Comfrey. Has to be one of the best fertilizersi have a seperate piece ff garden as it spreads easily or you can grow it in tubs
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squeekywheel,
Feb 15, 7:22am
Just catching up on what others have said about comfrey fert.Icut the plant down and put the leaves in a large onion bag and threw it in a barrel of water.It is now a couple of weeks down the track and the water looks repulsive - no problems until now BUT THE SMELL!It smells like the pigpen and sure brings the flies.Have I done something wrong! When is it ready to use and what would the dilution rate be!I use about 10 water to one of "worm tea".Is this similar!Thanks in advance.
bugin,
Feb 15, 9:25am
I have a 200lt drum with stones and wire mesh in the bottom ,and a 40mm tap. Filled to 3/4 full with horse poo and 20 litre bucket drilled with 20mm holes on top of that I fill with comfrey and add water till the drum is full .That is such a great brew that I have not used any artificial fert for 3 years. Chooks and veg are thriving.
daves01,
Feb 15, 10:11pm
Nope, if it smells as bad as you have described then thats normal and ready to go lol.I have used it diluted at rates from 5:1 thru to about 10:1 depending on how fresh/strong my batch is in the bin and if I've topped it up with water.Did you have a lid on yr barrel!
peter148,
Feb 16, 2:32am
Comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids these are toxic substances.
Thanks guys. No I didn't have a lid on, would that have made a difference (other than keep the smell in!)
annies3,
Feb 17, 12:51am
Does comfrey have bidibid seeds on it !
squeekywheel,
Feb 17, 1:00am
Google "pictures of comfrey plants" should help
annies3,
Feb 17, 1:20am
good idea but my dial up connection would take all afternoon.
squeekywheel,
Feb 19, 8:24am
I have just looked at the pictures on that link and cant see any sign of bidibids BUT it is possible that the flower heads form biddys when they dry to the seed stage, as I said I have cut mine off so cant check.
Comfrey fertilizer doesn't need to smell, just get a spare wheelie bin, jam it full of comfrey, put lid on, and wieght lid down. don't add water, just let it sit for a few weeks, Here this movie shows what I mean http://www.youtube.com/watch!v=kaSQRkuKU-4
761,
Jul 27, 6:10am
has to be one of the best fertilizersi have a seperate piece ff garden as it spreads easily or you can grow it in tubs it dies off in the winter and comes up again in the spring just cut the leaves off put them in a bucket and fill with water in about a month it jus a buket of black water mix it 5 to 1 and fertilize everthingwith potatoes lay in bottom of a trench cover slightly with soil and plant potatoe google comfrey for more info you can bottle the liquid for later use
mothergoose_nz,
Jul 27, 6:53am
have to rescue mine from the chooks
kateley,
Jul 27, 9:46am
glad to know it is supposed to die off over winter :)
dealszz,
Jul 27, 9:49am
brilliant as a poltice for skin,burns ,aches
jenny188,
Jul 27, 11:54pm
Pest weed and should be banned from the common garden. Roots can go down up to 12 feet deep and can be hard to get totally rid of. But yes its a herb
patmcg,
Jul 28, 2:32am
One of the best herbs there is. so many uses would not be without it.
tjmc,
Jul 28, 3:40am
I have quite a bit dotted around our block - some in the chook area - and yes they have decimated it - which is wonderful!It will come back in the spring better than ever!The other plants are chucked in with seed potatoes, and made into a wonderful elixir for my garden.
Magic stuff!
matthews4,
Jul 29, 4:45am
Our beefies love it, so have grown a patch especially for them - they wait by it for me to feed it to them.They also love bay leaves - must trim the tree back and flavour this lot of meat, which will be going before Xmas.
lynbaby,
Jul 29, 4:54am
My uncle used to dry it and smoke it! And he lived to a good age too! : )
samanya,
Jul 29, 5:44am
One of the few that can access vitamin B12 from the soil .so I believe. As tjmc says .brilliant for chooks & lovely golden yolks.
oh_hunnihunni,
Jul 29, 7:03am
It doesn't die off, it dies down. The roots go down formiles and harvest all the good stuff from the subsoil, which is why it was used as a poltice herb for bone setting. Great stuff - but can be invasive if allowed to seed.
cactus7,
Jul 29, 7:07am
I heard that you should keep your chooks away from comfrey as it gives them the sh.its
ponyboy,
Jul 29, 9:28am
Small amounts good for humans to eat as well
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