Welcome to the Nurture podcast/ blog.

Let’s create the beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

Ginger Edwards Ginger Edwards

Communitea Resilience Guide for COVID 19

First, wherever you are reading this I hope you, your family, and loved ones are safe. Brigham and I are staying put on the coast and working on growing our medicinal herbs and tea blends for this spring. We’re prepared to stick to the farm for the next 4-6 weeks, or as long as needed to help stop the spread of this virus.

I am hoping this blog post will help to:

  1. Tune into the resilient and nurture culture things that are happening right now .

  2. Share resources that can help you or someone you know get through this safely.

  3. Get grounded so you can help stop the spreading of stress, fear, panic, and anxiety. 

This is an unprecedented moment in history and one that people will be reflecting back on for generations to come. Let’s make it the story of how we all stayed in our hearts, helped each other through, shared resources and decided together to create a healthier more equitable and peaceful world going forward. Peace begins with a healthy, and calm YOU. Your energy now has a powerful effect on those around you. The deeper we ground into our mental, emotional, and physical self-care, the more resilient we will stay. And the more resilient we stay, the stronger we’ll be for our families, friends, coworkers, and community at large. 

“And The People Stayed Home

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”

- Kitty O'Meara

Not every section below will apply to your situation. Take what works for you and leave the rest. I borrowed this whole format from MarieForleo.com (one of my fave coaches) and added to it with things that inspire me and I find useful so please check out her website for lots more info and guidance!

Herbal Resources

The DragonTree Apothecary and Dr. Peter Borton video blogs on COVID 19

Vital Ways Herbal School Page on COVID 19

Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine Immunity pages

Recipe and Home Cooking Resources

The Smitten Kitchen

Real Food Outlaws

New York Times Cooking

The Minimalist Baker

Oregon Businesses Help and Support

COMMUNICATION MATERIAL:

In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Governor Brown released an Executive Order “Stay Home, Save Lives” on March 23. This new policy orders Oregonians to stay in their homes whenever possible and includes stronger language around approved activities and business operations.

Check the  Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 page daily for new messages, new social tiles as well as social tiles that have been translated in eight languages.

BUSINESS RESOURCES & ASSISTANCE:

RESOURCES FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION:  

TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS: 

  • Travel Oregon’s Travel Alerts

  • Check the CDC for countries with current travel restrictions

How To Manage Coronavirus-Related Stress, Fear & Anxiety

Here are some Marie Forleo TV episodes on fear, stress, and anxiety that will help you cultivate a calmer, stronger, healthier mental state.

If you’re struggling with the negativity around you, watch:

Stressed out about life, kids, money, work, health and… everything? Watch:

Virtual therapy/counseling:

Meditation apps:

Funny, Inspiring, and Feel-Good Responses During the Coronavirus

Did you know that research shows laughing is proven to reduce stress and improve your immune system? 

Here are some IG posts that are brightening my day:

If you’re looking for feel-good accounts to follow, here are some great resources:

How to Stay Active & Keep Exercising Without The Gym 

Staying physically active and getting regular workouts is critical right now. Working out keeps your immune system strong and your state of mind clear, calm, and stress free. I cannot stress the importance of staying active and strong enough! Here are a few resources to make sure you stay moving.

  • DownDog App has made all their apps completely free until April 1st. You can choose from hundreds of at-home yoga, HIIT, Barre, and 7-minute workouts. 

  • Glo is offering free online yoga, meditation and pilates workouts to help deal with anxiety.

  • Fitness Marshall is my favorite dance fitness guru on youtube!

  • Yoga with Adriene offers amazing free yoga classes on YouTube, and is welcoming to all abilities and body types.

  • This article from Glamour lists 31 of the best free fitness apps to try.

  • Ryan Heffington, a well-known dance choreographer in LA, is leading scheduled dance parties on IG Live for folks who are quarantined.

How to Educate & Entertain Kids That Are Suddenly In Your House — All The Time!

