FIRST ROUND RETTING NETTLES IN WATER
JULY - AUGUST 2022
The nettles had been hanging on Ryghsetra's barn all autumn and winter, drying to 1/3 of their original volume. On July 8, 2022, the go-ahead was given for the summer ball, where we bathed together with the spiky stems and roots.
PURPOSE OF RETTING
The goal is to dissolve the connection between the cellulose inside the plant and the outer layer of fiber.
At the same time, the wood becomes brittle so that it is easier to crush and releases the fiber during preparation…
Our friends, the decomposers (bacteria and fungi)
One point of harvesting with roots should be soil bacteria. These should sprinkle down the plant when hang out to dry, and will constitute a retting process, especially when it rains. This should also be a plus when you ret in a bathtub.
We have different main groups of bacteria whether they are above water with a lot of oxygen, or under water with little oxygen. There are also bacteria that work completely without oxygen, but they can be harmful to people.
WHAT IS RETTING?
Retting is a controlled decomposition process, carried out by fungi or bacteria.
There are a number of shedding methods;
The plants can be placed on the ground, in snow or in water. Bogs with stable water levels and temperatures are particularly suitable, but shallow areas in lakes and backwaters in waterways can also be used.
There are also people who harvest nettles retted by the roots in late autumn or early spring, but this can be a gamble if there is a lot of moisture that can destroy the fiber. (I have myself harvested plants shed by the roots twice; One year it worked perfectly, while the next year it resulted in nothing in the world. Then it rained for weeks and the plants were put in outbuildings while they were wet.)
In "more southern" regions (also in southern Norway) there are those who harvest after winter, that is, when the spring sun has dried up the moisture after the wet blanket of winter. In parts of Russia and Eastern Europe, snow retting is common, but there they have dry and cold winters.
Those who do not have access to streams, bogs and water can ret in bathtubs, pools or, as was also done in the old days; in a row-boat!
PRINCIPLES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Historically, fiber plants have been retted in marsh water, but larger lakes, backwaters in rivers and similar areas can also be used.
During traditional marsh retting of plant fiber, the stalks are placed in water with a temperature of about 10 – 15 degrees, but you can ret at a warmer temperature than that. (It is not good to ret at a colder temperature, as we did the following year. The process can stop, and it becomes difficult to predict the process.) The first two days, the stalks absorb moisture and become soaked. The entire stalk should be under water. Parts that stick up are not shed. After a few days, fermentation begins, and a "foam layer" appears on top and the water smells like an outdoor toilet.
I was told to use a ladder that would keep the bundles underwater and ensure that the plants did not float away.Since I was going to ret so much, the bundles were placed in water on the same poles that they were dried on. The poles with the cuttings were placed overlapping and tied crisscross so that the plants would not come loose and disappear.
It may be a good idea to cover them if you ret in a tub. Of course, you can create a tighter air space that speeds up the process, but not least, insects and birds will not drown if they get lost in the shedding water.
RETTING BY SOUND AND RESISTANCE
Surprisingly, it is not the fiber, but the wood inside, that determines whether the retting is complete. Because the fiber is relatively unaffected by the retting.
The stem should be so soft that it does not break.
When you bend and break, it should open into several parts.
It should not make a cracking sound ("wiener crack" after the sound when you bite into a wiener sausage) when you bend the stem.
When you squeeze around the bundle, it should squirm like a sponge.
You should be able to pull the fiber from head to toe
A lot of emphasis was placed on us taking 40 "day degrees" Celsius as a starting point during rooting. This is the temperature in water x day. (For example, 4 days a month 10 degrees = 40 degrees Celsius). This turned out to be irrelevant, so I am omitting it here.
OPTIONS FOR RETTING IN WATER SUMMER 2022
We tried out 4 (6) different forms of water wetting;
1. Lying in lake Hagatjern at Ryghsetra
2. In an artificial "pool" in Hagatjern
3. In a bathtub with bog soil in Sylling
4. In a bathtub without bog soil in Sylling
• Extra; retting fresh nettles in a bathtub without leaves, roots and bog soil (Sylling)
• Extra: retting with the leaves separated in a non-woven fabric (Sylling)
The bundles were marked with colored ribbons according to the method of shedding. It is only during spinning that you can see how successful the shedding result was, based on the amount of fiber and quality. I have also recorded temperature, time, amount, smell, and how the plants have behaved. I do not include this here.
GUNNAR BAKKEN CREATES POOL IN HAGATJERN!
