It's amazing what is right in front of us when we start exploring these things!

Absolutely. Scraping like this doesn't require retting though. I might try retting burdock at some stage, not one I've tried that on so far. Thanks for the suggestion!

So... so I could lick the nettles, and then... ?? :D

Chew your cud, then spit.

Ill try to remember! I generally use it very much like bamboo shoots in stir fries, or sauted with onions and bacon, but I can probably come up with a handful of easy recipes to showcase. Great idea, thanks!

Great! Let me know how you get on!

In early spring and fall roots can be dug up and dried for medicine, stalks can be used for soups like artichokes. I never dug mine up yet as it is hard to dig up! And it has spread a ton in my space. Time to make things 😁

Yep, for kids, the ribs of burdock, dock, plantain or horseradish are all really accessible

Not so much the fibrous material but winter is the best time to cut willow withies and similar for basketry, when the leaves are off and the sap is down.

@@SallyPointer I immediately went off to dig in your video section for winter gathering but could not find any. Summer is so very busy for me, but will add gathering some fibers to attempt a basket in winter. I appreciate your reply, thank you.

Always worth trying different methods, a rolling pin should work fine

Do you have recipe videos for leaves. ? Mattress filler? Cool! I need to try all these things 😁 ibe got a lot of burdock

@@michelleasunnydays140 I cook up the same way you do spinach and dandelion, in a bacon dressing, but I pick it when it's young and tender I add mushrooms and onions and boiled egg slices to my bacon dressing also I cut the leaves up finely.

That's the lovely thing about cordage, tools are very rarely needed. Have a look at my cordage videos to see the method I use the most, no tools there either 🙂

Definitely try the leaf stems, I know people who find those more accessible than the main stem so use them more often. You should be fine anytime now, as a very very rough rule of thumb, most of the plants that make good fibre are worth harvesting after midsummer, though use your common sense and local knowledge as more northerly or cooler areas may be a little later.

It's impossible to know, but any piece of wood can make a useful work surface

I wish we had horseradish and burdock in Colorado and New Mexico US . I use yucca and hemp for bow drill and bow strings . Using sinew from the leg tendon of a deer or elk makes excellent cordage when mixed with plant fibers . All the best .

Have you tried retting burdock? How did it go?

It is fairly coarse

If you leave too much of it on, the end result are fibres that are rough and 'lumpy', also, it will decay faster than the fibre itself, so if the finished item gets damp for example, it can go out of shape. If all you need is very coarse cordage or the end result is going to be fairly rustic in effect, it's no huge problem though, I made a coil basket last year using unscraped nettle as the core, and though it's knobbly and rough, it's absolutely fine. Really depends on what you want from the finished item!

See how you like the texture of the cordage made from it, and if it's something you like, you could make the bindings with that too. As to how much you'll need, depends on how big your basket is!

You could certainly try it. Let me know how it comes out!

Did you try it?

It's a fairly coarse fibre, but if you don't mind the end fabric being relatively stuff and heavy, then yes it should be useable on a look. It's nowhere near as fine or soft as nettle

Just run it under the tap and wrap in a cloth for twenty minutes or so

I would think so, try it and see how you get on!

@@SallyPointer bitter dock turned out too brittle on the first attempt but the plants were young. i could make a very tiny braid though.

@@AnimeShinigami13 I would guess it's a little early for most of the fibre plants, I wouldn't be picking most of my usual options for a few weeks yet

@@SallyPointer I suggest trying dead nettles that have been sitting out all winter and become dessicated to see if they work for yarn or cordage. I'm using some dead milkweed from a local park, and some of the fibers I'm getting are so soft they're like down.

@@AnimeShinigami13 in this part of the UK we are too wet for winter retting to work, I occasionally find a sheltered stem or two, but mostly it's only good fibre between the summer solstice and autumn equinox here. I'm always envious of those with the climate for winter retting!