Here are some at-home learning resources and activities:

When in doubt, turn to YouTube! There are channels for:

Social distancing during coronavirus doesn’t have to mean total isolation or feeling lonely. Technology offers countless ways to stay connected to your family, friends, and community.

  • NextDoor has quickly become an essential way to connect with your neighbors while you’re hunkering down inside. You can connect with others, check in on the vulnerable around you, and if you have extra supplies or an essential that someone else needs, you can drop them at your neighbor’s door. 

  • Facetime, Skype, and Zoom hangouts: sounds obvious I know. But most of my dearest friends and family do not live in the same place. We have coffee dates, lunches and hangout time regularly. 

  • Netflix Parties. This Chrome plugin lets you watch your favorite Netflix show in tandem with friends, making you feel like you’re at a slumber party from the comfort of your own home.  

  • Take a virtual field trip! Watch sea animals at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, go on a tour of the Louvre, explore Yellowstone National Park, or hop on over to the Van Gogh museum.

  • This is a fantastic blog post written by a cancer survivor who spent nearly 9 months self-isolating last year and has some great tips on how to stay happy, healthy, and connected to the people you love.

Ways to Serve Your Community During the Coronavirus

At a time like this, we must keep the most vulnerable top of mind. Lots of communities have been hit extremely hard and we need to offer all the help we can. (And if you’re one of the people who needs assistance, please tell us in the comments how we can help. We’ll continue to update this blog post with resources as we get them.)

  • Donate to your local food bank. If possible, money is better than groceries. Why? Because local food banks can often buy food in bulk, helping them purchase more food at lower prices.  

  • Keep paying people if you can. Can you keep paying your kid’s daycare or house cleaner? Or if not the full rate, perhaps a portion?

  • Post on Nextdoor offering to do grocery shopping for those in your neighborhood who are at-risk.

  • Buy gift cards from local businesses to support them now while they’re strained or at risk of closing for good. 

  • Support your artists. Patreon held a Weird Stream-a-thon to raise money for artists financially affected by Covid-19. You can contribute to this fundraiser via PayPal here, or apply to receive support here.

  • Help out your local farmers by joining a CSA or ordering meat and dairy for delivery from a local producer. The closing of restaurants has hit farms hard and they are having trouble paying for labor during spring planting season. also: You could order teas from your local herb farm- hint hint.

Many thanks again to Marie Forleo and Travel Oregon for parts of this list. I have added my 2 cents and will keep adding resources as I come across them! Please do let me know in the comments if you have found a resource online that has inspired or helped you and I will be happy to add it here. We will get through this thing together! Sending so much love to you from our farm and retreat on the Oregon coast.

Drink tea. Be well!

love Ginger

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Love reclaimed

It’s the day before Valentine’s Day. I feel called to write this for all the Valentine’s Days that I felt disappointed or sad or just like a loser because I wasn’t having the experience I saw on TV or in movies. I didn’t have flowers and chocolates or a candle lit romantic dinner.

I had real life. Which meant working all day and coming home tired or having a boyfriend that is too broke to do anything or being single and just pretending to not care about any of it. This year I’m married and my husband is attending school in Portland all day tomorrow so I won’t see him at all. And…. I’m fine with it.

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I realized somewhere along the way that love isn’t what happens to us on one day of the year or on a picture perfect date. It’s not exclusive to partnership either and doesn’t always look pretty or smell like roses. Love can be messy and confusing. Love is being broke and single and tired. Love is being married and working to put your partner through school. Love is taking care of yourself. It’s walking your dog. It’s recycling. It’s working through childhood issues. It’s letting go of judgement in a fight. It’s deciding to forgive yourself and move on.

Love is the ultimate power we share with all of life. The urge to create, to heal, to comfort, to nurture, to hold and protect, to inspire and to hope. It is the most human and also the most universal of energies. It is the reason we keep getting up in the morning no matter if it’s February 14th or if there is a heart shaped box of chocolates waiting for us from a secret admirer.

