Gardening: Comfrey anyone?

[jeral Profile]

I watched a prog ages and ages ago about this where it was grown only to be dug back in to enrich the soil. I'd never heard of it, nor seen it - and still haven't.

Not sure if safe for edible plant soil. I see it is still valued as Monty Don is a fan for garden plants at least.

Just thought I'd mention it.

[Suffs Profile]

Absolutely safe for veg patches ... also great for making liquid fertiliser ... but use the sterile strain ‘Bocking 14’ which can only be propagated by cuttings. Use the ordinary sort and it’ll seed everywhere and it’s a PITA to get rid of.

[jeral Profile]

Many thanks Suffs for informative reply Sounds well worth getting to grips with.

It has been a mystery to me for years as on first seeing the prog I misheard is as pumphrey so drew a blank everywhere needless to say.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I use it all summer. As Suffs mentioned, the classic way is put the leaves and stems into a container with or without water in order to make a liquid fertiliser. A friend calls it 'comfrey tea' but much as I respect her, I can't bring myself to refer to it as anything more polite than 'liquid manure' - it does pen and ink and should be made in a sealed container. It's quite rich in potassium and a good feed for flowering things, be they decorative blooms or fruiting veg. You can make a similar infusion using borage - it self seeds everywhere. I add borage to my comfrey bin. Both plants are really popular with bees, incidentally.

If the liquid manure seems a step too far, comfrey can be cut, wilted (so it doesn't take root) and used in potato trenches or as a mulch. This doesn't smell at all.

Alternatively it makes a bulk of material for compost. The solid residue from the liquid manure can be used in the same way. My neighbour on the allotment has commented that he always knows when I've fed my veg...

I suppose if you were only going to make liquid feed you could use wild comfrey, but in the garden heed Suffs and plant Bocking 14.

Jane Grigson gives a recipe for comfrey fritters in English Food. I think it's now considered a bad idea to eat it.

[Renee Profile]

I had read in the past about comfrey, or knit-bone, as it was also known to be used externally for bruising and to help healing bones. I've just found this:

“Comfrey’s use in Chinese traditional medicine spans over 2000 years. All Materia Medica from the Middle Ages forward carried descriptions on the uses of comfrey. Comfrey baths were very common during the Middle Ages. Comfrey is widely known as “one of nature’s greatest medicinal herbs”, and has appeared in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, as well as in herbals and compendiums around the world. Recently, reports of the toxic effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey have led some herbalists to be wary of using it internally. PAs in extremely large doses or over long periods of time may cause potentially fatal damage to the liver. Many leading herbalists and traditional healers question the warnings, pointing to laboratory tests that show only minute levels of PAs in random samples of comfrey preparations.”

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Well well Renee - I've long used Symphytum aka Boneknit for injuries & have got plenty of other folk onto it too over the years - it is very effective if you have a break but must only be started after the final x-ray after the plaster is off & the bone can be seen to be healing in the correct position - it does speed up the bone healing process - but I never realised it was Comfrey...……..!

[Renee Profile]

How very interesting lush! I certainly wouldn't have known what Symphytum was!