Nettle Tea
- Thread starter DocLeaf
- Start date
When i find Tooth Fairies & Father Xmas in a post i know i`m smoking the good stuff 
With the nettle tea i feed once a week & once a month (3 times in a veg season) i also use either a bit of bonemeal or fish/blood/bone tea .
My grow plot is an old Brownfield site & has very little soil over rubble clay etc so have to grow in pots , 1 thing i do is add a few pints of diluted Nettle tea to my water crystals & place these in the lower half of the pots (40-60ltr pots) by the time the roots reach the crystals the plant is able to feed off these with no problems .
Interesting bit regarding Bracken as a flower fert because i can get a lot of that , must admit it`s a new one on me . Comfrey is`nt really an option in the amount i need every year . I normally use an organic Tomato feed but would prefer to make my own .
All the plants shown are either just coming into flower or very close & all fed on nettle tea , & seeing as the photos cut some of the plant off they are a lot bigger than shown . Indica x`s , Mendocino Madness & i think Biddy .
edit ; i just reaised i did not make it clear that these plants were from a previous season & not grown this year .
With the nettle tea i feed once a week & once a month (3 times in a veg season) i also use either a bit of bonemeal or fish/blood/bone tea .
My grow plot is an old Brownfield site & has very little soil over rubble clay etc so have to grow in pots , 1 thing i do is add a few pints of diluted Nettle tea to my water crystals & place these in the lower half of the pots (40-60ltr pots) by the time the roots reach the crystals the plant is able to feed off these with no problems .
Interesting bit regarding Bracken as a flower fert because i can get a lot of that , must admit it`s a new one on me . Comfrey is`nt really an option in the amount i need every year . I normally use an organic Tomato feed but would prefer to make my own .
All the plants shown are either just coming into flower or very close & all fed on nettle tea , & seeing as the photos cut some of the plant off they are a lot bigger than shown . Indica x`s , Mendocino Madness & i think Biddy .
edit ; i just reaised i did not make it clear that these plants were from a previous season & not grown this year .
Last edited:
NUG-JUG
Member
Nettles aren't too abundant here since it's so dry. The ones that are around are puny and tucked away in the mountains. I want to grow them but in the meantime I'm planning on using alfalfa instead. Can I use alfalfa meal from the feed store with the same technique that DARC MIND does?
yes, alfalfa is a good replacement if you dont have nettles, use the same technique. just make sure its ONLY ALFALFA and not alfalfa with minerals( added salts). organic alfalfa is worth the extra cost. figure 12-20$ for a 50 lb bag, a 50 lb bag will last most well over a year.
Hi jaybush , i`m not sure wether you mean how old the plants are b4 i start to feed or how long into the season i stop using veg fert (nettle) .
I start feeding when the plants have 2 true sets of leaf (early/mid may) & then go on to flower feed late july/early august . I sometimes carry on with veg feed even if the plants are showing a small amount of flower & as you know some plants are earlier or later . This still gets me a good flower growth right through to the end of the season .
1st pic Nettle Tea is the young/early nettles with a fair amount of soft stem , heavy green colour .
2nd pic is the later nettles using ONLY leaf as the stems are a bit harder . With this drum i have a dirty white crust on the water , looks a bit like fat floating so i just stir it up to break it . Dark green/brown colour .
I make up enough to give me around 900+ gals diluted as all the garden is fed with it . I do not use a flower feed on my veg apart from the Toms so Comfrey may be the answer but i`m not sure i can find the room in the garden to grow enough of it that`s why i was interested in the Bracken as it`s unlimited not far from me . Will have to find some more info on it , anyone out there got some imformative links as a long web search has`nt turned anything up yet regarding flower ferts .
Stay green .
ps , i just remembered someone asked about organic bug sprays . i will try & find some info i read a while back on Tomato leaves as i know when processed into a spray all bugs hate it .
Cool, going to have to try this WITH Alfalfa
@ buying Nettles... How many tons do ya want?
I've been really interested in the various Fermented Vegetarian nutes lately. Floralicious Plus etc. Have had good results with several vegy type nutes.
Came across another lately (name escapes me atm) but it had a similar "Au Jus concentrate" type smell as FL+, but something else that made me think of Soy Sauce & it's fermentation process. Mentioned it to a couple buddies over some pints yesterday too.
Going to be looking into that some more this week for some possible fermentation ideas?
cheers
@ buying Nettles... How many tons do ya want?
I've been really interested in the various Fermented Vegetarian nutes lately. Floralicious Plus etc. Have had good results with several vegy type nutes.
Came across another lately (name escapes me atm) but it had a similar "Au Jus concentrate" type smell as FL+, but something else that made me think of Soy Sauce & it's fermentation process. Mentioned it to a couple buddies over some pints yesterday too.
Going to be looking into that some more this week for some possible fermentation ideas?
cheers
jay, doc, and badger thanks for the very useful information on the teas. I only know a little about aerobic teas (ACCT correct?) and have used them with great success.
Recently i found out that there are huge fields of nettles growing not far from me and this thread has inspired me to try making some nettle tea. A few questions though...
How long will the tea be good for if stored? Is it possible or advisable to store it? I see the excellent results you guys are getting, so my next questions seems a bit misplaced. Since it is an anaerobic process are there any harmful alcohols generated? If so, then is nettle tea only an option for outdoor plants or is as good for indoor plants.
Great thread.
Recently i found out that there are huge fields of nettles growing not far from me and this thread has inspired me to try making some nettle tea. A few questions though...
How long will the tea be good for if stored? Is it possible or advisable to store it? I see the excellent results you guys are getting, so my next questions seems a bit misplaced. Since it is an anaerobic process are there any harmful alcohols generated? If so, then is nettle tea only an option for outdoor plants or is as good for indoor plants.
Great thread.
Thanks are they out now?
just so everyone knows, if you have big patches near by, nettles make AMAZING compost. you can also dry them in the shade, grind to a powder and store for well over a year. use the powder as top dressings like you would guano, make liquid teas, amend in the soil. if your hardcore you can make rope with the stems and tie up your plants with heavy buds lol
yes spring and early summer is the best time to collect them, if you go early spring and collect the tops only ( like topping a cannabis plant) you can come back every 2 weeks for fresh growth. late summer is the best time to collect seed so you can grow your own.
PS: this plant is eatable and nutritious! do some research for not only your plants but yourself. i guarantee you both will benefit from nettles( when eating go for the fresh growth tips of young plants)
yes spring and early summer is the best time to collect them, if you go early spring and collect the tops only ( like topping a cannabis plant) you can come back every 2 weeks for fresh growth. late summer is the best time to collect seed so you can grow your own.
PS: this plant is eatable and nutritious! do some research for not only your plants but yourself. i guarantee you both will benefit from nettles( when eating go for the fresh growth tips of young plants)
once you strain out the plant matter( strain well) you can store the liquid concentrate in glass jars( at least thats what i do over winter) i have used stored teas that were over a year old with good results.
yes this is an anaerobic process, but don't be afraid, anaerobes have a purpose too! nettle tea made from nettle roots has been shown to reduce/fight pathogenic fungi in the soil.
if using indoors i would suggest drying and storing the nettle powder, and making a fresh weak tea that you dont need to dilute as much often so you bypass the smell part of long fermentation. or just amending or top dressing the dry powder and eliminate the liquid all together.