This year I have the urge to start reclaiming all the traditional American holidays and making them work for me instead of me getting worked up about not attaining some level of holiday perfection. Not that I’m particularly mad at sending cards or heart shaped candies. I do like Valentine’s Day in theory- but it’s time to run it through a nurture culture filter where we keep what we like and then design something better with the rest.

At North Fork 53 we held Hatsugama (first tea of the New Year) on January 1st because it felt like such a healing and honoring ceremony for our lives here on a tea farm. So repurposing Valentine’s Day for LOVE in my way will look different than yours. I encourage you to think about what fits your life, needs and style. We are all different and our hearts need different ways to express themselves. It’s less about how it’s done and more about intention shift. Most importantly it’s about not feeling constrained by rituals of a holiday that hasn’t evolved with our shifting culture and world.

What could Valentine’s Day reclaimed look like for nurture culture 2020?

For me I will be alone. My husband is in Massage School in Portland won’t be home until late that evening or the next morning. So I have time to think about how I want to honor LOVE in my own way. Honestly I do better loving him than I do myself so it’s more of a challenge to think of love not as romance but as deep nurturance. This is the most profound form of love. At our core we want to be cared for, acknowledged, seen and supported for the imperfect humans we all are. To LOVE another is to do this for them and to be LOVED is to be able to receive in return. It’s also the nature of LOVE to not get it right and to flounder, forgive, and try again. The challenge is to keep on LOVING through all of it.

Valentine’s Day in it’s commercialized form has taken this massive elemental mystical life experience and turned it into a narrow and exclusive club. It’s like taking the entire ocean and presenting it as one very expensive bottle of designer salt water that is only worthwhile if someone else buys it as a gift for you.

LOVE is the ocean. It’s the blood in our veins. It’s our birthright. It’s never not with us and we are never incapable of being loved or of loving. It of course starts with our own self. For as RuPaul so famously says “If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”

So the parts I’m keeping.

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Sending cards to express LOVE. We don’t create letters or works of art that move through the physical mail much these days. Making handmade Valentine’s is now a rare act of self expression and caring in a world of emails and texts. Also who doesn’t like getting a Valentine in the mail? Send to everyone who you can think of who could use some LOVE. Use valentines not as a popularity contest in school but as a way for kids to learn to express LOVE in art and words with the world around them.

Chocolate. Yes. Cacao is powerful euphoric heart opening plant medicine. I’m not talking about Hershey’s. We have been cheated into thinking sugar and chemicals = chocolate. Not so. Dark chocolate in its pure form benefits the mind, body and spirit. Take cacao for the medicine it is and it’s good brain healing for this dark and cold time of the season. Herbal elixirs of rose, cacao, chili and vanilla can remind us how elevating real heart tonic can be.

Flowers. It’s February so it’s not bloom season for where I live in Northern Oregon. There may be a stray branch of flowering quince or an early daffodil or camellia blossom but for the most part spring is still a month off. I choose ditching imported roses for a colorful feast of red winter beets, glistening purple cabbage and red ruffled kale or making a bouquet of early spring branches with their new budding beauty to gift to yourself or to a friend/love.

Romance. If you happened to be partnered this can be fun but more often than not the pressure of getting it right just turns it into a performance rather than a good time. Romance mostly equals putting care and thought into something rather than money. It’s romantic to make a good meal and to sit and have a deep conversation. It’s romantic to give yourself time for a long bath or to read a great book. It’s romantic to listen, to believe in someone’s vision, to give your energy to a passionate cause. Let’s broaden the definition of romance to include deep attention, presence and creativity.

