At home, you put them all in a large garbage can (with a spigot on the bottom), cover them with water and…wait. They rot.

Oh yeah, if your wondering, this tea isn’t for drinking. Oh no. In fact, if you could get this nasty brew down it would be a Guinness book world record for most disgusting thing ever consumed. It’s FOUL. Gasses form, fermentation bubbles, and the smell is essentially putrid.

So why? You could read this, or I could I’ll give you the short version. The tea is an amazing liquid fertilizer and plant tonic – we’ll use it to spray on the kitchen garden this year. I’ve got all sorts of experiments to run, one rumor is that this stuff works as an herbicide when it’s not diluted. We will see!

Check back for pictures of the final brew. It’s bound to be nasty.

Step 1: Find Nettles.

Step 2: Cut & Collect

Step 3: Get them home.

Put a spigot in the bottom of a trash can so you can drain out the tea after fermentation.

Put in the nettles, cover with water, and let sit for a couple of weeks. It’s a little temperature dependent (the warmer the faster it brews), but I think ours should be ready by April. It’s already steeping nicely.

For the past 6 years I’ve been wistfully day dreaming about being a midwife, but between my own young family and the economy school has taken a back seat. In the meantime, my work as a doula / slash / photographer will allow me to be involved in a way that is so, so wonderful. The everyday miracle of birth is something I just can’t be without. And the fact that my enthusiasm and dedication can help other new families through the experience? Love it.

Seattle Birth Photography