Permaculture Test Plot Part 4 - Amazing Comfrey!
In this video, I discuss some of the benefits of comfrey before chopping it down to use as mulch. While this article won't cover the full array of comfrey's benefits, I will mention a few characteristics that make comfrey a special plant to have around the homestead.
This comfrey is shoulder height and the growing season has just begun!- Comfrey is one of the first plants to emerge in the spring and it grows fast. My plants were 5 feet tall by the time I made this video in mid June and our growing season doesn't really start until May.
- Comfrey is a nutrient accumulator. This means it tends to mine certain minerals from the soil at a higher rate than most other plants then deposits those minerals on the surface when the leaves either die back or are chopped and dropped.
- Comfrey is a great source of food for bees and other pollinators. I always see lots of bumble and honey bees on my comfrey plants.
- Comfrey leaves are a preferred place for predator insects to overwinter in.
- Comfrey can out compete almost all weeds, so much so that it can be used as a barrier to suppress and slow down the spread of certain weeds.
- Comfrey has medicinal properties; it isn't referred to as "bone knit" for nothing!
- Cattle love to eat comfrey. If you watched my last Test Plot video you will know why I say this LOL.
So am I making a good sales pitch for comfrey yet? I hope so because these are just a few of the benefits and uses of comfrey.
Even the most persistent weeds like dandelion and quackgrass are no match for comfrey!Also, make sure to stay tuned to the end of the video to see one of the big benefits to a perennial garden system.
Thanks for reading/watching everyone! Please upvote, follow and resteem to support this work. As always, comments are welcome and I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about permaculture.
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So, I have a single comfrey plant that I purchaced at the Baker Creek Spring Planting Festival a couple years ago. Did you buy all those plants, start them from seed? And do you know how to propagate them? I’ve thought of maybe splitting it? I’d just really like to have more than one plant!
I didn’t know that it could compete with weeds so well. That’s good to know. :)
Comfrey is very easy and fun to start from root cuttings. But it also spreads pretty well on its own, depending on what kind you have...I will be doing a blog post about it soon.
Excellent! I’m following you, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for it. :)
Those comfrey plants all started from one plant. You can do root cuttings like @schoonercreek mentioned. I usually just trim off the tops and cut the root ball in 1/2's or 1/4's with a spade when I want more somewhere else.
Well, I think I can do that. Sounds like what we do with our hastas in the fall. Is it okay to split comfrey in the spring?
Spring should be fine. If you do it early while the plant is still dormant all the better.
To be honest I don't really time when I split them, they are a pretty hardy plant. I would just make sure they get enough water till they recover.
Thanks for your time and your advice. Have an excellent new year, @canadianrenegade!
No Problem, Happy New Year to you as well!
Definately need to get some comfery to test it out against bermuda grass and lespedeza.
While I can't guarantee it will out compete warmer climate plants I am unfamiliar with, around here it dominates!
@canadianrenegade great video and post. We love comfrey here in Guatemala. We plant it around every fruit tree. Also feed it to our goats and chickens. Love seeing your posts here on steem. I really want to see this permaculture community on steemians grow. Looking forward to connecting more. Cheers!!
Thank you! I'm hoping the permaculture community on Steemit continues to grow also!
I'm surprised that comfrey grows well without a winter. I thought it was a more temperate type of plant.
Thanks for the resteem!
Comfrey has some amazing medicinal uses.
I planted it for the first time this past season and am anxiously waiting for next year to see how it held up.
My auntie swears by comfrey tea. I think she was taking it for some gut issues and I do know that it is good as a poultice on abrasions and shallow cuts.
Sometimes I'll just drink the tea because it tastes good.
Looks like we have some things in common. Comfrey is one my all time favorite plants, truly an ally, she is.... What do you think about the controversy of taking it internally? I think its out of hand, personally. In moderation the tea is absolutely wonderful, so nourishing and healing. I make a salve with the roots and leaves as well. It is an excellent herbal for healing wounds, and postpartum care for women... New to Steemit here! Looking forward to following your blog!
Thanks! Yeah I think the dangers of taking it internally are way overblown. The actual studies done on it showed toxicity but the doses the rats were given were unreasonable. You would have to eat pounds of leaves a day.
Sounds like a useful plant to have around! Learned something new today :)
Love love love comfrey! Beautiful pics and info :)
Thank you!
Your post has been discovered by @livesustainably I manage the#livesustainably tag.
@Livesustainably promotes and curates content that encourages and educates others in living sustainably.
At this time, as it is a new tag I am looking in in other channels. In the future you should post with the livesustainably tag so that you can get upvotes and curation from me. To find out more see my introductory post.
Good to know, I will check it out, and thank you for the support!
Thanks for nice work
You are welcome!