July 8 2022
Poles with bundles were put on a cart and transported to Hagatjern below Ryghsetra. There is a lot of current in Hagatjern and despite its size, or lake can also have sharp waves. We were therefore excited to see if the decomposers would have "calm" to do their job. The purpose of the pool in Hagatjern was to recreate a backwater in a river or a more stagnant marsh.
Gunnar therefore made a square "pool" of three logs to which we attached a large tarpaulin. The last wall was open to allow fresh water to flow in.
Photo Fride Kramer Riseng. Dried nettle bundles on their way to paradise, a pool in Hagatjern
Poles with 10 bundles were laid overlapping like dragon shells or roofing tiles. Small trees were placed over the bundles and above them again, branches. The crown of the work was stones that pressed the plants under water. The water temperature was between 18 and 20 degrees.
"BLUE" NETTLE IN ARTIFICIAL "POOL" IN HAGATJERN
Hagatjern 8 – 11 July
For the first 24 hours, the plants in and outside the pool were hard to touch. When the stems were bent, they made a "wiener sausage cracking"-sound, and they would not split when bent.
On 11 July, the nettles in the pool were slimy to the touch. The stems still made a cracking sound, but the fiber had released the cellulose. The stems were still hard to the touch, and there was no "sizzling" sound when I squeezed the nettles. I was told by my mentor that the plants inside the pool had developed a stronger bacterial bloom that could break down the fiber. At the same time, the wood inside had not had time to break down! The verdict was that we should take the bundles up right away. They were marked with blue ribbons and hung to dry outdoors under cover. There they would hang until October before further drying in the well-ventilated bakery.
«NAT» RETTING «FREESTANDING» IN HAGATJERN
Hagatjern 8 – 12 July
Outside the pool we attached poles with bundles that overlapped each other like dragon shells or roofing tiles. They were left as a long row along the shore. The poles were tied with rope so that they would not float away. The nettle bundles were covered with small trees, branches and stones.
These plants also behaved very similarly to the plants inside the pool and became a little slimy, despite hanging freely in Hagatjern. The bundles were left to lie until July 12, i.e. five days in water, and were then hung outside to dry with the others. These were not given any colored ribbons, but were tied with hemp string / twine where the “nettle string” had come loose.
“DUGURD” (LUNCH) FOR PEOPLE AND ANIMALS
When the nettles came to the surface, the ducks had a party. Retted nettles were clearly a feast. And Aud Bakken invited them to a good, old-fashioned DUGURD.
BATHTUB WITHOUT BOG
Sylling 10 – 12 July, temperature 14 – 20 degrees
6 nettle bundles were placed in a bathtub with water. On top of the bundles, netting was placed to hold everything down with some bricks / roof tiles on top. A little water was changed every evening. In addition, I stirred the water for circulation.
On the third day, the water began to foam. There was no cracking sound and the stems were not split, but the fiber would not let go. There was also no gurgling sound when I squeezed the sedges. Nevertheless, I experienced these bundles as better retted than those with bog soil in the water. I was recommended to take the bundles on the third day and leave the other tub – the one with bog soil, until the next day.
MORNING IN A BATHTUB WITH BOG SOIL
Sylling 10 – 13 July, temperature 14 – 20 degrees
6 bundles were placed with bog soil at the bottom to try to recreate retting in a bog pond. This pot also had chicken wire with roofing tiles / bricks that kept the plants underwater.
Changed a little of the water every evening and stirred the water a little.
On the second day the water was quite foamy, but the plants were not slimy. The stems in this pot made more of a cracking sound than those in the pot without bog soil. The fiber would not let go and the pots did not make any gurgling sound when I squeezed them.
On the fourth day the water smelled really bad, the plants were a little slimy. The stems split, and it was possible to pull off the fiber, but the pots never became soft to squeeze. Lots of foam and smell.
RETTING FRESH PLANTS IN THE BATHTUB
July 10 - August 31, 2022, 14 - 19 degrees
On July 10th I tried to ret completely fresh plants without drying them first. But no change was visible as the days went by! They were just as hard to squeeze, made a cracking sound when I bent them and had nothing close to a "swooshing" sound when squeezed. No smell (since there were so few of them).
They were also...forgotten until August 31st!
Then there was still no algae development and the status was the same as before. A little courtesy: On August 31st the stems had sprouted shoots in each leaf axil. They lay like an Elsa Beskow drawing; politely arranged like small field rows, ready to be planted in the ground!
RETTING WITH FIBER CLOTH IN BATHTUB
Sylling July 21 - 27, one nut, 7 days. Temperature 16 - 18 degrees.
The leaves are separated from the stem and wrapped in fiber cloth at the bottom of the bathtub. No bog soil was added.
