Sunday, February 6, 2011

THINKING FORWARD - COMFREY

Read in the local paper yesterday that worldwide food prices have hit an all time record high. This is not too surprising when you consider that the food consumed now travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to the end consumer. Fuel prices keep heading up and it takes lots and lots of fuel to grow commercial crops and to power the semi trucks delivering them to your local store. This alone is causing food prices to rise but then figure in the weather events [ freeze in Florida, floods in Australia and you can go on and on ].




When you start to figure the steadily rising food prices, the expanding population growth, and the scary chemical pesticides we are eating in our food It makes one stop to ponder. It seems to me that it might just be a good idea to start growing some food yourself. It is not something that you can do overnight and takes some planning, education and forward thinking. Start to learn how now is some good insurance.


Like in a game of chess you have to think several moves ahead of the opponent. In the case of our food it seems the opponent is being dependent on always being able to just pick something up from the grocery store. Let's become more self sufficient and less dependent. Enable yourself.

OK, enough of the sermon but after all this is Sunday. Here is a smart move that I made that I will share with you. The first raised bed that I made in the Sandpit garden I made a dedicated bed. It is dedicated to growing plants that will support my organic beds to come.

As always , with some help of my friends I discovered Comfrey. In this case it was Africanaussie who suggested that I grow some Comfrey to make nutrient tea for the plants. After some research it became clear that this member of the Borage family has numerous benefits to an organic garden as well as being a medicinal herb plant.

I decided to make an investment after researching Comfrey and purchased six root cuttings of Russian blocking 14 Comfrey from Horizon herbs. The Blocking 14 type is sterile and does not make seeds so it will not spread beyond where you plant it as is the case with regular Comfrey. The blocking 14 is Symphytum X Uplandicum for the technical minded.




The root cutting grow easily into six plants that fill this dedicated bed. The Comfrey grows quickly producing large leaves that are filled with nutrients. The cold won't hurt it as it is hearty down to minus- 35 degrees and it loves the Florida sun.


These Comfrey plants send down roots like 8 feet deep and act as a nutrient accumulator. They are like a sponge absorbing nutrients which are transported to the leaves.


These leaves are richer in nutrients that compost or manure. The Comfrey leaves contain Nitrogen - Potassium - Magnesium -Phosphorus - Calcium - Silica -Iron and a host of micro-nutrients. Comfrey is also one of the few plants that can take up vitamin b-12. It's like having your own renewable fertilizer machine in your garden. After you harvest some of the giant leaves others quickly grow back to take their place.


Here is just one way to use the leaves. I cut a few off and cut them up into Comfrey confetti which I then plop around the base of other plants. The Comfrey Leaf Confetti breaks down and the nutrients are leached into the soil for the plant. Or you can make Comfrey tea which works a little faster and as a nutrient spray on a plants leaves.
Did I say the Comfrey leaves will activate your compost pile? They will.
Do you get Tomato end rot where much needed calcium is leached from the soil by to much rain? You guessed it, replenish the calcium with Comfrey tea.
Tomato, Peppers and Cucumbers all crave Potassium . Comfrey leaves provide it .
The Comfrey plant can be harvested repeatedly and just provides more leaves without having to be replanted. Comfrey fills my first dedicated raised bed and provides year round sustainable FREE fertilizer for the other plants.
All the above just touches the surface of the benefits of the Comfrey herb. Google it and you can read volumes as well as get info on making medicines and the Comfrey Plant Tea.
So next time you are waiting in line at some garden center to buy some plant fertilizer just think you could be growing your own in your garden.
If you don't already try out the Comfrey Plant. They make a great case for thinking forward.
--SANDDUNE--








11 comments:

  1. Sanddune,
    Thanks for the most timely post, I feel that I am going to find this golden nugget of information most useful. While I was aware of the medicinal use of comfrey I had no idea as its value as a nutrient source for other plants. – G

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  2. Very interesting post. It seems like this would be a simple thing to do to provide some non-chemical fert. I did read that comfrey may not be good for acid-loving plants and that's mostly what I have since I have very acidic soil, so I'll have to do a little more investigating. Sounds like a good thing for the veggies though.