Nurture Culture will mean different things to each individual person. Perhaps what nurtures me and my creative soul is not what nurtures yours. Let this Valentine’s Day be about listening to your own heart to find out what makes it shine brighter. The main thing to remember is that we can create the world we want to live in. We are not losing if we do not match up with the imagery and expectations that are handed to us from the media and marketing agencies. We are also not losing if we do adore everything Valentines it makes us happy as is. We get to choose what we want to celebrate and how. If we choose LOVE we choose well. If we choose LOVE for self first we create R-evolution. If we LOVE ourselves and by doing so overflow LOVE out into the world then everyone wins.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Nurture Culture 2020 R-evolution in progress,

Ginger

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Sowing the seeds of Nurture Culture

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I’ve been working on my business development skills lately. Trying to create sales funnels, and learn about marketing platforms but honestly today my heart just isn’t in it. Two young children were swept off a local beach a few days ago and neither of them survived. There was an abnormally large tide coupled with 20’ waves pounding the north coast and I, along with many others went down to see it in action. The ocean is a majestic thing when it’s pitching its full weight against the offshore rocks and sending spray hundreds of feet into the air. It’s not a mystery why people went down to see it. What is a mystery is why I felt called to go to that specific beach at that moment. It’s not beach I normally go to walk our dog Rosco and I had actually just taken him on good long walk a bit further south in Oswald West State park. So why when I got back in my car did I have the notion to drive north and down to a winding, pot holed filled road along the ocean? I told myself it would be fun to get a different view of the ocean from there. What I got a view of was lined up rescue vehicles and a helicopter making low and slow sweeps in circles searching the churning white capped surf.

It made me stop and become aware of the tragedy taking place. At the same time I was happily just walking my dog a few miles away, another person’s world was being torn apart.

I drove home not knowing what had happened exactly but knowing that someone had very likely died that day and my heart was heavy. Later I found out it was a 4 year old and 7 year old with their father who had been swept in by a sneaker wave. He survived and the kids did not. Now how does one even begin to cope with such trauma? And if losing your children wasn’t bad enough you get to live, and then relive, that horrifying moment the rest of your life. How do you move on?

I keep on wondering why I ended up there. Maybe it was just a coincidence but I tend to not believe much in those anymore. As I watched the news of the tragedy unfold and spread throughout our coastal community online there arose in people anger and judgement towards the father. “How could he be so stupid” “Didn’t he see the danger signs?” Of course there also many voices of sadness and grief as well. And at first I was shocked to read what felt like mean spirited and heartless attacks on this poor man who had just experience the death of his children. I found myself being angry and judgemental about people being angry and judgemental.

Then as I sat with it some more, my heart spoke up. This is what it said:

“You were brought to bear witness that day to understand that life is precious and that life is fragile. The children that died were innocent and lost into the ocean’s arms. The grief and sadness in those swells released waves of emotion pent up in many people, so can you see how death became a healer in disguise? It is in these times that we reveal our shadows and the heart’s hidden pain. The choice to be in the heart is everyday and the path forward for humanity is to honor the reality that is life. Nothing is permanent, all that rises will pass away again and again. The lesson for you is to let go of fear and to see the fullness of living. The earth desperately needs the human heart to engage with it. Speak the words of peace and love. This will align you more and more with your light and power. Move forward in love. The truth is everywhere written in the living earth.”

That conversation with my heart lead me back to a concept that I was first introduced to by my friend (and amazing heart centered being) Iris Sullivan Daire (dreambirdstudio.com). “Nurture Culture” she called it. It is her vision of how she moves in the world creating art and healing with plant magic in the form of natural dyes and weavings. I immediately felt my heart respond when she said Nurture Culture in a way that happens when the brain gets an “aha!” moment- but this time that “aha!” was coming from my chest. It was as if the big picture that my heart and brain both needed to contain all the crazy ideas, projects, businesses and gardens that I keep creating and knocking down and creating again finally had a name.

In American Culture I often feel like a failure because I keep not arriving at the places we have all been told we are meant to go. Nurture Culture helped me realize that I wasn’t arriving mainly because I’ve been on a path towards a different destination all along. When I found a name for it I then realized it isn’t actually a place to go but a releasing of many layers of enculturated fear, shame, judgement and anger. It is putting the heart in the driver’s seat and using the brain as a helpful (if not always correct) navigation system.