After three days, there was still a “cracking sound”, the stem split, the fiber does not come off by itself, but can be pulled off. A little swish sound. On the fourth day, the budle starts to make a gurgling sound when I squeeze it, but still a cracking sound in the stem.
I was recommended to take out the bundles on the fourth day, but for personal reasons I was not able to take it out until the seventh day! The stems were slimy with cracks, but the fiber slipped off. Despite the cracks in the stems, I still got a gurgling sound when I squeezed around the nut. This was strange! In retrospect, I wonder if I must have squeezed individual stems with cracks, as the bundle made gurgling sounds?
RETTING WITH AND WITHOUT BOG SOIL
The summer passed, and we waited for cooler bathing temperatures. 6 bundles were shed, divided into two bathtubs with and without bog soil. The temperature changed from 7 to 15 degrees, where the average temperature was 12. There was little or no variation between the two bathtubs. I am therefore discussing them together.
September 2: Still stiff stems with a crack sound. Changed some water.
September 3: Not crack, but difficult to twist so the stem splits. I managed to pull the fiber off from top to toe, but I had to use a little force to pull it off. Sent video to my mentor who could not be reached.
September 4: I can pull the fiber off, but it splits or breaks. The stem still won't split when I twist it, and there is no gurgling sound when I twist the whole bunch together. Sent video to mentor who could not be reached. Changed some water.
September 5: Same as before, the fiber breaks even more. Hang all the bunches up to dry.
CHECKLIST
Retting can be done in any place where water is collected.
Avoid direct contact with drinking water sources, clarify with the landowner.
The entire stalk should be under water, - make sure they don't float away.
The stalk should make a swish or whirring sound when you squeeze it.
If the stem breaks with a snapping sound, it is not ready.
The fiber should release the cellulose, it should be possible to pull off the fiber in its entire length without it breaking.
The plants should dry well both before and after they are shed.
The water must foam and it should smell like an outdoor toilet for the stalks to be shed. (The strange thing is that this will eventually become a good smell!)
POLLUTION
Natural bacteria blooms happen in a regular bog in the summer anyway! The retting that farmers has done over time does not strictly pollute anything. It's about scale, - that you don't create such large accumulations that it causes problems. If you are going to ret and empty a bathtub several times during the summer, you can make a small catch pond with gravel and sand that washes the water. But even better is to use the water for irrigation and fertilization. Nevertheless, water retting has caused a lot of damage in several places in the world with serious pollution. Then there has been retting on a large scale over time.
Before the mowing (first and second round in April - May 2023) I contacted local authorities, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Flax Association to find out if there was anything I needed to know or take into account when retting. (I also think I contacted the Norwegian Association for the Protection of Nature.) There were no objections to me rettting, (I specified Hagatjern, for example). On the other hand, it should be said that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and local authorities had never heard of retting. It would be interesting to research the possible extent of damage compared to the beneficial use of retting water when it occurs in pools / bathtubs, and whether in larger bodies of water it can have an enriching effect on the waterbed and for wildlife. For example, we saw that the ducks were very happy with the nettles. Everything is clearly related to quantity and extent, - in any case, it would have been useful to find out more about this.
I myself ret in bathtubs in Sylling. The tubs are on pallets, so that they come up from the ground. I have taps on the underside, so that I can drain the fertilizer water directly into buckets.
Normally, I separate the leaves from the stem and place the leaves inside cloth at the bottom of the bathtubs, like tea bags. When the nettles are finished retting, I just take the stems out, but leave the leaves in longer. A bathtub full of leaves will quickly dissolve into a handful of pulp, and the rest becomes the world's best fertilizer water. The cloth works as a strainer. It will be disgusting to look at, but after a rinse with the garden hose, it will be ready for new use! In other words, a win-win-win situation for nature and people.
EXPERIENCE WITH RETTING 2022
It was almost impossible to get all the symptoms of successful retting. More about this when I write about the second round of retting in the spring of 2023.
A surprise was that the water in Hagatjern was warmer than in the bathtubs. Could this be because the sun had a large surface to heat up the lake? We don't know!
The last bunches were shed in August - September under "Trøndelag (mid-Norway) temperature". This time too, the plants did not behave as expected, despite the fact that there were supposed to be good shedding conditions.
It was also not possible to get in touch with the mentor over several days, so some of the bunches were left lying around longer than I had previously recommended. In retrospect, it turned out that this was an advantage, and that the plants should have been in the water much longer than she initially said.
If there is to be any conclusion, it must be that shedding is something that must be practiced over time and must be learned through the hands and senses. In addition, of course, by reading the symptoms of the stems!
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