When to collect nettles and how to store it correctly?

For a long time nettle was considered a healing herb, which relieved people of many diseases and ensures the beauty of the body. In addition, the plant is used to prepare all kinds of dishes. It is important to know when to collect nettles and how to harvest it properly.

Beneficial features

Our grannies and great-grandmothers knew about the beneficial properties of the burning plant. Scientists have carefully studied the composition and properties of this drug culture. It was found that Nettle is rich in various microelements and vitamins.

The mineral composition includes iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, iodine, chromium, sodium and copper ions. The presence of vitamin K helps prevent bleeding. With regular use of decoction from the leaves of nettle, immunity increases, the work of the gastrointestinal tract and the female gonads is normalized, metabolic processes and interferon production are stimulated, the blood sugar level decreases, and the walls of the vessels are strengthened.

Roots, leaves and seeds are used to make all kinds of cosmetic products for face and hair care.

What parts of the plant are harvested

Many people are tormented by the question, when it is necessary to collect nettles, so that as much useful substances as possible accumulate in it? To answer it, you first need to clarify which part of the plant needs to be harvested. Useful substances are contained both in underground and aboveground organs. The first include rhizomes with roots, to the second are the leaves, stems, flowers and seeds.

When collecting the above-ground part, it is important that the plant has large leaves. This will allow to collect in a short period of time more green stuff.

For harvesting rhizomes and roots, one should choose powerful plants, which have high, thick shoots and broad leaves on the stems. The larger the bush, the more developed the root system, so you can dig more raw materials.

The period for the preparation of the roots of the nettle

The content of useful substances, depending on the season and the phase of development of the plant, can vary. Therefore, you need to find out when it is better to collect nettles, or rather its underground organs with the maximum number of useful components in their composition.

Usually, the highest concentration of active substances is found in mature plants after flowering and ripening of seeds and before the buds swell in early spring. It is autumn and early spring before the movement of the juice are the periods when it is possible to harvest nettle for root treatment in any weather.

For digging up rhizomes and roots it is better to use a garden shovel, which is immersed at an angle to the soil 10 cm from the bush. First, do a slight shaking with a shovel, and then pull out the whole earthen lump on the surface.

After digging, the material to be harvested will still have to be washed with water, so bad weather with rain will not interfere with the collection of rootlets.

Herbalists are advised not to wait until next year, and harvest rhizomes in September or October before the death of the above-ground shoots, so that plants can be easily recognized. In addition, at this time the seeds will already fall into the soil, and the plant will be able to multiply by seeds after digging out the underground part of the bush.

Gathering of the above-ground part

Leaves, shoots and flowers contain a huge amount of medicinal substances during the onset of full flowering, when it is most expedient to collect nettles for hair and treatment. The formation of flowers and their full opening lasts from June to August, which is why the leaves are prepared in this time interval. At later assembly, the lower leaf blades on the stem wither and dry up, and the upper ones become rigid and accumulate harmful products of the plant's vital activity.

To obtain quality dry grass it is important when collecting nettle. Usually it is cut off in dry weather, in the morning, after dew drying. Moisture can damage and damage a plant that is exposed to drying.

Where better to collect

Nettle grows in virtually all European parts of Russia. It can be found in the regions of the Caucasus and the western regions of Siberia, with the exception of the Severe North. As for any plant, nettles have special conditions of existence. It is suitable for wet, fertile soil with shaded areas, for example, forest edge, garden, bushes, river banks, ravines and wastelands.

Easy accessibility and wide distribution of this plant does not allow to disrupt it in any places of growth, especially when it is necessary to collect nettles for preparation of medicines. An example can serve as a plant growing near an automobile or railway. On such nettles, dust will accumulate, accumulate in the leaves harmful compounds that are contained in the exhaust gas.

The benefits of treating a contaminated plant will be small, which will have the opposite effect. Industrial enterprises and their drains, construction sites, urban landfills, places with inflated radiation or unfavorable sanitary and epidemiological indicators strongly spoil the environment, and the chemical composition of nettle is deteriorating. This is just the case when nettles should not be collected. When you use this plant, you can buy more and new diseases.

The rules for collecting

It should be distinguished when collecting nettles for drying for the winter, and when to use fresh leaves. For the preparation of dry grass, the stems are cut using a sickle or knife. Leave the shoots for a couple of hours to lie down, so that the leaves cease to burn the skin, and only then they can be cut off. If there is no time to wait, then gloves or mittens are used to protect the hands from the burning hairs of the plant.

When collecting nettles for drying is brought to a large and clean area, it is first mowed, then allowed to dry a little, and then pluck the leaf blades. Thus, you can collect in a day from 70 to 100 kg of raw leaves.

You should choose to prepare not only lots with lots of plants, but also check the quality of the grass itself. In appearance, you can determine whether it is infected with various parasites or bacterial infections. Particularly fond of this plant is a butterfly hives. Often, insects do not harm the grass, but leaves on the leaves make it unusable, especially when you need to collect nettles for treatment. Do not use plants, entangled networks of cobwebs, with yellowed or faded shoots, which is a sign of an unhealthy specimen.

Why use damaged grass when it is possible to harvest nettle with powerful stems, even leaves with even color and without inclusions.

After digging up the rhizome and roots, large clods of earth are wiped off from them. Then, flushing with non-flammable water until all dirt is removed, and then cutting off all the stems with a knife.

If a large quantity of raw materials is harvested, it is better to take a wicker basket for washing, into which roots are added. Capacity is then immersed, then removed from the reservoir to drain the dirty liquid. For washing do not use hot water, as it can wash useful substances.

Harvesting the roots leads to the complete destruction of the plant. For preservation and further reproduction, it is recommended to leave 10 to 15% of healthy nettle plants. Repeated harvesting in this place can be carried out only after three years.

Drying of raw materials

After digging, the roots are pre-dried on a sack, cutting off the remains of shoots, small roots and decayed parts.

Drying of raw materials is necessary for long-term storage. It helps to prevent the appearance of mold and bacteria, causing damage to plant blanks, especially when you need to collect nettle for your hair .

Drying inhibits the flow of chemical reactions within plants, in which the medicinal substances decompose.

Methods of drying

The following types of drying of raw materials are distinguished: air shadow drying, air solar drying and heat drying using artificial heating.

The first option is used for harvesting the aerial parts of plants. The place of drying is well ventilated rooms or attics, canopy in dry, windy weather. At night, the grass is brought into the room.

The second variant with air solar drying is used for harvesting the root part of plants, so the roots of nettle are laid out in the sun.

Large rhizomes should be cut into pieces, this will improve the evaporation of moisture. Lay the raw materials in one layer, with it being turned once a day. At night, the roots are brought into the room.

The drying time lasts 3-7 days. The end of the preparation of the leaves can be recognized by the ease of rubbing the material, in which the veins are easily broken.

With the third kind of drying, you can prepare any raw material, just set the desired temperature.

A well-dried plant can be stored for about two years.

Storage

The quality of raw materials depends on when to collect and how to store nettle. After drying, you should find a good place to store, so that if necessary, the raw materials can be easily used. Improper storage reduces the amount of nutrients and makes the grass unsuitable for use.

Usually take dry containers or bags of cloth or paper. The humidity in the room should be low to prevent the development of mold. The container should be marked, it is sufficient to indicate the name of the grass and the time of collection.