[Regia-NA] Nettles, etc.

[Jan Ward]

Stinging nettles have been used as a pot-herb as well
as for fiber. They are gathered when young, using
gloves, and boiled in several changes of water to
remove the alkaloids. I would think you'd also remove
a lot of the vitamin content, but by spring you were
probably so tired of carrots and turnips an cabbage
that anything green to eat would have been welcomed.
I don't know if boiling would affect the nettle fiber.
Perhaps a number of rettings in changes of water would
be sufficient. Nettle is supposed to be a strong, fine
white fiber. You can get seeds for Urtica dioca from
Richters Herbs in Canada. Also seeds for flax, and
most medieval dye plants. 
Woad cannot be grown in California, because it's
classed as a noxious weed. I did get a few plants from
a friend's pasture to try some woad dyeing. Tried both
the traditional method and the modern chemical
version. Got a rather disappointing greenish blue from
the chemical version, and buried the traditional
experiment. Whew!!!  
Edwinna

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