Comfrey - should it not be picked in the first year?

[Russel Sprout]

Hi again!

I planted up some comfrey earlier in the year, mainly from root cuttings and small plants. They've grown into nice strong and healthy looking plants:





I seem to remember reading that it is best not to harvest comfrey in the first year so that the plants and roots get well established. On the other hand, the plants look healthy and I have also read that once you've planted comfrey you'll never get rid of it.

I could do with making some feed.... But I don't want to do the plants any harm....

So should I harvest some or not???

Thanks for all the great help.

Max

PS - the comfrey is Bocking 14.

[Newbiegrower1970]

You'll never get rid of it and it will take over.

[Russel Sprout]

Apparently not with Bocking 14. Well, the first half may be right. But in terms of it taking over, the seed is sterile unlike other comfrey. Or so I've read/been told...

[WPG]

Yes, you're right Max, the Bocking 14 won't self-seed. I didn't cut mine the first year of planting, but in hindsight I doubt one pick would've harmed it.
The advice I was given was never to cut it after 1st September but let it die back, so if you are going to pick it then it'd need to be sooner rather than later.
I'd tend not to cut the ones in your second photo though, looks like they'll be competing with the trees for water etc.

[nickdub]

You could gut some from the plants in the top photo if you want to - plants look v healthy.


It is possible to kill it by chopping of everything at ground level and treating the exposed cut part with some sort of brushwood killer type chemical, BTW.

[Cadalot]

In the first year (second for autumn planted) allow the plants to grow to the point where it throws up flower stalks and then cut back to about 150 mm (6″) from the ground.

Alans Allotment: Comfrey

[Russel Sprout]

Many thanks for the replies. I did not end up cutting any, partly because I didn't get round to it, and partly because I had some feed left from some comfrey leaves I had harvested elsewhere.

The advice I was given was never to cut it after 1st September but let it die back

WPG - do you (or does anyone else) know why this is the case and what the idea behind it is? As my comfrey is starting to die down, it seems to make sense to cut it down and make use of it. But I'm reluctant to after reading this. The only reason I can think of is that the dying/decaying leaves will add nutrients to the soil for next year's growth. But are there other reasons for the 1st September" rule?

Cheers

[WPG]

I'm not sure Max - I think the advice was in a leaflet by Organic Catalogue, which is where I bought my roots from. I'd hazard a guess that if it gets chopped down now, it'll only try to regrow again, and maybe that expends too much energy. Or maybe, as you suggest, the plants benefit from their own decaying leaves.

Having said all that, it seems pretty impossible to kill comfrey, so I doubt you'd lose the plant with a late cut.