living off the grid..ish

[Dan Maynard]

8 minutes ago, sime42 said:

I'd love to get into growing and using comfrey but not really got the space for it. Never heard anything but positives about it.

The negative is it spreads all over the place and the roots are about 3 miles deep so it's really difficult to get rid of.

 

[sime42]

The negative is it spreads all over the place and the roots are about 3 miles deep so it's really difficult to get rid of.
 

Oh yeah, good points, you've got me there! I forgot about that. My parents put in a clump of it and within years it had spread like stink around the whole of what was a large garden.

[Guest Gimlet]

Don't grow wild comfrey. Buy the "Bocking 14" cultivar which is sterile and does not produce seed. When it has flowered cut the leaves down to the base and use them either as mulch (it can be used directly around spuds and tomatoes and won't burn them) or as compost, or to make liquid fertiliser. Those who till can dig wilted leaves into a new seed bed, but if you're not digging, I guess applying the green leaves as a mulch will still give you the benefits. Slugs don't like comfrey either.

 

It will spread by it's root system but the cultivar is not nearly as invasive as wild comfrey. It's best to have a specific area or bed for it and not tolerate any expansion. If you wanted to be really sure you could dig in some corrugated iron around the area like you might with bamboo.The root stock will get bigger and bigger as you harvest the leaves so from time to time large roots can be split and the half you dig up added to your liquid fertiliser bin. My parents swore that the root made the best liquid fertiliser of all. Stinks, but it's magic stuff. TBH, theirs were constantly being harvested and they didn't spread - and they were wild ones. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Gimlet

[Guest Gimlet]

Oh, and another thing, the youngest top leaves of comfrey dipped in tempera batter and deep fried make great fritters.

 

I was lucky at my old house. My garden was next to a stream and on the far side there was loads of wild comfrey. I could help myself to as much as I wanted and it never made across the stream into my garden. But I did get the insects. Perfect.

Edited June 10, 2022 by Gimlet

[Stubby]

10 hours ago, Gimlet said:

Oh, and another thing, the youngest top leaves of comfrey dipped in tempera batter and deep fried make great fritters.

 

I was lucky at my old house. My garden was next to a stream and on the far side there was loads of wild comfrey. I could help myself to as much as I wanted and it never made across the stream into my garden. But I did get the insects. Perfect.

You dunnarf know some stuff Gimms 👍

[Guest Gimlet]

5 minutes ago, Stubby said:

You dunnarf know some stuff Gimms 👍

I's an old fart who's made lots of mistakes. You learn stuff like that. I learn plenty more on here too from other people. 

[Stubby]

1 minute ago, Gimlet said:

I's an old fart who's made lots of mistakes. You learn stuff like that. I learn plenty more on here too from other people. 

I'm an old fart as well . Still every day can be a school day if one pays attention 👍

[Paul in the woods]

12 hours ago, Gimlet said:

Don't grow wild comfrey. Buy the "Bocking 14" cultivar which is sterile and does not produce seeds.

I grow bocking 14 although I dont, have the heart to cut it back as the bubbles love it. It Also doesn't grow rampantly here but that's probably because we don't have rich soil.

 

Your comments on bees is interesting, I know honey bees will seek out plants that provide pollen with higher protein constant but not really noticed a preference for colour. The season starts with yellow gorse and dandelions before going onto while and green (e.g. sycamore), white again with brambles and then purple with knapweed. 

[peds]

8 minutes ago, Paul in the woods said:

I grow bocking 14 although I dont, have the heart to cut it back as the bubbles love it. 

It's a shame to see it cut down for sure, best to have several patches so there's always enough on the go.

[Guest Gimlet]

Saw a mass of wild comfrey in flower today on the roadside in the middle of nowhere in Northumberland. White, pink and blue, and behind it was a load of borage. It was a beautiful sight.