In a Nurture Culture I wonder how we would respond to an event like a tragic accidental loss of young children in our community? In a Nurture Culture I wonder if we would know the ways to feel and express our grief without the need to make it right or wrong? In a Nurture Culture I wonder how we would treat the ocean differently and if we could honor the life within it as much as ours on land?

I don’t have the answers for anyone but myself. Each heart has a different journey and voice to express. If I have one purpose I am aware of it’s to hold space for others to connect with their own hearts. I believe in doing so we will heal, envision and create a future for generations to come that looks very different than the reality we find ourselves in today. One of peace, balance, health and love.

I guess that’s why I found myself at that beach a few days ago. To remind me that the time to create this Nurture Culture vision is now. Life is short and hearts all around me are in need. Let everything I do be a seed towards this vision. Let it help me see grief disguised as anger. Let these children’s deaths not be for nothing. Let this heart breaking moment be a gift that offers us our grief as a healer, unifier and inspiration to love even more.

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Cultivating the Well Life Garden. New Year, New Approach.

Journaling the in the Well Life Garden at the I AM retreat held in August of 2019 at North Fork 53 Retreat Center. Photo credit to Danika Lynn at https://danikalynn.com

Journaling the in the Well Life Garden at the I AM retreat held in August of 2019 at North Fork 53 Retreat Center. Photo credit to Danika Lynn at https://danikalynn.com

How do we cultivate a well life? The life we really want. Not what we hope to find time for after we do all the other things- but a full experience of living in alignment with our joy and seeing our dreams become reality.

The disconnect between the life we want to have and the life we find ourselves working our butts off in comes back to haunt us around the New Year. We ask ourselves how is it possible that I worked so hard all last year and I’m still not any closer to: writing that book, or saving that money, or having time for my own self? We resolve to do it better this time. And, if you’re anything like me, as soon as I resolve to “do it better”, I can already feel a bit of my inner child in rebellion. “I can’t work any harder” she yells. “Don’t tell me I can’t eat sugar!” and with her resistance engaged the resolution starts to lose momentum. I end up breaking the resolution (usually by the end of January) because I am just punishing myself rather than stepping back and looking at where I actually want to go.

The truth is, no one teaches us how to live a well life. We are taught many things in school but there are no classes on how to listen to your inner guidance, passion or calling. There are no classes on how to create a life goal and then create a balanced plan to take steps towards achieving it. Most of us just do what we saw our parents do (good or bad) and then try to stumble through life working hard and hoping for the best. The messaging in the culture is “get a job. work hard. be good. and maybe someday you can retire and enjoy yourself.” All the while we are bombarded with advertising assuring us that “You’re not doing it right. You should be doing it so much better. You’re not thin/rich/smart/cool/powerful/unique enough.. but if you buy x,y,z..”

Sound familiar? It’s the water we swim in and many of us don’t realize there is any other option.

That’s why I was so excited to find well life coaching by Brianna Borton at The DragonTree last year. I didn’t really know what well life coaching was except I felt “You can’t be doing life right” if you need a coach. I used to laugh about people getting life coaches- “I mean I’ve made it this far alive without one…” haha. .

Then I looked into it more and I realized that it was exactly what I was wanting and needing. Even though from the outside my life looked fairly harmonious and abundant, in the background I was running myself ragged and felt overwhelmed. The harder I worked the more I felt like there was always something more, something I was missing. I wanted to make the world a better place. I wanted to feel more alive and energetic. I wanted to have time to be more creative and to play instead of waking up each day feeling like I was just slowly chipping away at a never ending to do list of work. So this year I’m excited to share with you some of what made last year a game changer for me.

2020 isn’t just a new decade- it’s a new approach to life that is designed to reclaim my time, energy and money for the things that I care about the most. Life doesn’t have to wait for retirement. The old stories of this culture are crumbling before our eyes like the tower card in the tarot. Our opportunity now is to sow the seeds of a new culture of nurturing and life in its place. I like to call it “Growing the Well Life Garden”.

