Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Perennial.
100 seeds per packet. 

Why would one choose to grow stinging nettle you ask? Well besides making a great seasonal security fence to keep people from sneaking into your space (especially effective paired with thorny perennial vines like blackcap raspberries or marionberries), this plant has a myriad of uses despite the fact that it is often seen as a nuisance weed. In reality it is a wonderful plant medicine and protein rich food that gets a bad rep due to it's stinging hairs. Leaves can be used fresh for pesto (blend thoroughly!!!) or dried to deactivate the sting and stored in the pantry. Dry leaves are 25% protein and 43% dietary fiber - Nettle leaf tea is very rich and satisfying for a herbal tea. Always harvest with gloves. For the ambitious, there is a way to harvest the leaf and fold it inwards (stinging hairs are on the bottom not the top of the leaf) and chew it fresh, crushing it in your molars and deactivating the sting that way. Proceed with caution.