We have loads of Comfrey growing in our garden.
Why did we do this?
Well, comfrey has deep roots and can access nutrients deep down in the soil. It is known as a dynamic accumulator. We wanted to give our citrus this additional nutrition and did so by chopping off the comfrey leaves and leaving them around the drip line and to allow them to break down. (which they do quickly).
Since then I have discovered all sorts of interesting things about comfrey.
A friend of mine informed me that comfrey is also known as ‘poor mans fish’ . It gets this name because the leaves can be battered and fried and does taste like fish. I have not tried this myself – so I couldn’t tell you if it is true or not! However, comfrey can apparently be poisonous if eaten so if you considering trying this, do a bit of research beforehand so you can be informed.
Comfrey is a great compost activator. Adding some to your compost heap will speed up the composting process. I am a slack composter – my efforts consist of throwing all my scraps and green waste into a pile. However I do have a roll-mix composter and I did throw in some comfrey leaves into the compost, I noticed it broke down a bit quicker.
Comfrey is also known as ‘knitbone’ helping to heal broken bones, sprains and bruises. For healing purposes, it can be made into an ointment, check out this awesome blog post for the recipe. It can also be made into a poultice by smashing up a few leaves with some hot water until mushy and putting it directly on the skin and wrap a bandage around it.
After I had given birth, my midwife gave me a dried herbal preparation, which included dried comfrey, to be used in the bath to aid with healing. After experiencing the benefits myself, I was most happy for her to raid my comfrey to make more of her herbal preparation for new mums!
Are you interested in growing comfrey?
If so,it is super easy to grow. I can’t remember where we got our original plants from but once you have a plant established in your garden, you will never have to buy one again. All you need to do, is break off a bit of the comfrey root and stick it in the ground (or a small pot of potting mix) to get it going. They are pretty tough plants to kill!
I gave some of the comfrey roots to a friend to grow. All she did was stick them in the ground. A couple of years later, she has a healthy comfrey plant.
Comfrey leaves have these small hairs that can be irritating when you pick them. I used to have to wear gloves when handling comfrey. I found the older the leaves the more ‘spikier’ they seemed to be. But now, the hairs don’t seem to affect me at all. Maybe my hands have toughened up!
Who else has comfrey in their garden? Please share your experiences with comfrey in the comments below section.