Being an organic farmer for over 10 years I tend to think in terms of growing and harvesting when it comes to life and work. No matter what what you do for a living though, you will find that following nature’s rhythm feels much better than the fast pace created by the human mind and technology. In January the earth is quite cold and sleepy in the Northern Hemisphere. The garden work is mostly in the planning stages; selecting what seeds to grow this year, inventorying your supplies, deciding on how much to grow and making a design on paper for the where, when and how it will happen. When growing a well life garden you will find most of the planning applies quite the same.

Start by setting aside some time to do the planning. (I suggest an hour or two to start) and write this time on your calendar so that you keep this important date with yourself. When your planning date arrives, get to a quiet place with a cup of tea and a notebook or journal.

Well Life Inpsiration happens at North Fork 53 through retreats like “I AM” women’s empowerment gathering. Check out Ciara and Abby’s offerings at https://www.iamalliance.me for future dates. Photo credit to Danika Lynn at https://danikalynn.com

Well Life Inpsiration happens at North Fork 53 through retreats like “I AM” women’s empowerment gathering. Check out Ciara and Abby’s offerings at https://www.iamalliance.me for future dates. Photo credit to Danika Lynn at https://danikalynn.com

First take a look at what you grew last year (or decade) in your life and reflect upon this in your journal.

  1. What projects/accomplishments/relationships etc. were the blue ribbon winners- the ones you the most proud of and why? What about them felt good to you? What lessons did you learn from these wins and what do you want to remember moving forward?

  2. What did you do that you would like to throw in the compost? What ended up taking more money, time and energy than it was worth? What happened to make it feel that way and how could you do it differently- if at all in the future?

  3. What are you willing to let go of? What are some things you don’t need to replant this year- or need to pull out to make room for new ideas and growth. This can be old goals, job descriptions/titles, expectations from others, “I should or I need to” projects and ideas that keep not getting done and maybe just don’t make sense for you any longer or aren’t true to your heart.

  4. Are there any resentments/upsets or old baggage you are hanging onto? Is there anyone you need to forgive (including yourself?)

  5. Just let all this pour out onto paper. Then go back in and circle or highlight the things that are the really important ones and ask yourself what qualities do these things share- good or bad- that are calling for their release or for more focus in the year and decade ahead.

  6. See if you can pick out your top 3 goals for this year and write them down. Ask yourself: Why are each of these goals important to you?Who do you need to become in order to bring each of these goals to life? What character traits, habits, or skills do you need to develop to accomplish these goals? What would life look like if these goals were the main focus of your time, energy and money?

    This kind of journaling exercise is a great way to start the planning for your 2020 Well Life Garden. Planning is a key part of getting what you want in life because if you don’t know where you want to go— how will you know if you get there or not? Most of us can identify that we want things to be different in our lives but we can’t really describe how our ideal life would look. This could be a result of a long habit of not listening to our own needs and desires and instead proving to ourselves that we can be the best at giving others what they want or need. Women especially are conditioned to this and so when we finally are confronted with what we want our garden to grow (just for us, based on what we want, love and feel joyful about) we feel guilty about claiming it or we really have no idea because no one has ever asked us before. If you can find your top three goals or seeds that you are excited about growing this year you are well on your way to making a beautiful garden.

    Tune in to my next blog for more Well Life Garden Planning for 2020 and please comment below with your questions, ideas, goals and things you are composting. It’s so inspirational to grow our well lives together- by doing so I believe we can seed a new culture that can heal the planet and nurture our spirits for many generations to come.

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Feel the Green Sting of Heavy Nettles!

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Dancing with the Season

Spring is the best season to start anything. The energy of the Earth is supporting new beginnings of all kinds. We can use all that winter compost and the breakdown /breakthroughs of 2020 to fertilize the next steps for abundant health at all levels.

