hmm, Aquaponic Russian Comfrey garden sounds nice to me :] I have something to do tomorrow after work now..
I am doing the same kind of thing, except I use Great Mullien and Wormwood leaves. The Great Mullien ia a local plant for me, some call it a weed, but I found some and propagated a few plants and now I grow enough to get about the same amount as you do. I dont know why I add the wormwood.. i just grow a lot of it and it grows rapidly and takes well to being cut back. So I throw it in. I'm looking to add even more.. maybe I'll get some Russian Comfrey to add to the mix. Good Advice! ~Experimentalist
couple of other methods here for you to read through http://organicgarden.org.uk/blog/gardening/comfrey/making-comfrey-juice look at how much juice this guy gets from barrel method, link on right of page
Hey Cantharis what are the fertilizer needs of the Comfrey? If it is high in nutrients itself does it leach the soil?
You are right, can´t keep taking out and not put back. I feed my comfrey with some commercial tomato fert. OK, it´s chemical, but the comfrey converts it to organic for my MJ.
I do the exact same thing with my Mullein. I typically feed it Miracle Gro Tomato Food 18-18-21 but every month I give it a shot of Miracle Gro Azalea & Rhododendron 30-10-10 when the new leaves aren't coming in as green as usual. I'm doing an experiment with the same method but I am throwing in all my cuttings from all my plants.. wormwood, chives, coleus, parsley, african violet trimmings, and carrot tops. I don't know if it'll work as well as my Mullein & Wormwood fert, but I dont see why not. I'll be feeding it to my non MJ plants first to see how they react. And you were right cantharis, that stuff sure does smell like a fart to be proud of! My wife won't come near me when I'm working with it. I tell her that I'm just practicing for the smell of dirty diapers when our first child arrives in a few months! ~Experimentalist
I should point out that when cantharis stated that you have to dilute this mixture, he meant it! I keep two jugs for this stuff, one is the full strength fertilizer and the other jug contains the diluted mixture for feeding. I accidentally fed some of my legal plants the full strength stuff and they went down hard! I managed to recover them, but only because I saw what I had done with in a day and flushed the soil. I dilute to a ratio of 1:20 and add half a tablespoon of molasses per gallon of water -- just a personal preference -- and it's added to my water for every single feeding. ~Experimentalist
Just a question for clarification - Your peat, manure, and sand mix is used in all pots. The comfrey fert is used beginning to end of the grow, but alternated with BioCanna. Is this your basic regime? I am planning to model my feeding regime on yours. My growing substrate will be similar as well. My goats have been giving me fertilizer all winter that I have composted and I will be ordering my comfrey sprouts very soon, Spring is almost here. How did it take for your comfrey to start producing when you first started?
Here's a source Russian Comfrey Broadleaf - Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany, Oregon. They've been in business for 60 years and know how to ship cuttings for their various herbs and plants. They sell a number of heirloom seeds as well on a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, et al. HTH LumperDawgz
Cantharis, Do you think the Comfrey could take a frost? I can cover it on the cold nights if needed. I am getting anxious to get the Comfrey growing.
Yeeees, Russian comfrey is available here. They sell 10 roots for 20 bucks. Or 1litre of concentrate non smelling 1 li for 15 dollars. Will I have time to use the leaves in Juneish if I plant them in March? They say they give better on 2nd year. Or should I buy 2 litres of the concentrate? Thanks Cantharis. Great stuff! Accelerates the bloom and quantity with unique similihormones and B12 vitamins in the comfrey!
Yes, plant in March and you will get several harvests in the first year. It is a real fast growing mutha.
ok thanks man. For onceI can get the right product over here. This is the real hybrid Bocking 14 so my plants are gonna love it!
cantharis A local nursery has a 'Russian Broadleaf Comfrey' root-start. Is the 'Broadleaf' strain okay? I can't imagine that it wouldn't be but I thought it would be prudent to ask. Thanks! LumperDawgz