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COMFREY GUIDES

harvested comfrey leaves bound by an elastic band

Comfrey vs BorageFertiliser – For TomatoesGrowing From SeedHarvestingRoot CuttingsVarieties

Comfrey is a ubiquitous flora in sustainable horticulture , used in a wide range of unlike manner .

One thing it is especially useful for is piss a comfrey fertiliser , or liquid feed .

Symphytum grandiflorum growing in woodland

Comfrey is an extremely utile industrial plant , both when growing in the garden , and when chopped and used .

In this guide we ’ll explicate exactly how you’re able to keep fertility rate in your garden and keep your plants glad by take a shit a comfrey fertiliser or ‘ comfrey tea ’ to fee your plant in an organic , eco - friendly way .

Before we do – it is deserving search in short exactly why comfrey is such a useful works to grow in your garden ; the benefits it can institute for you , wildlife with whom you share your garden , your garden dirt and your plants .

lush green leaves of comfrey

Why Grow Comfrey?

There are a huge range of reasons why comfrey is such a utile plant to uprise :

What Makes It A Good Fertiliser?

Comfrey is , as refer above , great at meet nutrients.3Comfrey Fact Sheet . ( n.d . ) . Aeronvale Allotments . remember March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://aeronvale-allotments.org.uk/downloads/Comfrey_factsheet-01.pdf

It draw up food through its bass theme and lay in them in a more bioavailable manakin .

It is this gadget characteristic which makes cumfrey big for use as a fertiliser .

chopped comfrey leaves laid out on a lawn

The nutrients can be harnessed by chopping and dropping the material a duet of times over the grow season .

These can either be used as mulch or an ingredient in compost system of rules or rear beds – where the stuff will break down pretty quickly .

Or they can be used to make a liquid fertiliser to give sure plants a boost .

liquid comfrey tea in a black plastic bucket next to a fruiting tomato plant

“ This is definitely deserving doing as long as you’re able to stand the aroma of rotting foliage ! ”

Comfrey ( all parts of the plant life ) hold the three key nutrient require for flora increment : nitrogen , Lucifer and K ( NPK).4Comfrey . ( 2023 , January 10 ) . Garden Organic . Retrieved March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/garden-management/soil/comfrey

Comfrey is say , in particular , to be a good dynamic accumulator of potassium , though it typically also includes pot of other micro - nutrients in smaller amounts .

brown liquid comfrey fertiliser tea in a white bucket

The exact NPK profile of comfrey will bet on where it is grow , but a mulch or liquid feed made with this plant will be rich in potassium , which makes it particularly beneficial for unfolding and fruiting plants .

atomic number 19 is of import for works in maintaining their lifecycles and it is especially important during phase of reproduction.5Potassium for crop yield . ( n.d . ) . University of Minnesota . regain March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://extension.umn.edu/phosphorus-and-potassium/potassium-crop-production

How To Make Comfrey Tea Fertiliser

The first step in making a comfrey afternoon tea fertiliser is , of path , choosing and plant your comfrey .

One of the most commonly used type of comfrey in gardens in the UK is calledSymphytumxuplandicum(Russian comfrey ) ‘ Bocking 14’.6A survey of comfrey exercise . ( 2022 , November 15 ) . Garden Organic . Retrieved March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/what-we-do/citizen-science-and-research/members-experiments/a-survey-of-comfrey-use

This is a sterile cultivar developed in the 1950s by Lawrence Hills , who founded the Henry Doubleday Research Association.7Comfrey . ( n.d . ) . Google Books . Retrieved March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Comfrey.html?id=HWTEOQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

S. × uplandicum ‘Bocking #14’ with purple flowers

We do recommend that you choose a sterile cultivar since comfrey , though useful , can easily go around , and wherever it grows , it can be unmanageable to carry off due to its deep roots.8Comfrey – A Controversial Herb . ( n.d . ) . Master Gardener . retrieve March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.mastergardenersmecklenburg.org/comfrey—a-controversial-herb.html

Comfrey is a audacious plant life , which can grow well in many gardens with very different conditions .

For best results , it should be arise in a cheery or part shaded or dappled shadiness site in deep , rich soil .

comfrey leaves stuffed in two plastic containers

Comfrey is typically harvested for a liquified feed twice in the growing time of year – once in June , and again in August .

The healing herb can simply be chopped down , or mow .

recollect , however , while harvest , that it may be beneficial to keep some flowering for the wildlife in your garden .

hands chopping stalks and leaves of comfrey in a bucket

Next you should :

How To Use Comfrey Feed

bleed off the slurry and dilute it with water at a ratio of ten share water to one part of this commixture .

This will give you a fluent plant food that will not be too strong for your plant life .

you could use this when water your plants – I be given to fill a watering can with 1/3 of diluted comfrey tea with 2/3 pee and apply this on plants which will benefit from the potassium .

hand pouring comfrey fertiliser on a bush

you may also use the diluted mix as a foliar provender – spraying it onto your industrial plant .

Comfrey fertiliser can also be added to a composting arrangement to pump up microbial content and nitrogen and aid in speeding decomposition .

“ When using for the first clip , I ’d evoke starting with a very weak intermixture and then see the plant for any ill gist that may look like burning , as too strong a mix can do more harm than good , ” shares Dan Ori , a Master Horticulturist .

gardener moving a large container of liquid fertiliser around the garden

“ If all is well after examine a unaccented mixture , you may creep up to 1/3 comfrey tea leaf to 2/3 water , just keep check the flora for burning , as it can happen that admixture come out too stiff . ”

Storage

I tend to plan to use my first flock of comfrey afternoon tea in former summer , on summer crops , and the 2d sight in late summer or other fall .

Storing any liquid provender for a foresightful time is in the main not the best idea as it will lose nutrient over time .

“ Label containers that comfrey Camellia sinensis is salt away in aright , ” Dan recommend .

comfrey leaves planted with chitted desiree potatoes

How Long Does Comfrey Tea Last?

you’re able to leave any remaining comfrey admixture in the container in which it was made until spring , though typically , it is best to use it up in the autumn before pop fresh with a new plenty the following year .

you may also decant the mix and store it in tightly varnish bottles in a cool , sorry office for former use .

However , it will have a ledge life and is usually well used within around 4 weeks .

Alternative Methods

If you are pushed for meter , you’re able to also make a agile comfrey tea by engross the leave in stewing water system for just 24 hours .

Just go forth the leave-taking in the water , then stress out the leaves and debase the mix with the same measure of water and use this to irrigate your plants .

Another alternative method acting is to wad the leafage into a underwrite containerwithoutwater .

The leave of absence should turn into a thickheaded blackish goo which can be accumulate after a few weeks and dilute 1 part to 15 times as much water for exercise .

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