Even if you don't believe you can change- you can't help but be amazed at all the changes nature shows us in the spring! If a bare tree can suddenly be full of beautiful blossoming energy- so can we!  I want to share with you my favorite spring plant ally in sourcing the energy that so many of us feel is lacking to break the cycles of self judgement and fear. I will be using plants as guides to self care medicine this year. As a farmer I work with lots of plants- I mostly have spent time pampering the domesticated veggies but some of the most powerful healing energies in my field are actually the weeds! 

Weeds are Magic!

The war on weeds in farmer's fields reminds me of the war we wage on our bodies. Weeds are really nothing more than the Earth trying to protect and care for her own skin. She covers bare ground with the weeds that spread out like band aids and keep soil from eroding. She replenishes her mineral content with weeds that tap into root energy and bring those nutrients up to the surface. She nourishes her bees with lovely flowering weeds that burst into pollen early in the season. Because we are a part of the Earth our own body's self care is intertwined with the seasonal medicine of the Earth as well. In spring we find the Earth offering us the most potent spring tonics for deep cleansing and strength. 

Energy for Days- Stinging Nettle

I wanted to focus on a plant that is a remedy for some of our shared struggles that were expressed after the last post's shout out. Feeling tired, low self worth, fear of failure, lack of abundance and general stress and anxiety.

Stinging Nettles growing in profusion! This is not me but an image from another herbalist

Stinging Nettles growing in profusion! This is not me but an image from another herbalist

Stinging Nettle is a powerful spring medicine. Many people consider it a noxious weed but I am joyous whenever I find some growing wild by a river bank. It's like finding a free source of energy. I am slightly anemic so I begin to crave the high iron content of spring nettles after a long winter of eating storage squash and potatoes. The deep green plants are the one of the best sources of calcium and iron for our bodies. You can find nettle patches growing all over Oregon in the spring. If you are in doubt just touch the stem and the "sting" you will feel will instantly verify their name. They are also easy to grow in your garden and I have my own patch that I harvest from as well as going on nettle finding missions in wet spots near running water (under Alder trees and near old homesteads are great bets!) If you can't find fresh nettles use dried ones or a nettle tincture from the natural foods store!

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) packs more stimulating energy than sugar or even coffee, and without the downside of feeling jittery!  According to herbalist Susan Weed; "Nettles are rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, especially the critical trace minerals: anti-cancer selenium, immune-enhancing sulphur, memory-enhancing zinc, diabetes-chasing chromium, and bone-building boron. A quart of nettle infusion contains more than 1000 milligrams of calcium, 15000 IU of vitamin A, 760 milligrams of vitamin K, 10% protein, and lavish amounts of most B vitamins.... Nettle builds energy by nourishing the adrenals and detoxifying the kidneys ... Minerals in a nettle tea are actually magnetized into the blood stream without needing to be digested so the effects can be felt quickly"

Nettles are obviously good for you. Your lungs, skin, urinary tract, bones, hair, blood and nervous system will thank you for drinking nettle tea or even steaming them (cooking removes the sting of the plant) and eating them like a spinach substitute! (see recipes below!)  Nettles is a particular nourisher of women's bodies and helps fertility, breast feeding, healthy pregnancies and menstruation. 

Nettles are also energetically powerful. They are known as being a plant for protection from negative energy and cleansing any bad mojo in your body and your home. Burning nettles is an ancient way to purify a space. The entire plant is here to help us break our bad old habits, cleanse our bodies and give us the deep nourishment and energy to revitalize our lives!

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 Nettle Meditation

Meditation is key to observing our mental patterns that keep us repeating the same old shame based loops. When we become still and watch our thoughts we lessen the power they hold over us and we become aware that they are not "us"- they are just thoughts we have. Thoughts can be changed- but not unless we can see them for what they are. 

