Hail ... that almost looks like insects if I didn't know better. I wait until the flowers are almost finished before I chop, the bees really like the flowers.
bobrown420, I will take your advice and stay away from the tea. The wormbin method is working wonderful. My worms are loving it. They like to party on the leaves. Thanks for the tip. os
What you saw in the picture was simply a mass of comfrey leaves in the blender and just enough water added to make a liquid. A moment with the blender and it's ready for application to your plants - and it doesn't smell at all. If you were to let it set it would definitely stink but it will not when fresh. J
I planted this not long ago. And then came 2 weeks worth of heavy rain. It died from all the rain, I dug down to the main chunk of the root and it's very white and super wet, I've had it exposed for days and the root is still wet, do you think it will recover? I have another comfrey cutting that's almost established in a solo cup I want to transplant, I was going to put it in this hole if the existing root dead
I only do it here and there - just to put a little back into the soil but no I don't dilute. No need. The worms in the pots really seem to enjoy it. J
Well it holds water when it rains ALOT! I wasn't expecting to get as much rain as I did. The leaves died off after the 5th day of rain. I figured it would become well established before it ever rained that much lol Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Comfrey can take a while to get established from a newly plant root/rhizome cutting. Especially if it was a bit dormant/calloused over. Drying a huge pile of comfrey leaves for brown and green mulch over the winter.
You could dig down next to it and see what the roots look like and get a feel for the soil situation. Surprised that it hasn'the grown more than that. If all else fails you can always dig it up and let it get established in a pot of soil and then try replanting. Keep us updated man!
Howdy Comfreyophiles, I was wondering if ya'll would harvest comfrey crowns during their first season or should I let the leaves decomp around the plants this year? Will edit with photos in a moment!
You can harvest them now if you want to and put them in your compost bin. They will grow back this season. The first year I only harvested once.. same time as now, in the fall. Next year you will be able to harvest pretty much continually. They will grow a lot faster next season. Harvesting now won't hurt them. Probably helps with root development I would think. I always harvest and don't let the leaves compost where the plant is for the most part. If you have a worm bin, your worms will kick into high gear, you won't believe how fast those leaves get broken down and the rest of the compost as well. Cut them down to like 3" from the soil line, leave a crown sticking up out of the soil and don't cover with mulch, not that it would stop them. You know not to dig up the roots right? This plant is pretty difficult if not impossible to eradicate.
Yesterday I was looking for pain relief salve recipes and found a link to Comfrey salve that says to make a root infusion for salves. How would I go about harvesting root without creating more plants in the space where my plant is? Also, I made some of the Comfrey Syrup and don't remember if storage and dosage were mentioned and I guess I didn't bookmark those posts. I have about 20 ozs of syrup in a water bottle in the fridge, should it be in a dark bottle? How long will it keep in the frige and how much per gallon should I use?
You could dig up the roots and separate them and replant and use some for medicinal use. Just don't throw any root material where you don't want Comfrey to grow. There are medicinal uses for the leaf material as well. I'm not an herbalist so I don't know much about it. We use Comfrey primarily for a green compost material for soil building. That and my worms my worms ...this really makes them happy. That and the bees the birds.. the garden; it's ALIVE!
Yea I just chopped what leaves were there to mulch the 1 and 2 gallon pots I filled with 2nd season outdoor soil to start seeds in for my indoor winter grow. I just took handfuls of soil out of the pots and it was full of worms. I just planted my Comfrey a few months ago and got one harvest after they flowered which is what I made the syrup with. Not sure what the root system will be like after only one season but I'm sure it will be enough to harvest some. I have one plant that was in full sun and wasn't that happy and never got as big as the more shaded ones so I'll dig it up and move the crown, then if I get a new plant in that spot, so be it.
I've kept it for a couple years in the dark in the root cellar. Mine was in clear glass. It doesn't need refrigeration. Just use enough to stain the water until it looks like tea. J