The dead nettle has bright orange pollen which give the foraging bees an orange stripe on thier heads. This weed is particularly useful to them as that pollen may be in short supply if there are few flowering trees in your area.

Are Stinging nettles good for the garden?

Because it’s rich in nitrogen, this is particularly useful for leafy vegetables like kale, chard and spinach. You can also cut nettles to lay, as they are, around larger plants or shrubby fruits, where they will serve as a valuable mulch. Their high nitrogen content also makes them a natural compost activator.

What's the point of stinging nettles?

The nettle’s sting is an adaptation to provide protection from predators. The sting causes any predator that may eat the plant or uproot it to stay clear.

Are Stinging nettles good for insects?

Stinging nettles are great for wildlife Stinging nettles are known to support at least 40 different insect species, including some of our more familiar and colourful butterflies and less familiar, but equally beautiful, moths.

Do bees like nettle flowers?

Bees like blue, purple, violet and white flowers best, grown in large clumps in a sunny, sheltered spot. They do not like double headed varieties whose nectar and pollen has often been bred out. Wild flowers like dandelions, clover, dead-nettles and alkanet provide welcome food for our urban neighbours.

Do ladybugs eat nettles?

Nettles. Nettles are a favourite egg laying plant for ladybirds and by leaving a patch of nettles to develop in your garden, you will be helping them to increase their numbers, and be able to watch the strange-looking larvae as well.

When should nettles be cut down?

1. It is important to prevent stinging nettles, especially the annual nettles, seeding by cutting down plants in mid-summer, or earlier.
2. In light soils, or where there are isolated clumps, digging out will be effective.

Where should I plant nettles?

Soil – Place your stinging nettle in a spot with moist fertile soil for best results. Sun – Stinging nettles can grow well in full sun or part shade. As mentioned previously, our main patch is thriving in a spot that only gets about 4 hours of direct sunlight in the summer.

Can you put stinging nettles in a compost bin?

Yes! Yes, you can compost nettles. Nettles are considered a natural composting accelerator, especially if you’ve got a “brown“-heavy heap. … Away from composting etc, don’t forget that you can also harvest young nettles for use in the kitchen: they can be wilted like spinach or used to make a herbal tea.

Do horses eat nettles?

Rich in vitamin C, iron, calcium, potassium and dietary fibre, stinging nettles are highly nutritious. Horses won’t eat them when they are growing so cut them, allow them to wilt and then chop them up so you can add them to your horse’s feed.

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What animal eats nettles?

Stinging nettles are great wildlife attractors: caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies use them as foodplants; ladybirds feast on the aphids that shelter among them; and seed-eating birds enjoy their autumn spoils.

Do butterflies like stinging nettles?

‘Nettles are the food plant for the caterpillars of red admiral, small tortoiseshell, painted lady and comma butterflies. ‘It’s important to treat your nettles like any other garden plant if you are growing for the benefit of butterflies. Cut them regularly to get good fresh growth from the nettles. ‘

Do pigs eat nettles?

Having said that, if the nettles are boiled or dried, all breeds of pigs will eat nettles. If stinging nettles are cut and dried and then fed to horses, cows and pigs they will all eat it quite happily in that way. … As long as the sting is removed by either boiling or drying, nettles become palatable to livestock.

Is stinging nettle bad for kidneys?

Older nettle leaves can contain oxalate, which can irritate the kidneys. In one case, a woman developed atropine poisoning after drinking stinging nettle tea that was contaminated with belladonna. One source reports that nettles may raise blood sugar levels.

What plants grow beside nettle?

Crops like Beans, Tomatoes or even Roses will all benefit from a nettle spray to repel aphids. Using the same liquid but added to some comfrey tea makes a superbly powerful organic plant food for free.

What can I plant in April for bees?

• Aconite.
• Evergreen clematis.
• Oregon grape.
• Primrose.
• Strawberry tree.
• Willow.
• Winter-flowering heather.
• Winter-flowering honeysuckle.

Do bees like white dead nettle?

Easy flower for bees Dead nettles (lamiums) are not the same family as stinging nettles – I guess the related names come from them having similar leaf shapes. They don’t sting, and are superb plants for bees.

Is Mallow good for bees?

Prairie Mallow Is A Magnet For Bees. … It’s loved by bumble bees, honey bees, and a good range of solitary bee species. Like many other members of the mallow family, Prairie Mallow is rich in nectar and pollen, and looks lovely in the middle of the border with other plants, or on its own and planted in a large swathe.

Do nettles sting birds?

Nettles are amazing because… If you want a variety of birds and butterflies in your garden, leave a patch of nettles to grow! “A nettle’s sting is like a hypodermic needle. … This bounty of insect prey, in turn, attracts amphibians, hedgehogs and agile woodland birds.

Which butterflies breed on nettles?

Small tortoiseshell, red admiral and peacock butterflies do all lay their eggs on nettles and the caterpillars therefore eat the leaves, plus comma and painted lady will sometimes use them although they have other preferences – comma prefers hops and painted lady, thistles.

What lays eggs on nettles?

Butterflies and moths generally lay their eggs in the centre of a nettle patch so the outer plants will be fine for us to eat. Nettles are incredibly rich in iron, folates and other minerals as well as tasting great when made into a soup.

Do goats eat nettles?

Both sheep and goats will eat nettles but they like them cut first and wilted for a day before doing so.

How do I encourage ladybugs into my garden?

Ladybirds can also be attracted into your garden with pollen-rich blooms. Flat-topped flowers such as yarrow, angelica, fennel and dill are great, along with common companion plants like calendula, sweet alyssum and marigold.

How do you keep ladybugs in your greenhouse?

Ladybugs will eat both insects and pollen, so planting your garden with their food will naturally attract them. If you have a greenhouse and you’re growing in the warmer months, this also means inviting the ladybugs into your greenhouse by keeping screens off and using flowers.

Is nettle water good for plants?

In addition to feeding the soil and roots, you can also spray diluted nettle tea onto a plant’s leaves. When applied as a foliar spray, stinging nettle tea works as a strong insect repellent. The active compounds in stinging nettles are reported to deter aphids, mites, and thrips.

Are nettles beneficial?

Stinging nettle is a nutritious plant popular in Western herbal medicine. Studies suggest that it may reduce inflammation, hay fever symptoms, blood pressure and blood sugar levels — among other benefits.

Is nettle Fertiliser good for tomatoes?

When using nettles as fertilizer, remember that some plants, like tomatoes and roses, do not enjoy the high iron levels in nettle fertilizer. This fertilizer works best on leafy plants and heavy feeders.

Are Nettles poisonous to dogs?

Toxicity to pets This causes erythema (redness), swelling, and intense itching. When ingested, stinging nettle can result in profuse salivation, pawing at the mouth, vomiting, labored breathing, muscle fasciculations (twitching) and ataxia.

Are Nettles invasive?

OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Stinging nettle is considered a weedy, invasive species. It is listed as a noxious weed in several Canadian provinces. Stinging nettle hairs are irritating to human skin, and the pollen is a major contributor to summer hay fever [1].

What time of year do nettles grow?

Common nettle flowers from May to September. Flowering on individual plants is protracted and may last several months. Plants do not flower in their first year.

Is Rosemary good for horses?

Rosemary has been used since ancient times for both its flavor and its medicinal qualities. It is high in vitamin A, B-complex vitamins, folic acid, and vitamin C. It has been used for everything from improving memory to stimulating circulation in the herbal horse.