anybody using comfrey leaves?
- Thread starter ThaProdiG
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greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
struggling?
damn, the comfrey I have is, an insanely resilient plant.
They like water, they like to be dry (yeah I know, it's counterintuitive, sorta like how cannabis is) I amend a hole about a gallon sized or more and plop cutting in old recycled soil, muclh the top with compost and they go nuts, they like drainage, and they like a lot of sun, BUT they don't like a super hot day with full sun, can make them wilt a lil, they bounce back, but they look like they need water when they get too hot/sunny.
EASY as hell to clone..
I've used comfrey in a bunch of ways, and found that a shredded comfrey is best as a topdress, as a tea it works also, but not in a superior way over other typical teas, like alfalfa, kelp, and the like.
Shred it up as a topdress mixed with either compost or screened EWC, works awesome that way.
Also when you harvest your comfrey don't leave it in the sun or it bleaches the leaves, harvest them like cannabis, cool dry areas, with airflow..
Do the same with dandelion too, only dandelion takes MUCH longer to break down, I recommend that more for a compost though.
Rrog
Well-Known Member
Make sure it's Bocking 14 variety otherwise it'll spread like crazy
The advantage of this plant is that it sends roots down 30 - 50 feet to get minerals and bring them to the surface. So these are best planted in your yard, not a container
Otherwise, add them as a top dressing, a simple tea, or add to the worm bin as I do.
I wind up adding most amendments to the worm bin and have the resulting compost fully amended
The advantage of this plant is that it sends roots down 30 - 50 feet to get minerals and bring them to the surface. So these are best planted in your yard, not a container
Otherwise, add them as a top dressing, a simple tea, or add to the worm bin as I do.
I wind up adding most amendments to the worm bin and have the resulting compost fully amended
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
What a cool thing to say man, I appreciate that, means a lot, especially from a veteran knowledgable grower such as yourself.
I'm just here during business hours STONE-COLD sober... always thought that was funny.. I think I've been baked only like twice on this forum, both on the weekend when I took my computer on roadtrips in hotels..
Smidge34
Well-Known Member
It just didn't take off like my clones do. The original foliage looks like dammit, BUT I've got brand new, much greener growth at the bottom, so I'm golden. The switch from greenhouse to full 36 parallel sun didn't help either, but she's perservered through it. She's in a rich, loose raised bed and yes, just as my research indicated, I purchased Bocking 14. Thanks for taking the time to respond gmonkey, I appreciate your help always bro.
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greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
My pleasure to help man, I got the regular comfrey so I think that's why mine is so damn easy to clone, I swear my comfrey is crazy durable, I hack ALL the damn leaves off it, and it shoots up new stuff literally the next morning, I can see why this plant would be a friggin NIGHTMARE if you didn't want it on your property...
like blackberry brambles.... ever try to get rid of those? I had a guerrilla grow back in the late 90s that was in a blackberry/poison oak patch, and I hacked that bastard a trail through those and it'd pop back up every week... luckily I don't get poison oak, but those blackberry thorns... came out lookin like I was tryin to stuff a feral cat into a coffee can... bleeding from like 100 different areas..
Got almost three pounds off that girl though... and it was daaamn GOOD.. well compared to the relative 90s herb at the time..
back on topic though, comfrey is an amazing little plant, it LOVES nitrogen.. I feed itself, to itself.....
Rrog
Well-Known Member
I have comfrey in an area of my (home) job site that has been run over by bulldozers and is in shitty sand. The huge roots keep it alive and functioning as a nutrient elevator bring up minerals from the deep.
I personally don't fertilize them, because I'm looking for them to be providing fertilizer. They're on their own at my place. Lol
I personally don't fertilize them, because I'm looking for them to be providing fertilizer. They're on their own at my place. Lol
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
i hear ya there, only my comfrey gets yellow fast if i don't give it a lil comfrey to itself.
the soil we have is rather compacted and clay-like.
I used an old soil mix and dug out a small hole for them, can't kill this plant.
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
hah, and watch them blow up now.
my roots from my "comfrey planter" are just now showing lil blade leaves.
I heard about that method from grasscity, cut three holes out the bottom of a container, I cut mine about 2" in diameter, I dug a hole out of the side of the mountain (i'm doubling the comfrey as erosion control also) and then just stuck the container (a 15 gal smartpot) on top the soil for like 60 days or so, the smartpot is almost rootbound, so the roots bust out the bottom 2" holes fairly quickly, then after the 60 days, I twist the container, snapping the roots out the bottom, and then I move the container to a different spot, after about 10 days after you do that, you'll see the small blades of the comfrey growing off the roots that were left in the ground.
literally the easiest plant to propagate..
each hole of the container will allow different roots to propagate, so each time you get three new comfrey plants, at the least.
how friggin cool would that be if cannabis cloned that easy..
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
here is some pics I thought you'd appreciate.
Of the method I described earlier.
that's the tiny blades from the roots leftover, pretty cool, looks like there are five different blades popping up. I wasn't sure it was going to work so I planted another comfrey clone in there, but I totally didn't need to, in about a month it's going to be all crazy right there.
I've had a dedicated raised bed of comfrey for the last 4 or 5 years. Choose your site carefully, because they are damn near impossible to eliminate once rooted. GMM's trick with leaving bits of root is a perfect example. Got the Bocking 14 from Horizon Herbs back in 2010 or 2011, don't remember exactly.
Usually do 3 "clear cuts" per season, cutting the entire plant almost at ground level. Then make filets of the leaves, cutting off most of the stem and fiberous stuff that is slower to break down. I'll use this for top dressing, either the comfrey or the other raised bed. The 'filets' get stuffed in a plastic bag and into the freezer.
I don't bother with teas any more, no need with a well constructured soil and don't bother much with top dressing the comfrey. Just about all of it goes in the worm bins and the resulting VC is flat out amazing! We don't generate much in the way of food scraps and the worms diet is mostly comfrey and coffee grounds, along with kelp meal, neem cake, alfalfa, and other stuff added from time to time.
Freezing the comfrey causes it to break down to goo in a matter of days in the worm bin, rather than a week or more for fresh cut. I don't cut it into smaller pieces, or do much of anything other than cutting most of the stem away from the leaf.
BTW, the worms won't mess with the coffee grounds till the microbes have been working on them for a month or so. What I do now is pop a banana peel or some fruit skin in the coffee container while adding the grounds and let it sit for a month or so before giving it to the worms. I'll dump the entire container in the bin, filters and all. Just check to make sure they are covered with fuzz. I have 2 bins and just alternate between them.
Getting older and lazier, letting the worms do all the hard work is working out very well.
Wet