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  • From: "Miranda Smith" <mirandas2 AT attbi.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Nettles and more
  • Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 06:58:30 -0400


Re lots of different posts:

Pick nettles with good gloves--they do hurt. Curly dock rubbed over
the affected area is supposed to quell the sting, but it doesn't work
too well. Incidently, even though the poison in the hairs is more
closely allied to the formic acid in ants, it works as bee stings do.
It stimulates the body to produce cortisone, so it's worth trying if
you have any arthritis. But gingerly--just get a brush on your hand to
start and build up from there. It worked on a wrist that was giving me
trouble.

Secondly, the lime green bugs--very pretty--are nymphs of squash bugs.
The eggs, equally pretty, are bronze and laid down in rows on leaf
undersides. They are hard-shelled; you need to cut out that portion of
the leaf rather than try to squash them.

And finally--yes, I agree that growers are better off selling to a
local market and not bothering with certification. However, we're not
in that position--our local supermarkets demand it and we do get
something of a premium for it from other buyers. Also, we don't use
manure and never would--compost is not manure.

As for our manure tea, we don't use a machine. I make it the
time-honored way of suspending a permeable bag (old pillowcases work
well) of good compost in a bucket of water. Use the tea after it's
about five days old. After 10 days, it's a liquid fertilizer, not a
disease suppressive.

Miranda Smith




  • Nettles and more, Miranda Smith, 07/30/2002

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