to know when to collect nettles and how to harvest them properly.
Beneficial features
Our grannies and great-grandmothers knew about the beneficial properties of a burning plant. Scientists have carefully studied the composition and properties of this medicinal crop. It was found that nettle is rich in various trace elements and vitamins.
The mineral composition includes ions of iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, iodine, chromium, sodium and copper. The presence of vitamin K helps prevent bleeding. With regular use of a decoction of nettle leaves, immunity increases, the work of the gastrointestinal tract and female genital glands normalizes, metabolic processes and the production of interferon are stimulated, blood sugar levels decrease, blood vessels strengthen.
Roots, leaves and seeds are used to make all kinds of cosmetic products for the care of face skin and hair.
What parts of the plant are harvested
Many are tormented by the question, when do you need to collect nettles so that as many useful substances as possible accumulate in it? To answer it, you must first clarify which part of the plant must be collected. Useful substances are contained in both underground and aboveground organs. The first includes rhizomes with roots, the second includes leaves, stems, flowers and seeds.
When collecting the aerial parts, it is important that the plant has large leaves. This will allow to collect a larger amount of green raw materials in a short period of time.
For harvesting rhizomes and roots, you should choose powerful plants, which have tall, thick shoots and wide leaves on the stems. The larger the bush, the more developed its root system, respectively, you can dig more raw materials.
Nettle root preparation period
The content of nutrients depending on the time of year and the phase of development of the plant may vary. Therefore, you need to find out when it is better to collect nettle, or rather its underground organs with the maximum number of useful components in their composition.
Typically, the highest concentration of active substances is detected in mature plants after flowering and ripening of seeds and before the buds swell in early spring. It is autumn and early spring before the juice movement begins that are periods when it is possible to collect nettles for root treatment in any weather.
To dig up rhizomes and roots, it is better to use a garden shovel, which is dipped at an angle into the soil 10 centimeters from the bush. First, make a small wiggle with a shovel, and then pull the entire earthen lump to the surface.
After digging, the harvested material will still have to be washed with water, so bad weather with rain will not interfere with the collection of roots.
Herbalists recommend not waiting until next year, but harvesting rhizomes in September or October until the overhead shoots die off, so that plants can be easily recognized. In addition, at this time, the seeds will already fall into the soil, and the plant will be able to multiply by seeds after digging the underground part of the bush.
Overhead collection
The leaves, shoots and flowers contain a huge amount of medicinal substances during the onset of full flowering, when it is most advisable to collect nettle for hair and treatment. The formation of flowers and their full opening lasts from June to August, which is why the preparation of the leaves is carried out at this time interval. At a later assembly, the lower leaf blades on the stem fade and dry, and the upper ones become stiff and harmful products of plant vital activity accumulate in them.
To get high-quality dry grass, it is important when to collect nettles. It is usually cut off in dry weather, in the morning, after the dew has dried. Moisture can harm and spoil the plant, which is dried.
Where is better to collect
Nettle grows in almost all European parts of Russia. It can be found in the regions of the Caucasus and the western regions of Siberia, with the exception of the harsh North. As with any plant, nettles have special conditions of existence. For it, moist, fertile soil with shaded areas, for example, the edge of the forest, garden, bushes, riverbanks, ravines, and vacant lots, is suitable.
The easy accessibility and wide distribution of this plant does not allow it to be picked in any places of growth, especially when nettles are collected for the preparation of medicines. An example is plants growing near a road or railway. Dust will settle on such nettles, harmful compounds that are contained in the exhaust gas will accumulate in the leaves.
There will be little benefit from treatment with a contaminated plant, which will cause the opposite effect. Industrial enterprises and their effluents, construction sites, urban landfills, places with excessive radiation or adverse sanitary and epidemiological indicators greatly damage the environment, and the chemical composition of nettles is deteriorating. This is just the case when nettle is not worth collecting. When using such a plant, you can also acquire new diseases.
Collection rules
It should be distinguished when to collect nettles for drying in the winter, and when to use fresh leaves. To harvest dry grass, cut the stems with a sickle or knife. They leave the shoots for a couple of hours to lie down so that the leaves cease to burn the skin, and only then can they be cut off. If there is no time to wait, then use gloves or mittens to protect hands from the burning hairs of the plant.
When collecting nettle for drying is carried out on a large and clean area, it is first mowed, then it is allowed to dry a little, and then the leaf blades are torn off. Thus, you can collect in one day from 70 to 100 kg of raw leaves.
You should choose for preparation not only areas with a large number of plants, but also check the quality of the grass itself. In appearance, you can determine whether it is infected with various parasites or bacterial infections. This plant was especially fond of the butterfly hive. Often insects do not harm the grass, but the excrement left on the leaves makes it unsuitable, especially when you have to collect nettles for treatment. Do not use plants entangled in nets from the web, with yellowed or withered shoots, which is a sign of an unhealthy specimen.
Why use damaged grass when you can collect nettles with powerful stems, even leaves with uniform color and without interspersing.
After digging up rhizomes and roots, large clods of earth are crushed from them. Then, washing with non-hot water is carried out until all dirt is removed, after which all stems are cut with a knife.
If a large amount of raw materials is procured, for washing it is better to take a wicker basket in which the roots are folded. The container is then immersed, then taken out of the reservoir to drain dirty liquid. Do not use hot water for washing, as it can wash useful substances.
Harvesting the roots leads to the complete destruction of the plant. To preserve and further propagate, it is recommended to leave from 10 to 15% of healthy nettle plants. Repeated harvesting in this place can be carried out only after three years.
Drying of raw materials
After digging, the roots are pre-dried on the bag, cutting off the remains of shoots, small roots and rotted parts.
Drying of raw materials is necessary for long-term storage. It helps prevent mold and bacteria from causing damage to plant blanks, especially when you have to collect nettles for hair .
Drying prevents the flow of chemical reactions inside plants, in which drugs decompose.
Drying Methods
The following types of drying of raw materials are distinguished: air shadow drying, air solar drying and thermal drying using artificial heating.
The first option is used for harvesting the aerial parts of plants. The place of drying is well-ventilated rooms or attics, a canopy in dry, windy weather. At night, grass is brought into the room.
The second option with airborne solar drying is used to harvest the root of the plants, so nettle roots are laid out in the sun.
Large rhizomes should be cut into pieces, this will improve the evaporation of moisture. Spread the raw materials in one layer, while 1 time per day it should be turned over. At night, the roots are brought into the room.
Drying time lasts 3-7 days. The end of the leaf harvest can be recognized by the ease of grinding the material, from which the veins easily break.
In the third type of drying, you can harvest any raw materials, it is enough to set the desired temperature.
A well-dried plant can be stored for about two years.
Storage
The quality of raw materials depends on when to collect and how to store nettles. After drying, you should find a good place to store, so that if necessary, the raw materials can be easily used. Improper storage reduces the amount of nutrients and makes the grass unusable.
Usually take dry containers or bags of cloth or paper. Indoor humidity should be low to prevent mold. The container should be marked, just indicate the name of the grass and the time of collection.