I know LD/chunk/skunk/patrio and others have mentioned the excellent source that Comfrey is for macro and micro nutrients for an amendment. Thought I would post this for those who might not know much about it or just got into the GC. Compost Activator Comfrey is used as a high nitrogen source to activate stubborn compost piles. The leaves break down quickly making nitrogen available to micro organisms to start the breakdown of the brown fibrous material in the pile. Since comfrey has a high concentration of nitrogen the amount of carbon rich material to comfrey will be greater, for the correct ratio. To get a hot pile started, only use the leaves and only when the plant is not in flower to avoid the problem of comfrey growing in the compost. Comfrey as Fertilizer The leaves of the comfrey plant break down quickly releasing nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, and nitrogen tie-up is minimized with the quick deterioration of its leaves. Due to deep burrowing roots it is able to mine minerals from the sub-soil that are normally not available to shallow rooted plants, making this plant very high in "macro" and "micro" nutrients needed by plants during "foliage" and "fruiting" growth; which is what makes it an excellent fertilizer. Growing a large patch of comfrey for the sole purpose for use as a fertilizer will prove very economical as this is a very prolific plant producing many leaves over a single season. Buying or bringing in fertilizer will be greatly reduced with a store of home grown fertilizer on the property. Read on * Organic Garden Fertilizer* Organic Nutrients for Garden Plants * Comfrey for the Urban Herb Garden * Care and Feeding Comfrey normally inhabits river banks as well as other wet areas; comfrey does not do well when it becomes too dry, so be sure to water weekly to keep this plant happy. This plant is a nitrogen hog, so it is able to tolerate high concentrations of nitrogen rich fertilizer such as manure and will produce a large volume of foliage. Comfrey will also tolerate multiple harvests of leaves during the season making this a very resilient plant. Read more at Suite101: Use of Comfrey Plant as Fertilizer: Using Boking 14 Cultivar as a Soil Amendment Use of Comfrey Plant as Fertilizer: Using Boking 14 Cultivar as a Soil Amendment
Good post Jak, You can get the "Bocking 14" cultivar at Horizon Herbs. The bocking 14 cultivar won't take over your entire yard, the neighbors yard, the school down the street and the neighborhood at large. It is hybridized so as not to reproduce. Comfrey is sometimes considered a nuisance weed and once it takes over is hard to control. HTH chunk
Chunk, excellent info. I think I might order a few of these. I wonder how they will do in the desert. Maybe keep them in a more shaded area and keep them nice and wet.Thanks, again. JaK