What is the fuss about Comfrey?

By now you probably heard about comfrey and the use in the garden. We love growing this hardy perennial. It grows quickly and easily, has beautiful flowers, and best of all, it provide us with a completely free nutrient-rich source of fertiliser which can be used all season long.

Comfrey has a deep taproot and a large root system. With this, comfrey is able to pull nutrients from the subsoil that most other plants can't reach.

The plant has 3 major nutrients and high levels of calcium.

1. Nitrogen - Needed for green leaf growth.

2. Phosphorus - Plants requires this to remain vigorous and fight of disease and pests.

3. Potassium - This nutrient is instrumental in flower and fruit production.

Comfrey uses

• Medicinal

Since Greek and Roman times, comfrey was used to stop heavy bleeding, treat bronchial problems and heal wounds.

Take the fresh comfrey leaves, brush them together to remove the hairs. Wrap them around the wound and apply light pressure. This will stop the bleeding, reduce the pain and assist with wound healing. Comfrey is also known as knit-bone, a reference to its capacity to aid in the healing of bones.

There are many contradicting info about taking comfrey internally, so I stay clear and only use it tropically.

• Biomass

The plant is excellent for producing mulch and can be cut back 2 - 5 times per year. The plant will grow better after every harvest. With its deep tap root comfrey can go down 2m to the deep subsoil, collecting nutrients that would be washed away. When we harvest the leaves and apply them to the soil the mined minerals are returned again and made accessible to shallower rooted crops. Comfrey can be used in the compost heap. The leaves help break down compost very quickly. Its high mineral content enters your compost as the plant decomposes.

ARE PLANTS NOT JUST AWSOME!

• Beneficial insects

The flowers provide nectar and pollen to many species of bees and other insects. Lacewings like to lay their eggs on comfrey. Wasps and spiders will hunt on and around comfrey.

• Fertilizer

Comfrey makes a fantastic liquid fertilizer that can enhance plant growth, bloom, fruiting and resistance to parasites and diseases. When harvesting the leaves, add them to a 25L air tight container. Fill the container with water. Place a brick on the leaves to keep the leaves covered. Close the container. Let it stand for 4 - 6 weeks until the leaves have broken down and the tea is dark brown. The longer, the better because you want to extract all of the nutrients from the leaves. This fertilizing tea can be used as a soil drench or a foliar spray. When you use the tea, dilute it at one part tea to 10 part water. Diluting is very important. If you do not dilute the tea, you may burn your plants. For a more balanced feed, you can also combine comfrey and nettles to make a liquid tea which is an excellent option for many more plants.

Growing comfrey

Comfrey grows prolifically from spring. In early summer you can expect the first show of flowers. We do not get any frost in Cape Town, so we are blessed with leaves year-round. In cooler areas, comfrey will die back but the plant will make a sure comeback in spring. For good leaf production it is best to grow comfrey in full sun, but it grows just fine in shade. Comfrey is not very fussy about the soil they grow in, but they do prefer moist and fertile soil. This plant easily propagate by root or crown division. Comfrey needs to be divided every couple of years. Doing so keeps the plant healthy and gives the roots plenty of space. Plant divisions in another location or share it with a friend. There are so many benefits to this plant that growing comfrey make complete sense.

Happy gardening friends and stay warm.

Blog written by Tash Van Zyl

(Link To Tash's Blog)