Allotments 4 All

Do nettles sting harder as the year wears on!?!?!?!  Pulled up a large clump today - roots and all thanks to the rain, but foolishly removed my gloves to empty the bucket into the compost, and brushed the whole clump across my hands!  I could have cried, well it did bring a tear to my eye, and it still hurts now!  I have pulled masses of nettles up since taking on the allotment almost a year ago, but I don't think any have hurt me the way these did!  >:(

i'm not sure, the litle ones seem quite potent also. Was weeding the other day and saw a nettle, 3 leaves only and about  3-4 inches  high.

But what a sting!!!!!  :o :o

wonder how people cope eating the stuff (and that woman who made clothes out of it)

Mmmm nettle soup, yummy, and no it doesn't sting (but it does smell bizarrely of fish!).

Ten x

Think I have read somewhere that they are looking at nettles and arthritis....something to do with the sting taking the pain away?

Yeah right, you're so busy worrying about the pain from the sting you forget about your aching joints!

I've got a little patch of nettles in the garden which I am cultivating to use in my home made soaps. Once the nettles are cooked they no longer sting, the heat destroys the sting.

Don't know about if the sting is worse if they're bigger but what about the more times you're stung the worst it affects you? You know how some allergies get worse the more times you're exposed to the trigger ingredient.

Son's Korean wife found out about nettles the hard way!  She was less than impressed with the dock-leaf treatment.  

I'm sure it was something our mums said just to shut us up, dock leaf never worked for me either. :D

Ouch I sat on one

Stung on the bum eh? hope you were wearing your dungarees, not shorts.

Dock leaf works for me -used it the other day.