Comfrey is a wonderful thing. It isn't the most handsome plant but it has so much to offer that every gardener and grower should find room for some on their plot. As you can see from this picture bees adore it, but it also makes one of the best liquid fertilizers that you could ask for. All you need to do is cut the plant down and fill a bucket loosely with the cut leaves, then cover it with water, put a lid over it and leave it for a couple of weeks. Some people also weigh down the leaves with a brick but that's up to you.
When you uncover the potion it will look and smell awful but, diluted with water, it is a wonderful potassium feed, perfect for any potash-hungry crops. Comfrey is this nutrituous because its deep roots are an amazing accumulator of potassium. As well as making fertiliser you could try adding comfrey neat to the compost bin or using it as s a nutritious mulch under roses, tomatoes or gooseberries.
Try to get a bocking variety as other cultivars can be real bullies and spread all over the place. I have two beds of it on the allotment and wouldn't be without it to help keep my plants happy, strong and healthy.
Great picture.
One of the first things I got when I got my allotment was some Bocking 14 comfrey. I had heard how good it was when used as a liquid feed, and I believe some people spread the leaves underneath their potatoes at planting time.
Posted by: Jo | June 24, 2009 at 12:41 PM
That is a good idea.
I do not have any Comfrey in my garden yet, but I will keep a look out!
www.lifeseedco.blogspot.com
Posted by: Joshua | June 23, 2009 at 09:01 PM
Hi Valeri
I think you would get the same results from any comfrey but, as you have noticed, some varieties can be a bit of a pain in the garden! I acutally have a creeping comfrey on one part of my plot that the previous owner planted and it's a real nuisance! Be careful that you don't include bits of the root either as this could end up spreading your creeping comfrey even further in your garden. If you grow a bocking variety you don't have this problem! Good luck - I'll be interested to see how you get on!
Posted by: Liz | June 23, 2009 at 08:54 AM
I have creeping Comfrey which flowers in the spring and looks like snowdrops. It is very invasive. Would it work in the same way? I would be pleased to know that the leaves I keep pulling up were being used usefully? Val
Posted by: Valeri | June 22, 2009 at 10:14 PM