Purple Deadnettle – Harvest, Dry, Medicinal, Edible

Purple Deadnettle, Lamium purpureum (LAMIACEAE), is an early spring wild plant that can be foraged for its medicinal and edible properties. Some variations of the plant name include “Purple Deadnettle”, “Purple Dead Nettle”, “Purple Deadhead Nettle”, and “Purple Archangel”.

Forage Purple Deadnettle

Purple Deadnettle is most prominent in early spring, but it is often seen growing in late winter through summer.  It grows in most US states.  It can even be found growing through a soft layer of snow, similar to daffodils and crocus. It is commonly found in lawns and edges of gardens, fields, and roadsides. Many people spend great effort trying to remove them from their pristine lawns and flower beds and do not appreciate its true worth!  We do not have a lawn of just grass.  We gladly have this beauty and many others in our lawn.

Dense Patch of Purple Dead Nettle Plants
Dense Patch of Purple Dead Nettle Plants

Identify Purple Deadnettle

Purple Deadnettle is a member of the mint family which means it can spread rapidly and be considered invasive.  It has no discernable smell although it is in the mint family. It just smells grassy. Mature plants can grow as tall as 8 inches. It is commonly found in shorter stubby heights especially in lawns and areas that are regularly mowed or cultivated.

Purple Deadnettle Leaves

The leaves of Purple Deadnettle are green at the bottom and gradually transition to purple towards the top. This purple leaf top is presumably why some have called it the Purple Deadhead Nettle. The leaves are slightly jagged and basically heart-shaped coming to a pointy and are up to 1.5 inches long.  Leaves typically slant at a more downward angle from the stem. The leaves and stalk have hairs but do not sting like the “Stinging Nettle” variety. The term “dead” nettle refers to nettle varieties where the hairs on the leaves and stems do not sting. Leaves grow in pairs opposite each other along the stem.

Purple Deadnettle Flowers

Flowers grow in a small cluster of funnel-shaped, purple blooms about .5 inches long.

Purple Dead Nettle Live Plant
Purple Dead Nettle Live Plant
Purple Dead Nettle Live Plant
Purple Dead Nettle Live Plant

Look-alikes

Henbit Deadnettle, Lamium amplexicaule (LAMIACEAE), is the only close look-alike.  Henbit’s flowers are a little longer and more slender than those of Purple Deadnettle and Henbit’s leaves are green all the way to the apex and are not heart-shaped.  They are both varieties of “dead” nettle and have similar properties.  Henbit is edible and medicinal as well so do not fret if you confuse the two.

Harvest Purple Deadnettle

Cut the plant stem just above the ground to harvest. Give each plant a good upside down shake for dust and ants. Ants love Purple Deadnettle. Plants can be lightly rinsed with cool tap water, but do not over drench or soak. Inspect them again for those pesky ants!

Edible Parts

Leaves, Stems, and Flowers

Medicinal Properties

Although Purple Deadnettle is not as effective for allergies as Stinging Nettle, it does still aid in seasonal allergies. It also has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.

Edible and Medicinal Preparation

Fresh leaves and flowers can be used raw. Stems can also be eaten raw, but they are not as tender and in my opinion are better used after drying. All parts except the root can be used in salads, steeped in teas, cooked in soups, casseroles, and even smoothies.

Drying Purple Deadnettle

  1. If using fresh I would prefer individual leaves and flowers removed by hand or with a knife, but for drying I simply pop off the top “head” all in one piece.
  2. Remove any straggling leaves from the stem.
  3. I only use the top portion of the stem and discard the lower tougher stem.

Dehydrator

  1. Spread heads and leaves as flat as possible on dehydrator sheet.
  2. Dehydrate on low for 6-8 hours.

Oven

  1. Spread heads and leaves as flat as possible on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  2. Bake on low (175 degrees F or less if possible) for 8-10 hours.

Air Dry

I prefer to air dry most herbs that are more delicate like this. It does take longer and can be cumbersome if you do not have the space.  However, it is worth it if you can accommodate.

  1. Spread heads and leaves as flat as possible on an herb drying rack or on a flat basket so that air can circulate.  You can also use a dehydrator sheet without the dehydrator.

    Tops of Fresh Purple Dead Nettle Plants Prepared for Drying
    Tops of Fresh Purple Dead Nettle Plants Prepared for Drying
  2. Gently stir around with hand about once a day the first day or so especially if you rinsed with water.
  3. Check in 4-5 days.  If not complete dry and crumbling, check daily for until completely dry.

    Tops of Fresh Purple Deadnettle Plants Air Dried for 5 Days
    Tops of Fresh Purple Dead Nettle Plants Air Dried for 5 Days
  4. It generally takes 5-8 days to air dry completely for storage.
    Tops of Fresh Purple Dead Nettle Plants Completely Air Dried for 8 Days Ready for Storage
    Tops of Fresh Purple Dead Nettle Plants Completely Air Dried for 8 Days Ready for Storage

    Tops of Fresh Purple Deadnettle Plants Completely Air Dried for 8 Days Ready for Storage
    Tops of Fresh Purple Dead Nettle Plants Completely Air Dried for 8 Days Ready for Storage

Storage

Purple Deadnettle can be stored for long-term use after it has completely dried.  It should be stored in a glass jar with a proper air tight lid.  I use a myriad of size, shapes, and styled jars for storing dried herbs.  In this example, I repurposed a Starbuck’s Mocha Frappuccino iced coffee bottle.  This is one of my little guilty pleasures from time to time.  These bottles are pretty great to reuse. They are glass. The lid has a rubber or silicone seal and the labels on the jars remove pretty easily.  The only drawback is the lid has Starbuck’s on it. I used to use a sharpie and tape to label my jars, but it doesn’t look as “cute” or “tidy”.  I splurged this year and got this compact label maker.  It has already paid for itself.  I label the side of the jar and cover up part of the Starbuck’s verbiage on the lid.

