Not very long because of the benzoic acid in aloe vera which is why all of the liquid products contain a preservative of some kind. Mix what you need unless you want to use citric acid, ascorbic acid or one of the other safe ones. The commercial products usually use potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate which isn't too good for the fungi in your soil. HTH CC
Well, make some ACT and keep it going in the right direction. You cannot really hurry things but you can keep the conditions optimal for the life in you soil.
O_D You're starting from a false premise, i.e. that increase\\ing a plant's accumulation of basic elements dictates growth rate or even impacts it. Read this book as soon as possible - Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet and by page 4 you will learn the answer(s) to your initial question. In the mean time, head over to Khan Academy => Biology => Cellular & Molecular Biology => Photosynthesis There are 9 videos (lessons) that you should really watch to understand exactly what is going on as plants grow and it ain't all about elements - the NPK Myth HTH CC
Poke This will explain why malted grain teas (extracts) facilitate rooting - Root Initiation & Development The focus on the meristem explains why you can't root a leaf and other fascinating facts... CC
I would absolutely prefer aloe Vera over willow. We have a few 20+ year old aloe vera plants whose babies I transplant all over the yard when possible. It's a shame one must buy powder instead of using the leaves themselves to acquire the beneficial chemicals neccessary for all of the above :-/ ~ poke
Wet, I created a collection of links in my journal I call "Poke's Resource Center." If you follow the link below it will take you there. http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-medical-marijuana-growing/1305106-pokes-perpetual-underground-jungle-15-strains.html?p=20043517 It's a collection of Diy guides to make everything from sticky traps to cannabutter, SSTs to ACTs(which I've stopped using pretty much since going no till), to worm bin building, from cloning videos, to training videos. The resource center is updated frequently with a date changing at the top of the page to show progress as I link to other Diy journals and guides around the site. This idea has actually grown into a whole nother website and a potential Career for me. I'm very excited. But that's non cannabis related. I hope you'll stop by my thread known as "the underground jungle" and say hello. Coot visited one time last year around page 20-25 somewhere Was a real honor too! ~ poke
My true comfrey is going crazy this year, it's third season. I'm using it in canna salves along with plantain from the yard. Planting a lot more Bocking 14 roots this spring. Dedicated a raise bed in the garden for it and a lot are going around my fruit trees.
Am I cutting back my comfrey enough? This is a photo from today and I harvested leaves yesterday. This is the second season for these plants.
Lol. If you're getting as much biomass as you want, then it's enough. I take all the growth above ground in my hands and then with my sickle hack it all off leaving about 2-3" of stem and sometimes there's a few small leaves. I then mulch over it and watch it grow back in a matter of days, lol. We're about at the point of the season where ol' Coe likes to topdress with a good amount of manure.
Comfrey update! It seems another root was indeed alive! I need to transplant one of these outside when they get a lot more mature
I don't think it matters Poke. They're in my veggie garden area for convenience and that's just the way it went down. j
If you think they're ready then they're ready! Going to transplant today or tomorrow! Thank you Jerry! Is there any way to know which "bocking" this is without a chemical analysis or genetic test or something? I don't know very much about this plant tbh. I should read this whole thread I suppose ~ poke
I've got 16 of mine in a grid, 4x4 with 3ft between each plant. I have some others around the border of my garden, and some more in my hugel bed, and one in my flower bed by my house. I'm starting to thing It'd be smart to plant them scattered throughout my garden b/c I mainly tear off leaves from teh plant and mulch around my veggies with the fresh leaves, it makes it more convenient if the comfrey is spread out, rather than just in one place. So really plant it however it suits your uses best. If you're just going to harvest it all and bring it inside, a grid's a lot more convenient than going down a line.
I believe Coot has said many times before that most of the comfrey world deals with bocking #14, it's only Coe (and another north carolina supplier that coot doesn't know about) that claim to sell #4. I think the flowers are slightly different colors, IDK, I supposedly bought both bockings but haven't seen any differences in any of my plants. i've just put 2 more in the ground that were root cuttings in my solo cups, they got pretty rootbound so it was time. Comfrey are nitrogen whores, so I've been sprinkling what's left of my alfalfa pellets by the plants, as well as generous amounts of neem meal. If I had safe manure to use, I'd cover them all with a nice pile the next time I harvest the whole plants.