If you plant your tomato and put some nettles underneath.. is that effective? Is there a development of warmth and does the tomato grow better because of the nutrients of the nettles?
hank you for your trust... This plant is not known in our country
Katharina Kovacs If your tomato (or other garden plants like pepper, cucumbers, melons, water melons, etc.) is grown outdoor, so called "warm bed" with cut grass, including nettles, underneath will improve plants growth at early spring due to warmer soil and some additional nutrients. But, if you grow brassicas or early potatoes, it can cause soft rot disease (Pectobacterium sp.). Nettles are host plant for bacterial pathogen - Ralstonia solanacearum (A2 list in EPPO) infecting tomato/potato and other 200 plants species, so, be careful and do not use infected plants. In long term application, "warm bed" improves garden soil.
Another reason to use nettles:
Boyer, M., Wisniewski-Dyé, F., Combrisson, J. et al. Nettle manure: an unsuspected source of bacteriophages active against various phytopathogenic bacteria. Arch Virol 167, 1099–1110 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05391-0
"Thus, nettle manure (and likely other plant manures) could represent a valuable source of phages, especially those targeting bacterial phytopathogens..."
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