Nettles & Chickweed Oh My!

Last year we created a little garden to sit this red buddha statue in that Danny has had for years. Beside it we planted a Contorted Filbert (very cool plant!). Other than those things and a couple thyme plants I really had no plans for this garden. I was so surprised and happy when I went out today and saw the huge patches of dead nettle and chickweed! I know these are weeds and can be hard to control, but I appreciate each of them for their medicinal and edible properties.

I pulled a few of them up to use and there were so many worms underneath. Worms are a gardener's friend!

The soil in this bed now looks rich and dark, much better than any other area in the yard. I wish the veggie garden soil looked so good! But right now, it is a mess. There is lots to do before we can plant and I'm not too sure winter is finished with us yet :(

Chickweed is pretty easy to identify by its tiny white flowers and growth habit. It grows in thick clumps or mats. The leaves are oval in shape. Though there are different kinds of chickweed, they look very similar to one another. Nutrient rich chickweed can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in soup. Just make sure you are 100% positive of its identification before eating any wild plant!

The type of nettle I found today is purple dead nettle. 

Nettles are huge garden helpers:

1) Add fresh nettle to your compost pile- nettle makes an excellent activator because of its readily available nitrogen content

2) Make Nettle Manure Tea to fertilize your plants by packing about 2 pounds of fresh nettle, gathered in the spring, to a bucket and adding a gallon of water. Leave this for 2 to 3 weeks. Be sure to stir it occasionally. After letting it sit 2-3 weeks, strain the liquid from the nettles. Put the used nettles in your compost pile.  Before using your manure tea, dilute it to the strength of 1 cup of fertilizer to 10 cups water.

A really fun thing to have in your garden is hens and chicks, the plant. Hens and chicks plants are mat-forming succulents that produce clusters of rosettes. The parent rosettes are the "hens," and the smaller rosettes that spring from them are the "chicks" or "chickens."  These are must haves for tiny pots, shoes and other small garden containers. They will multiply continuously and you can share them with friends and family. I keep mine on the porch during the winter and they do just fine here in Ohio. When there isn't a danger of frost or freezing I sit them out in the sun. As far as I know they have no medicinal or edible properties but they sure are cute!