How to make a nettle bath broom

Interesting ideas

"Nettle, stinging nettle, hot head. Preserve your fever and bring health." With such sayings, folk healers use the stinging plant to treat a wide range of ailments. In the bathhouse, a "bundle of stinging nettle" helps restore lost strength, invigorate the soul, and revitalize the heart. However, tying a broom requires a special skill, so we'll explain in detail how to make a nettle bath broom.

Nettle bath broom

A nettle bouquet is made from fresh plants, but those who enjoy hot steam and a scorching sensation want to stock up for the winter will need some specialized knowledge. It's important to know how to make a nettle bath whisk so it survives the winter season safe and sound. For treatment with nettle bundles, choose mature plants with strong stems that can withstand drying, temporary storage, and single use in the steam room.

It's recommended to harvest them in May and June, before they bloom. Flowers and seeds should not be included in bath bouquets, as after flowering, collecting raw materials for bundles becomes simply useless. Experts advise wearing thick gloves with high cuffs when cutting this stinging plant to protect your hands. Nettles suitable for harvesting grow taller than a person. These wonderful thickets, which bring health and renewal to people, thrive in abandoned summer cottages and on the edges of groves growing behind garden plots.

Read also:

Technology of collecting nettle stems

To prepare bundles, the branches are cut at a height of 10 cm from the ground, and the branches are carefully laid on burlap or thick fabric. It is not recommended to harvest nettles after rain, as dampness causes all parts of the plant to become saturated with moisture and prevents them from drying properly. Not only does it take a long time, but the branches also become brittle and weak. In summer and spring, bundles are prepared immediately before bathing, or a couple of days before. In any case, the nettles should be harvested during the first half of a sunny, dry day.

Garden shears are ideal for cutting branches. Choose sturdy plants with large, dense leaves. However, when harvesting in large quantities, tyers simply mow down the nettle-infested area and then sort and process the branches at home.

Bringing cut nettles home is also a special skill. To avoid damaging the leaves or breaking the branches, the entire harvest is carefully wrapped in burlap and placed in the back of the car on a flat surface covered with cloth or thick paper. It's important not to use plastic wrap, otherwise the leaves will quickly turn black. These are the basic requirements for collecting the harvested nettles, and experienced nettle knitters know well how to make a nettle bath broom.

Important point! In home sheds or in the shade under a canopy, the tyers lay out the raw materials in a single layer and let them dry for a couple of days. Only then can the stems be tied into brooms.

Technique for making nettle brooms

To make a nettle bath whisk, you'll need between 5 and 20 sprigs—this depends on their thickness, strength, and whether the knitter uses currant or birch for added strength. At least 20 cm of the bottom of each stem should be trimmed—this is necessary for the handle. For the whisks themselves, the knitter sorts the stems by equal length. The knitter begins stacking the stems, trimming the tops of the leaves to create the "beauty" of the bouquet, filling it with leaves.

After harvesting the tops, the artisan trims the lower part of the stems with pruning shears and wraps the handle with fabric tape. The total size of the nettle broom is no more than 45 cm.

The secret to tying a nettle broom. When making brooms, artisans use both circular and flat tying techniques. The key is to fill the top with leaves.

Properly crafting a nettle broom is quite challenging. Because dried herbs don't last long, craftsmen don't tie the parts together, but wrap each individual piece in thick paper, taking care not to damage the plant.

Paper allows air to pass through, allowing bundles of several finished products to dry quickly and properly. Keep them in the shade and in a well-ventilated area. Hanging the bundles by their handles, they must dry quickly enough to prevent the leaves from turning black. Discolored leaves should be removed gradually to prevent infection of adjacent leaves and stems.

When tying combination bath brooms, nettle stems are placed as the top layer. Properly crafted nettle bath brooms achieve magical healing effects when used in the steam room.

Even though nettle bath whisks are short-lived and only last for one session in the steam room, those who enjoy the scorching steam always stock up for the winter. They know which people to offer a fiery steam bath to and who, on the contrary, should avoid the risk.