Growing Comfrey from Seed.

[sarraceniac]

i quite like common weeds, and i haven't been able to get the Bocking 14 yet, i will admit to having a stubborn nature to what other people call weeds, they are just plants, may not be pretty, may well be invasive, but they are all just plants, and they all have a use in the grand scheme of things, so if they find a home in my garden, well i will just do my utmost to share the space

like the nettles i deliberately grow, which we use as spring greens ( and stops the local brats from climbing over to get their footballs)
the dandelions i use as a diuretic.
the feverfew i grow to help with my migraines.

all weeds, all with a use, i think i would like some non sterile comfrey to join them, just need not to let it seed like crazy.

I seem to remember that Chengjing's garden is rather pristine and has been on telly. I don't think she will want invasive plants even though they don't bother BrideXIII or me. I just hack them back.

Having seen your garden Chengjing, I think I would compost the seeds.

[BrideXIII]

I seem to remember that Chengjing's garden is rather pristine and has been on telly. I don't think she will want invasive plants even though they don't bother BrideXIII or me. I just hack them back.

Having seen your garden Chengjing, I think I would compost the seeds.

then you are right LOL

my objection is only that if we all move to steriles that rely on cuttings to propogate, that can impact species chances of surviving in the long run( very long), i am happy to be the mad woman over run with 'weeds', wild flowers that serve no purpose other than look pretty ( bees love em) and stuff that grows for the sake of it. it is all beautiful in mine eyes.

oh and i love squirrels , foxes and rats too, sorry !

[Two_Sheds]

my objection is only that if we all move to steriles that rely on cuttings to propogate, that can impact species chances of surviving in the long run

like bananas.

I'd agree with you up to a point; but what a bonus a sterile dandelion would be

[BrideXIII]

like bananas.

I'd agree with you up to a point; but what a bonus a sterile dandelion would be

I do not have a problem with people that want a weed free patch ( define weed?) I would just hate a world were everything was 'pristine' so i am happy to share my mud patch with anything and everything and enjoy the daily squabble for the space.

the only time i really fell out with dandelions was years back when they actually grew in my carpet, due to son2's predeliction for blowing the seeds off indoors....... we have laminate now

i don't have an airy fairy view of the world as it should be, nor do i like wiping out 'vermin' cos it suits us not to share. i know its odd, but that's just me.

[terrier]

Just sow the comfrey seed in a local hedgerow where it belongs, well away from cultivated areas. Then just harvest as required. I feel the same way about Horseradish, useful, but not in my plot!

[BrideXIII]

Just sow the comfrey seed in a local hedgerow where it belongs, well away from cultivated areas. Then just harvest as required. I feel the same way about Horseradish, useful, but not in my plot!

well i do have that advantage of being the only begger that grows more than a lawn round here, so no complaints, i wouldn't ( might not) do it if everyone had veg gardens next door to me.
even then though, although i would be neighbourly, it wouldn't change my views any i don't think.

it might be hard work to cut it all back before it seeds, but, that's the price you pay, and if they are not perennial, then you have to let some seed set.
after all that's how we got all these plants we like growing in the first place neh?

[sarraceniac]

I have horse radish. It is a great ground cover where nothing else will grow (I think another thread is going on this). I tried making horse radish sauce for the first time last summer. It was OK but Mr. Tesco sells better (and easier). I noticed someone's signature earlier that basically said that every gardener believes he/she has a monopoly of truth (I think it was a Chinese proverb) . Can't remember the exact words, but they got there before me.

I think we can all compare notes and some ideas are just crazy, but isn't gardening wonderful when you can do so many different things with just a few square meters of soil? But I still prefer Bocking 14 to a rampant annual.

[terrier]

But I still prefer Bocking 14 to a rampant annual.

Rampant annual? Sounds like a comic I you'st to read in my youth

[sarraceniac]

Met you before Terrier. Is that avatar A Welsh Terrier with horns or a Lapland Terrier? Cute anyway.

[Laney]

So glad I checked on this forum - I have seeds chilling in the fridge! Bocking 14 now on order :-)

[Nicola.P]

I have just bought some comfrey seeds but I was going to re-purpose the base of an old animal cage and plant it in there to control it a bit. It says it is perenial so I could cut the flowers off before they run to seed.

[Kristen]

You could, but if you miss them (they reflower not long after cutting off) they'll self seed and the roots are difficult to get out.

My advice is to throw / give the seeds away and get some Bocking-14 roots.

[Nicola.P]

Thanks.
Didn't realise until I read this thread after buying the seeds. Just ordered some bocking root cuttings. Do they still spread quite a bit or will they stay where I put them if planted directly in the ground?

[alldigging]

Plant the seeds in a corner you are not others about, in shade or poor soil.

Mine have not spread or self seeded and are smaller plants than the blocking 14 I also have.

[Kristen]

Thanks.
they still spread quite a bit or will they stay where I put them if planted directly in the ground?

They'll stay put, making a decent sized clump.

Plant the seeds in a corner you are not others about, in shade or poor soil.

Mine have not spread or self seeded and are smaller plants than the blocking 14 I also have.

Mine spread because at some point they were cut and put on the compost heap, then came up all around the garden. Clearly that isn't a guaranteed outcome!, particularly for folk aware of the problem, as I wasn't at the time, but a momentary lapse or a well-meaning friend could cause the problem.

Personally I would just prefer not to have the self-seeding variety on my site at all.