A Gardener’s Helper

Comfrey

Even an experienced gardener will tell you, “I need help”! We all could use a little help when it comes to planting, weeding, watering, feeding & harvesting. I stumbled across a new friend recently and I would like you to meet her. Her name is Comfrey.

She’s really quite beautiful, and her pretty bell-shaped hanging flowers make her a nice addition to the flowerbed behind the house. Besides being a wonderful and hardy addition to the flower bed, she has some amazing qualities I’d like to tell you about. Her long green and fuzzy leaves are reminiscent of lamb’s ear or even mullein.

Fertalize

The first time she really helped out around the garden was when I started adding the leaves into the fertilizer bucket. Some have called it Gardeners Gold, or Texas Tea, I just call it liquid gold. Usually, I’ll put 2-3 leaves in a five-gallon bucket and pulverize the leaves with the water jet from the hose and fill the bucket up. A heavy rock on the lid to keep mosquitos and predators away is a good idea. In about three weeks you will have a golden colored liquid! About 2 cups of this added in a pump sprayer mixed with water and you’ll be amazed at how green everything will start looking. Comfrey has outperformed my manure, compost, and many other liquid feeds I’ve tried. Comfrey is an accumulator of deep nutrients in the soil. Her tap roots can go up to 10 feet deep! She brings potassium, calcium, and magnesium as well as vitamins A, C, and B12 and trace minerals to the surface and concentrates them in her leaves. The spiders love to hide around Comfrey so be careful when pulling!

Planting

Why do I plant Comfrey in the garden? It seems to perform much better than commercial fertilizers. It is totally organic and can be sprayed on the foliage without burning my more sensitive plants. I love my new friend. If you would like to get some into your garden, consider purchasing a variety known as Russian Comfrey since it doesn’t produce seeds and will stay fairly contained. Purchasing viable roots is the best way to propagate. If you know someone who already has Comfrey you can ask to dig a few roots. Pack them in wet paper towels until you see white roots sprouting. Plant them about an inch deep laying horizontally. Water every day until sprouting occurs.

Comfrey is very drought tolerant, but I’ve found it grows best on an East facing wall and takes advantage of full shade in the hot afternoon sun. Comfrey is also beneficial as a topical treatment for bruises and sprains, (always consult your physician before using as it can cause a slight skin reaction). Have you ever seen a carrot patch so green? This patch was sprayed weekly until harvest, you can’t see them but there were 19lbs of carrots under all those green tops!

Friends

I do have real friends… they are always asking me; how does your garden stay so green? I usually end a garden tour at the Comfrey patch and introduce my real friends to my favorite green friend in the garden. What could be better than learning something new and exciting? The day I stop learning is the day I stop living!

Happy Gardening!