Comfrey. Is it good to plant underneath fruit trees

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soxets, Dec 8, 3:33pm
is it good to plant underneath fruit trees
kateley, Dec 8, 6:14pm
I hope so, cos that's where I planted mine!Chop it off from time to time and put it in the compost
steptoesnr, Dec 8, 6:29pm
-1
It,s about as good or useless as dock. If you're lucky it won't survive.
kateley, Dec 8, 6:33pm
dock leaves also very good in the compost
oh_hunnihunni, Dec 8, 6:45pm
Depends on what you use it for surely! As a substitute for tobacco I would agree, but as a deep rooting mineral harvesting plant as a rich addition to compost or garden tea! Can't get better.
chinamannz, Dec 8, 8:34pm
Yes an excellent plant for compost, also good for tomatoes or make a liquid manure out of it.Google comfrey all the info is there.As the previous poster has stated ,can't get better.
cronezone, Dec 8, 8:42pm
It makes an excellent fertiliser,& I've used it to treat animals for various things such as conjunctivitis & skin problems.
kendall40, Dec 8, 9:09pm
Comfrey is wonderful but I'm not sure it is wise to plant it under your fruit trees.It is I think, a gross feeder so will it not rob your fruit trees!If you make comfrey tea for your garden maybe you should give back to your fruit trees!
romi11, Dec 8, 9:15pm
It should be planted around the fruit trees. This will fertilise the ground when it dies off, leaves can be picked to make liquid fertiliser, the comfrey stops kikuyu. It has flowers that attract bees. Not always pretty but it is useful
lemming2, Dec 8, 10:19pm
Just watch that its roots don't suddenly put up whole new plants about a million miles away in your best flower bed . it can be worse than mint for takeover bids that way.
arabelle, Dec 8, 11:44pm
supposedly it helps stop the bronze beetle from laying eggs after stripping the new leaves off trees.Read it many years ago, butcant verify it.Seems the grubs dont like the roots etc
oh_hunnihunni, Dec 9, 12:00am
The big difference with comfrey is it is a tap rooting plant that penetrates subsoil, harvesting the minerals that most plants can't reach. If that tap root is damaged it can branch sideways, but not to the extent it forms a network that engulfs your distant beds. That's usually a seeding issue and easily sorted by lopping the flowerhead off before it sets seed. It will clump, but I wouldn't call it a problem plant like say horseradish, which can be a real takeover artist.

Yummy though!
venna2, Dec 9, 10:08pm
It would not be wise to eat too much comfrey, though, as I believe it can cause liver damage.
bluefrog2, Dec 13, 12:59am
As venna2 wrote: Don't eat comfrey!It's fine for chickens, but not humans.
I plant mine around the compost heap to pick up runoff from the compost.Not sure if planting it under, or near a fruit tree is a good idea though.
And keep chopping it down, don't let it flower or you may get "volunteers" sprouting around.
oh_hunnihunni, Dec 13, 1:10am
i was suggesting horseradish was yummy. Comfrey is purely for external use.
stokespa, Dec 13, 1:42am
Comfrey leaves put into worm tea is great for the garden too.
mwood, Dec 13, 8:19pm
I give mine 2 the chooks along with sprouting silver beet and parsley
lemming2, Dec 14, 9:15pm
It is possible to eat comfrey, but cautiously. It contains the same toxin as raw cabbage (for you coleslaw eaters!) and both need to be taken in moderation. Any of the Brassicas - cabbage, cauliflower, etc - contain the toxin and it can ultimately destroy the liver. Once in my nursing career I was involved in the care of a young man who finally died of it. Very sad, but he WAS eating them all in huge quantities!
oh_hunnihunni, Dec 14, 9:17pm
it isn't as palatable as the others. I'd skip the experience and maybe try kale instead.
shyly, Dec 14, 9:49pm
I love fried comfrey, coconut oil and comfrey is delish.and made completely by mistake lol
samanya, Dec 14, 11:08pm
Exactly .I used to love comfrey leaf fritters (leaves fried in light tempura type batter) & then a guy died because of his consumption of comfrey .hit the head lines, but what they didn't emphasise was that comfrey was about ALL he was eating.
Everything in moderation .hmmm!
shyly, Dec 14, 11:10pm
ANYTHING in excess can kill you, too much water will kill you.its all about moderation.
lemming2, Dec 15, 7:28pm
Yes. My boy was eating about 5 leaves a day, plus an entire cabbage a day - coleslaw, fried, boiled with butter . plus he added a bit of cauli and broccoli for texture apparently, and varied it with the addition of kale .
the-lada-dude, Dec 16, 1:22pm
he was obviously a NUT !but nature took its course
oh_hunnihunni, Dec 17, 7:13am
No accounting for tastes is there! Some people - otherwise intelligent, sane human beings actually like eating tripe.