This post was recovered from an old blog that I had while in college. I’ve only updated misspellings or dead links, but left any cringe worthy things or immature thoughts. I’ve decided to leave them as a snapshot of who I was and to see how far I’ve come. Any photos have been freshly edited and so are not the same as what was originally posted. Over the years I had several blogs, most lost to time, and I wanted to recover some lost memories and reflect on my life.

pring is such a wonderful season. The days start tending towards sun rather than rain. People come out of their houses and meet once again across the city in farmers markets, bar patios, and impromptu BBQ’s. Oh and plants bloom, throwing me into high frequency sneezing fits. So after a particularly bad week filled with snot running down my face and lots of school work I knew I needed something to combat my allergies. In the past I’ve used the typical drugs that you always see commercials for. They would work for a couple weeks and then lose their potency. I decided to go the natural route.

I’d read a few years back that stinging nettle contains histamine and that if picked and used to make a tea would reduce my allergy symptoms. I also remembered being warned at various points throughout my life while hiking to watch out for stinging nettle, as like the name implies it can give one hell of a sting. I did some research online about how to pick them, in what type of habitat they could be found, and how to prepare them. It turns out that I was just in time as nettle season is coming to a close.

Nettles should be picked when around a foot tall as this is when they are most tinder and least bitter. They can still be used when taller, but once they flower they should not be picked and eaten or ingested. Yes you can also eat nettles. I’ve found various recipes, mostly as a substitute for spinach, but one for pesto that looks delicious. Apparently nettles contain, in addition to histamine, calcium, magnesium, iron, and the vitamin alphabet (A, B, C, D, K). These minerals also make nettles good as a fertilizer. What a useful plant!

One sunny Wednesday after school I drove hurriedly over to Minto-Brown Park in Salem. I had my rubber boots, garden gloves, long sleeve fleece, jeans, and a plastic grocery bag. I was prepared to hunt for some nettles. I began crashing through the brush looking for damp areas in which nettles like to grow. I wasn’t having much luck unless you count being poked by hundreds of blackberry thorns. Then I saw a lone nettle, or what I thought was a nettle. I tried touching it with a bare finger to see if it stung (please don’t do this), but it didn’t. I decided to take it anyway and check later to see if it was a nettle.

Twenty minutes later I emerged onto a paved pathway with a single spring of plant in my bag. I was feeling a bit disappointed when a passerby asked if I was hunting mushrooms. I told him what I was doing and he got excited and told me there was a big nettle patch around the corner JUST OFF THE PATH! He was an older gentleman and was walking with a bunch of younger kids (high school aged) and so I asked what he was up to. They were out on a field trip and he was a biology teacher. “Click.” On went the light bulb. “Hey do you mind telling me if this is a nettle?” I asked hoping for an affirmative. “Yup that’s one. I’ve eaten them a few times. Yeah just head right around that corner and look on your left, there’s a bunch” He said. I thanked him and strode off elated by my luck and correct identification of the nettle.

What a wondrous patch of nettles it was. Chest high plants were all around me in a 20-foot radius. They weren’t a foot tall, but they weren’t flowering so I simply picked off the first 3 sets of leaves. I needed an allergy medicine and I didn’t care if it was bitter or not. In less than 10 minutes I had filled my bag and I didn’t get a single sting!

Back home I rinsed all the nettles off and dehydrated most of them. There was enough left to make a single batch of pesto so I threw it in the freezer for a another day. Since picking the nettles a week ago I’ve been drinking my tea about once a day. I started off slow at first, drinking a half cup or so, to make sure I didn’t have any negative reactions. The taste is earthy, but very mild and not bitter at all. The answer is yes it does seem to be helping with my allergies. I still have a bit of a runny nose, but I haven’t sneezed much or been congested. I’ve been enjoying the sunny springtime we’ve had as of late. Hooray for nettles!