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  3. Your comfrey looks lovely and healthy. I had my original plant in a pot and started six others in a side bed that doesnt get much drainage. Lucky I kept the original in the pot because with all the flooding those have not made it through the wet season. Sounds as though yours are quite well drained in a raised bed.

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  4. Gary,
    The Russian Blocking 14 Comfrey is working out great here as a sustainable fertilizer source as well as a medicinal herb . Since growing Comfrey here I have been quite impressed with both the plants growth and it's usefulness in my garden. Hope you get simular results if you try Comfrey in your garden. Thanks for stopping by the blog it is good to hear from you again.

    NanaK,
    Comfrey appears great for most vegetables with all the nutrients the leaves provide. Peppers, Tomato and Cucumber soak up the Potassium and the leaves of the Comfrey are a great souce. The Comfrey leaves mixed with some of your Oak leaf compost or used coffee grounds would probably balance out the PH to neutral for acid loving plants. All I can say is that the Comfrey plant is so useful and sustainable it is fast becoming one of my most valuable organic assets here at the Sandpit.

    Africanaussie,
    Thanks for turning me on to the Comfrey plant. The plants here love it and show noticable difference with it's use as a fertilizer. The confetti method is much slower to be absorbed as compaired to the tea but the nutrients get there just the same abeit slowly.The people that I got the Comfrey root starts from recommend that you grow it directly in the ground not in a pot because it sends down a very deep taproot. The Comfrey plants growing in the first raised bed have never slowed down in their growth so it seems like this is a well drained area for them. Being mostly sand here I guess that makes perfect sense.

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  5. Hello, Sanddune! It's great to visit your blog again, and, boy, did I learn something! I had no idea what a great fertilizer comfrey is. I definitely want to plant some. Thanks for the info.

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  6. Interesting.....I'm gonna have to give that a try,as I love the organic aspect.I'll have to look for some plants,now.Thanks for the idea.

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  7. Hi Deborah,
    The Comfrey has turned out to be a really versatile plant for the organic garden. You would probably also understand all the medicinal uses the Comfrey plant has being a nurse. If you try some get the blocking 14 type which doesn't spread except from root cuttings. Thanks for stopping by and I hope it warms up for you guys soon..

    ChrisC,
    I ordered mine from horizon herbs for about 2.00 per root cutting. Once the plant gets established you can regenerate as many more as you like by making your own root cuttings. It's a sustainable capitol investment in your organic garden.

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  8. Sanddune,
    It's good to read this follow up on the comfrey. I remember when you first made the bed and planted it. Would you say you've noticed a difference after using it around your plants? I really appreciate the nudge and the information to think about this sustainable herb again.
    meems

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  9. Meems,
    I do beleave that the Comfrey mulch strengthens the plants that I have used it on. The results are not immediate as the mulch has to break down and leach into the soil. Making Comfrey tea would give much faster results. The mulch method is great for pots as you can just throw in a handfull of the chopped Comfrey leaves in the top and forget about it. With all the nutrients contained in the Comfrey leaf it is like giving your plants soil a vitamin boost [feed the soil]. I also use the Comfrey medicinally and find it a quite usefull herb to have around.

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  10. Sanddune, you are, as always, an inspiration! What a great plant! And FREE Fertilizer!! Woo Hoo! This will probably be my next investment.

    By the way, I wanted to let you know that I'm giving you a blogger award. I've posted about it in my latest post, "A Gift", and linked to your blog. I hope you'll accept...I think you definitely deserve it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kimberly,
    I hope that you do give the Comfrey a try. Also Thank you for mentioning the blog in your Gift Post. I really don't do the awards thing but I am grateful that you get something from the Sandpit blog.

    ReplyDelete

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