Patricia gets a lot of ideas for cool permaculture projects from El Guardian de la Tierra, a YouTube channel created by Lander, a resident of Mallorca and self-professed adicto al permacultura.
A few weeks ago, while I continued to plane and sand boards for the tool shed, she went over to the one of the abandoned yards where she saw a mass of ortiga, stinging nettle, to start preparing some homemade plant fertilizer.
The whole process takes about one-two weeks. Filtering the blanched nettle is a bit unpleasant for the smell, but now we have ten liters of concentrate, which is diluted and used on plants for fertilizer, insect repellent, and fungicide.
Deanna from Homestead and Chill wrote up her process:
Fresh stinging nettle leaves are loaded with high concentrations of vitamins A, C, D, E, F, K, P, and vitamin B-complexes, as well as large amounts of minerals including calcium, selenium, zinc, iron, magnesium and more. As a leafy green, stinging nettle is also high in nitrogen, chlorophyll, and plant polyphenols – all of which bolster plant health and stimulate growth. Plant polyphenols in particular are potent antioxidants, fight cancer, and boost the immune system.
While plants may not get arthritis or cancer in the same way humans do, plants do have an immune system – and can get sick! Therefore, the same compounds that make nettle awesome for human health provide many of the same benefits to plants. For example, plants treated with stinging nettle fertilizer are less susceptible to certain diseases due to nettles’ anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Plants with a strong immune system are also less negatively impacted by pests or stress, such as drought, heat, or other unfavorable conditions.
The concentrate should be good for about sixth months.
What other plants or leaves or weeds can be used if there’s no nettle plants where I live?
Hi Linda,
Good question! I’ll ask around and look for alternatives.
Buenos Dias. I just found your blog via an article about you both in La Voz. We are two Americans who just bought a small farm near O Coto in Palas de Rei. We moved up from Valencia in May and have big plans for the property. I am thrilled to find your blog and to learn more about your sustainable farming/gardening practices. We are late to plant this year but are hoping to live mostly off what we produce within a few years. Incorporating wind and solar power. I’ll be following along.
Hi Kelli. Thanks for reading! Your plans for your property sound very exciting. How has the transition from Valencia to Galicia been?
We were also a bit late to plant but we wanted to do something for Year 0, at the very least prepare the soil for a better spring next year.