Comfrey / Nettle question...

[crucy86]

Hi All,

So im thinking ahead to next year and was reading about using Comfrey and Nettles to make a general liquid fert.

I know that I should buy Blocking 14 Comfrey if I am going to grow it but have a few questions:

is it REALLY invasive, or can it be kept under control with regular cutting?
If I ever choose to get rid of it, can I ?

There are also loads of nettles I have at my disposal so was thinking about doing 2 water butts, one of Comfrey and the other nettles. That then leads me onto my next question about ferts in general. Can someone verify my understanding

Nitrogen - For Leaf growth (so Brassicas, salad leaf etc)
Phosphorus - Roots (Potatoes, Onions, Garlic etc)
Potassium - Fruit and Flowers (Toms etc)

What is Comfrey and Nettles high in?

I did have bookmarked some good information but it looks like the website has had a restructure and taken the pages down!

Thanks,

Craig

[zazen999]

It's Bocking 14.

Comfrey is high in Potassium, Nettles high in Nitrogen.

Comfrey Bocking 14 won't invade anything unless you keep digging it up and replanting, which is a good way of increasing your stocks. But once you have it it's very hard to get rid. So choose somewhere that you are unlikely to want to use for anything else, plant a few and leave them to it.

To make tea bags which I find the easiest way, get 4pt milk cartons, drill some holes in them, stuff full of comfrey and nettles, and stick them in a water butt. They will decompose and feed your veg every time you water. At the end of the season, fish them out, let them dry off somewhere, open the top and empty the remains onto the compost heap.

By the way - this was typed from the premises of HDRA/Garden Organic, where Lawrence Hills finished his research into Comfrey and brought all his comfrey plants to from Bocking in Essex where he bred Bocking 14.

[crucy86]

Thanks Zazen,

would you recommend placing both nettles and Comfrey in the same water butt then and make a general 'tea' - I was originally going to split them into two different feeds but having them all in one sounds easier!

I didnt know if it would have an impact feeding certain plants more of a certain fert if it didnt need it.

Thanks,

Craig

[zazen999]

I just add them in together but it depends on what you are feeding.

[taff]

I used to keep two buckets by the comfrey, because there was comfrey one side, and nettels the other, so they each had their own bucket,and the shed roof net door helpfully supplied the water when it rained.

I'd robably do it again because i used to take a jug or equivalent of the nettle, and two of comfrey for the toms, and just the nettle for cabbages etc as pick me ups.

Then zazen [i think] suggested chopping up the comfrey and adding it straight to the toms MPC, so that was a lot less smelly

[Two_Sheds]

My fert is in 5 litre water bottles: they contain the smell nicely. They are filled with comfrey (potash & nitrogen), seaweed (for alginates), slugs & snails (for homemade nematodes).

[Two_Sheds]

... suggested chopping up the comfrey and adding it straight to the toms

You can, but the nutrients won't be available to the crop until the leaves have rotted, whereas liquid feed is immediately available to the plant

[Lazy Gardener]

My plots covered with Comfrey. Its a nightmare.

No matter how deep or carefully you dig it out there always seems to be a tiny slither
of root left somewhere and it regrows in no time at all.

If it were food it would feed the world in a matter of weeks... Probably from my plot alone.

[zazen999]

My plots covered with Comfrey. Its a nightmare.

No matter how deep or carefully you dig it out there always seems to be a tiny slither
of root left somewhere and it regrows in no time at all.

If it were food it would feed the world in a matter of weeks... Probably from my plot alone.

But that doesn't happen from planting one plant, of Bocking 14 that only propagates through roots not seeds.

[Compo72]

I put some chopped up nettles in a old plastic drum with water .
Left it to stew then fed it to the garden .

In hindsight , it should have been diluted down more .
Read somewhere about 10 partss water to one part food

It's hard to judge its results but any feed is better than no feed

Having read about comfrey I'm going to have at growing some in a large tub .
Chop down and stew for when needed .

I have thought about making a banana tea .
A large milk container with banana peel left a few hours fed to plants

One of my wacky ideas I guess .




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[Two_Sheds]

Having read about comfrey I'm going to have at growing some in a large tub

Nope.

The whole thing about comfrey is that it gathers nutrients from down deep in the soil. It can't do that in a tub: it can only use the nutrients that you feed it, in a tub. Kind of defeats the purpose