How to Dry Nettle Leaves

Harvesting and drying herbs is an inexpensive and sustainable way to add healthy teas and medicinal brews to your lifestyle. Stinging nettle has a long history of use in ancient and alternative medicinal practices. It is prized as a diuretic said to remove toxins from the body. It is also used for eczema, sore muscles and joints, anemia, gout and arthritis, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Shears
Twine
Bowl
Newspaper
Glass jar with tight-fitting lid
Label
Pen

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the nettle stalks down to the ground using a pair of shears. Harvest nettle in the summer when the plants are producing abundant new growth. Cut the stalks in mid-morning on a dry day after any dew and moisture has burned off.
- 2
  Gather the nettle by the stem in bunches 1 to 2 inches around at the stem. Wrap a piece of twine tightly around the stems and tie a loop in the string.
- 3
  Hang the bundles of nettle from a rafter in a warm dry room for one week or until the leaves feel dry and crumbly to the touch.
- 4
  Hold the nettle upside down over a large bowl. Spread newspaper or a drop cloth under the bowl before you begin.
- 5
  Run your hand down over the batch of nettle stripping it from the stalks. Continue until most of the leaves have crumbled away from the stalks. Discard the nettle stalks.
- 6
  Pour the dried nettle leaves into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Label the jar with the harvest date and the herb and store it in cool area where it will be protected from direct sunlight.

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