DRYING NETTLES - WALLDECORATIONS IN THE GARDEN BALLROOM

August - October 2021

300 nettle bundles, or 12,000 nettles, had been harvested, and the garden was to be transformed into a ballroom with the most beautiful wall decorations. The nettles were hung outside to be dried while waiting to be moved into Aud and Gunnar Bakken's barn at Ryghsetra. The purpose of the drying is to make them so dry and brown that they become crispy. Something I would later learn was how much drying had an impact on the retting process. I had no idea that this innocent process would become problematic…

I hung sturdy ropes or planks on my own and my neighbor's outhouse walls, as well as between large trees. The more bundles that came on the rope, the lower the rope sank to the ground. We solved this by using a winch, so that we could tighten the rope several times. Now the soil bacteria that come with the roots would mix with rainwater or dew and spread down into the bundles and become part of the decomposition.

HARVESTING AND HEATING ON POLES   | REDUCE MATERIAL LOSS?

The entire project has been based on learning from experience. When I know the different processes in retrospect, I would have planned hanging for drying, weeding and drying already at harvest. It would have been wise to hang them to dry on hanging poles right away and move the entire pole for further tasks. This would have saved the bundles from enormous material loss.

DRYING TIME

Do we have a different climate today than they did in the old days? Why has it been so difficult to dry the plants? Husband Tormod thinks we have too much shade in our garden, in addition to the fact that it ends in a lake and thus gets a lot of moist air. Are barns placed in the sun?

Some of the bundles were really dry, but most still had too much moisture in them when they arrived at the barn. In the summer of 2024, I will harvest at different times to see if this makes any difference. Even though I was told I could harvest if the plant was green, I will not harvest a leaf for fiber use after August, so that the plants have time to get that nice, brown crispy finish.

MOLD AND COLLAPSE

Then the meteorologists rattled their umbrellas and warned of floods and rain! And rain and high humidity can prevent you from drying out the moisture in the nettles. Which in turn can lead to mold.

In addition, I stacked boards around so that the coming rain wouldn't bounce on the plants. And those that didn't get orchestra space were moved to the outhouse. Firewood, car trailers, lawn mowers, garden cushions and snow gulls were thrown out so that the plants would stay dry on their toes.

I was both a Samaritan and a mother hen, but all these good measures only did harm and no good! When amateurs like me tamper with nature or agriculture, it just becomes clownish work. Because the combination of high humidity and sealing with boards meant that many of the plants got mold on them and looked ugly. Some of the bundles were hung out to dry, and those that were placed under cover were given more space and more draft. The bunch inside the outhouse got an extra "treat", - a fan with cold air and draft. And the wet plants dried out just about. Or, - did they? Did it go well? I will come back to this in the chapter on retting.

I have no experience as a farmer and I completely panicked when the rain came. Because even though I made sure that the plants were protected from precipitation, I was not aware of how much damage HUMIDITY could do. In record time the plants were covered in mold. While waiting for access to the barn, I rearranged the plants, hung them out to air with the changing weather, bought a large fan with rotating cold air for use inside the outhouse where the doors were open to get draft. It was a terrible sight.

Photo Fride Kramer Riseng. Moldy nettles.

SO… WHAT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF MOLD?

Some of the nettle collection posters during World War I listed 12 “commandments” for nettle harvesting. Two of these “commandments” dealt with moisture and mold:

• Commandment No. 6

  “In good weather, dry the stems in the open air, lay them on the ground on a gravel surface and turn them frequently or arrange them in a pyramid shape. In bad weather, dry the stems in an airy room. Lay them crosswise on top of each other, but not until they are completely dry, otherwise they will mold. They must never get wet. Avoid piling up fresh nettle, as this will ruin everything.” 

• Commandment No. 9

  “Check from time to time that what has been harvested is not moldy. Moldy stems and leaves must be removed, otherwise the mold will spread. Always make sure that the leaves and stems are kept dry.”

  
  

Unfortunately, there was no mention of the consequences that mold could have. Maybe this had something to do with the symptoms that appeared when we started retting the following year...