I like meditating with plant medicine. Drink your nettle infusion, take a nettle tincture, eat your nettle pesto, maybe even give your skin a little nettle acupuncture (careful! they hurt!) and then set your phone for a  15 minute alarm and relax in a comfortable position.  Listen to the plant's message as it works with your body. Offer up some self tenderness to any part of your body that you normally think ill of. Offer your gratitude to nettles for protecting you from harm, for cleaning your blood of toxins, for nourishing your energy at all levels. Do this for 3 days and take some notes on how your body or energy is feeling before and after!

Nettle Recipes!

Make a Heavy Nettle infusion/tea:

(From herbalist Susan Weed): Measure one ounce of the dried or fresh herb. Boil a quart of water. Put the herb into a quart jar and fill to the top with the boiling water. Stir with a wooden spoon and add water until the jar is full to the top. Lid tightly and set aside to brew for at least four hours, or overnight, whichever is easier for you. You can drink up to 2-3 quarts of nettle infusion a week to feel the full invigorating effect! To use: Strain and squeeze the liquid out of the herb. Be sure to refrigerate your infusion, as it will go bad at room temperature once it is done brewing. Nettle infusion is delicious over ice. Its rich green taste is not at its best when served hot. Adding honey can make it taste quite strange. Some folks like to add a little apple juice to sweeten it. Or stir in some miso, for a salty drink. However you consume it, do drink it up within a few days, as nettle infusion doesn't last.

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Nettle Pesto

from Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life by Louisa Shafia

Nettles leaves are serrated like teeth and they’re covered with spiky hairs that sting on contact. But the sting is fleeting, and the antidote is the juice of the nettles’ own leaves. Boiled briefly, nettles turn into a rich green vegetable much like spinach. You can drink the nutrient-rich cooking water like tea, just leave out the salt. Toss pesto with pasta, spread on seared fish or chicken, or use as a dip for raw vegetables.

Makes approximately 3 cups

Ingredients

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/4 pound stinging nettles

  • 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 1/3 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup firmly packed grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Instructions

Fill a large pot halfway full with water. Add 1/4 cup salt and bring to a boil.

Fill the sink or a large bowl with cold water. Using gloves or tongs, submerge the nettles in the water and let them sit for 5 minutes. Remove the nettles and discard the water. Wearing rubber gloves, pull the leaves from the stems and discard the stems.

Put the nettles in the boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Drain and spread the nettles on a baking sheet. Let cool completely. Squeeze out as much of the water as possible and coarsely chop.

Place the nettles in the bowl of a food processor with the mint, garlic, pine nuts, and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Process until the mixture has formed a paste.

With the machine running, pour in the olive oil. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the cheese. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Nettle Spanikopita:

inspiration from Rosemary Gladstar's  Herbs for Longevity & Well-Being

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Saute together in olive oil:

  • 1 entire bulb of garlic, minced

  • 2 large onions, diced

  • 2 large bowls full of fresh nettle tops, chopped

  • 2 packages of frozen spinach

  • 2 to 3 large pinches of strong dried oregano

  • a tiny pinch of nutmeg

  • salt and pepper to taste

Remove from the heat and mix in:

  • 1 cup ricotta cheese

  • 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

  • 8 oz crumbled feta cheese

  • 2 eggs, beaten

For the flaky yummy crust:

  • one package of phyllo dough

  • one stick of butter

Butter the bottom and edges of a 9x13 pan.  Start laying sheets of phyllo dough into the pan on sheet at a time. Keep the sheets you are not using under a damp towel to keep them from drying out.  Apparently phyllo dries out quickly and becomes brittle.  Lightly brush each sheet with butter before laying the next sheet on top.  I did about a 3rd of the package and then put half of the green mixture down in an even layer.  Then I repeated this process one time.  Finally I took the remaining phyllo dough and created a top layer.  I think next time I will just do a bottom and a top layer of phyllo with no middle layer because the middle layer seemed to get lost in the midst of the green veggies.  Before putting the spanakopita in the oven I lightly scored the top into serving sizes and I was glad I did too because if you try to cut the top once it is baked the flaky sheets on top get messed up.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until golden brown on the top.

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