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Field cultivation
=== Sowing and planting ===

Three cultivation techniques can be used for the stinging nettle: 1) direct sowing, 2) growing seedlings in nurseries with subsequent transplantation and 3) vegetative propagation via stolons or head cuttings.


 * 1) Direct sowing: The seedbed should have a loose and fine structure, but should be reconsolidated using a packer roller imminently prior to sowing. Sowing time can be either in autumn or in spring . Seed density should be 6 kg/ha with row spacing of 30 cm and 42-50 cm in autumn and spring, respectively.   The disadvantage of direct sowing is that it usually leads to incomplete plant coverage. This drawback can be mitigated by covering the seedbed with a transparent perforated foil in order to improve seed germination. Further, weed control can be problematic as the stinging nettle has a slow seedling development time.
 * 2) Growing seedlings: For this technique pre-germinated seeds are sown between mid-/end-February and beginning of April and grown in nurseries. Seedlings are grown in tuffs with 3-5 plants / tuff and a seed density of 1.2-1.6 kg / 1000 tuffs. A fastened germination is achieved by alternating high temperature during daytime (30 °C for 8 h) and lower temperature during nighttime (20 °C for 16 h).  Before transplanting, the seedlings should be fertilized and acclimated to cold temperatures. Transplantation should start around Mid-April with row spacing of 42-50 cm and plant spacing within rows of 25-30 cm.
 * 3) Vegetative propagation: Stolons (with several buds) of 10 cm should be planted from Mid-April in a depth of 5-7cm. Head cuttings are grown in nurseries starting between mid-May and mid-June. Growing tips with two leaf-pairs are cut from the mother plant and treated with root-growth inducing hormones. Transplantation can be delayed in comparison to the growing seedling technique.

== Greenhouse cultivation ==

The stinging nettle can also been grown in controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) systems, such as soil-less medium cultivations or aeroponics.

According to a study, CEA systems can achieve much higher yields, standardize the quality, as well as reduce harvesting costs and contamination.