Dried Purple Dead Nettle in Starbuck's Bottle
Dried Purple Dead Nettle in Starbuck’s Bottle

Cold Weather Emergency Preparedness

The first weeks of this year have created a range of cold weather issues. There are a number of steps that can be taken by a family looking to become prepared for problems with extremes of cold weather seen from parts of the Deep South to the most northerly regions of the U.S. over recent months.
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How to Tan a Deer Hide

I have always had an interest in primitive survival techniques, and I enjoy teaching myself the lost arts of our ancestors.  These days I normally kill three or four deer per year to fill our freezer, and I do what I can to use every part of the animal.  However, I noticed that our deer camp throws out seven to ten deer hides every year.

I made the decision to find a way to use these hides.  The more I thought about it, the more I settled in on an idea.  Every winter I complete a survival challenge during which I spend three or four days in freezing temperatures to hone my winter survival skills.  However, I can never seem to find a warm and comfortable buffer between myself and the ground. Continue reading “How to Tan a Deer Hide”

Treating Chigger Bites with Clove Essential Oil

Summer is drawing to a close soon and many of you are probably dreaming of fall and cooler weather, but those that are still working outside in the woods and brush in this dog days of summer heat may find this treatment for chigger bites helpful.  If you are experiencing multiple chigger bites, you know they feel like the bane of one’s existence!
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Our 1940 Farmhouse

We have pretty much been nonexistent on here lately, but we have some very exciting news! We just closed last week on our new/old 1940 farmhouse!

Our original plans were to eventually build our little farm house on the land we purchased a couple of years ago. But sometimes God just knows better than we do what is best. We happened across the darling little 1940’s farm house with acreage that was for sale in Ann’s hometown where much of our family live and just a few short miles from the other land we had purchased. It is even on the same road Ann grew up on! Don’t you just love old farm houses?!? We were not even looking to buy, and had began the process of looking through house plans and even had an appointment scheduled with a builder to discuss when we found this place.
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Homestead Skills That Transfer Over To Survival Skills

If you are lucky enough to live on a homestead, there’s no doubt you’ve probably learned some very impressive skills. Homestead life can be tough, it can be challenging, but it can also be highly rewarding, especially when the skills that you’ve learned can be put to good use elsewhere.

It’s interesting to note that there are a lot of homestead skills that can be transferred over to survival skills. This means that if you fancy becoming a bit of a prepper, you should already have a lot of skills and knowledge that will help you to get through a survival situation.
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Growing Raspberries Year 2

How wonderful it is to see everything coming alive in the spring. Last year in February we planted 4 bare root raspberry canes. Along the trellis you can see how much our 4 raspberry canes have grown.

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Clearing Land the Hard Way

Back in January our son rented us a bulldozer to clear an area of the land. As exciting as it was to finally feel like we were making some progress we quickly realized this job was bigger than we had anticipated and we had already anticipated it to be quite difficult. After seeing just how many trees we had to clear after they were dozed over we had decided to try to get someone to come and chip it for us.

One of Four Large Piles of Trees
One of Four Large Piles of Trees

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Smoke Detector Maintenance at Daylight Savings Time

As we spring our clocks forward this weekend for Daylight Savings Time, take a few minutes to check your home smoke detectors to ensure that they are working properly. Using Daylight Savings Time is a great way to remember to perform your routine smoke detector maintenance.

In the US, 2450 deaths and 13,900 injuries resulted from residential building fires in 2011.

US Residential Building Fire Statistics (2007-2011)
US Residential Building Fire Statistics (2007-2011) – US Fire Administration

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Bulldozing a Patch of the Land

Since the purchase of our land in February 2013, we have accomplished a few small tasks. However, we have mostly been in a stalled holding pattern until we could get some of the land cleared. Our first priority is to clear off a tear drop shaped patch of land that is about 2+ acres. There is already a logging road cut that goes all the way around this tear drop. Our goal is to build a permanent deer fence around the tear drop and plant our fruit tree orchard leaving a space for our future garden.

Luckily, our oldest son is a diesel mechanic for caterpillar and is able to rent equipment at a discount. We had planned on clearing this section months ago, but it fell through. Since we are depending on the employee discount we are at the mercy of when the equipment is not in use by other “real” customers. Finally, this weekend he was able to rent a D4K Caterpillar bulldozer.

He started pushing at the “tip” of the tear drop. It was about 20 degrees Saturday morning and there was still some residual snow on the ground.

Bulldozing the Tear Drop Starting at the Tip
Bulldozing the Tear Drop Starting at the Tip

 

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