Growing comfrey for wildlife (bees) and fertiliser (tea). Several questions...

Hi

A confession first - I have written and asked about this a few years back, but things have changed, including forum members coming and going, so I wanted to ask afresh...

I have some comfrey growing in the garden. I think it is Bocking 14 but can't be sure. I predominantly want to use it for comfrey tea, but seeing how much the bees love it I want to make the best of that aspect too.

If it's ok, I'm just going to splurge a bunch of questions whirling inside my head. Apologies for asking so much. If any comfrey experts are able to help that would be great, but equally any help on *any* of the questions - or general discussion around the topics - would be much appreciated.

1. Is there any sure way to tell whether what I have is B14?
2. If it isn't B14, how quickly - and how far and wide - would it have spread in the last 5 years?
3. If it isn't B14, at what stage would the seeds be able to germinate new plants?
4. I've read that the plants are most "nutritious" just as the flowers are forming. By waiting until after this stage, to allow bees to do their thing, how much of this plant "nutrition" is lost and how will it effect the tea?
5. If I cannot determine for sure whether it's B14, when making the tea, is there a method I can use that will allow me to use the whole plant (not roots) without risking spreading the seed and a potential invasion? To date I have nipped off all flowers and seeds before soaking in water, but time is increasingly limited nowadays so being able to use the whole plant would be much preferred.


Huge thanks

 

If it isn't Bocking 14 it will spread rapidly by seed but they also spread by their roots. The flowers usually come in spring so just cut back the entire plant once the flowers are over and then make your tea. If you scatter over some pelleted chicken manure or other general fertiliser and water the plants they will recover quickly.

Making the tea by soaking your trimmings in water will kill off any seeds. Just immerse them in water and cover with a lid for the smell and leave for at least 2 weeks. Strain into containers and bung the goo on the compost heap. Dilue your tea as needed to feed flowering and fruiting plants which like a high P and K ratio in their feeds. Leafy plants are better fed with nettle tea as that's rich in nitrogen.

 

We purchased some Bocking 14 at the start of the year from the link below and they arrived as really good plants, all growing well and alreadly cut them back twice this year.
5 Large Strong Comfrey plants, Bocking 14, Root and Crown. Free Post. | eBay

For the price might be worth getting some to be sure yours are Bockings.

We use old plastic 20/25 ltr brew bins for making the tea, but be sure to use a lid as it smells a bit !

 

I use a 200l water barrel that I stuff full and then used to fill with water and leave for a few weeks before using. With the pandemic, we bought a composting toilet that provides a ready supply of urine. I now still fill the barrel with comfrey but top up with urine instead of water. Funnily enough, the mix smells a lot less than comfry with just water. And I got bumper crops of veg. this year, tomatoes, onions (from seed sown boxing day largest 1.1kg and loads over 0.5kg) and beautiful caulis.

 

We have non bocking 14 down our allotment and if yours isn't b14 then you would clearly see comfrey popping up all over the place. If it is b14 then it will spread but outwards, rather than popping up randomly, several feet away.

I use all the above growth of our plants and do it just after flowering. It gets chopped up and squashed down before topping up with water. I don't remove the old material from the container when removing water, just top up with more comfrey and water. I do this because over time the old material continues to breakdown and with the new material constantly added, you get an ever increasing potent mixture that you need to dilute more. This follows the jadam method.

 

Bocking 14 as said is sterile so you need to propagate it by root cuttings or dividing existing clumps

 

Interesting thread, thankyou. Can I ask, is now also an ok time to cut the fading leaves to start to make a comfrey tea please?

 

Spring is the time for the tea. Mine have little to no foliage by this time of year, and any that is present would be on the wane. You want the strong new growth- I usually get mine around May, as that's when the plants are growing strongly, both in my garden, and along all the nearby roadside verges. I often collect some from there too, as the verges get cut by early summer.

 

Ours are still green, very healthy and not fading yet (although not growing either). I have been removing leaves still but putting them on the compost heap. I don't think it would hurt to make comfrey tea if you have enough of them but you could just dig them into the soil where you want a boost.

The way I make my tea is different to most as I follow the Korean Jadam method, which is essentially constantly topping up the liquid with new leaves and rain water when you take some out. This method means you have a solution that gets more potent over time and needs more dilution as it ages but it also means you don't have to worry about when you add material to it.

 

I'm glad my thread was resurrected as it made me realise I'd not been back to thank everyone for the responses. So rather belatedly - THANK YOU!

I never got round to experimenting with the seed so will have to have a play next year. Most of it has stayed contained in the same area making me think it is Bocking 14, but there are one or two small plants elsewhere and in all honesty I can't remember if they were there or not before. It's a shame there's no distinctive element to the B14 plant, but hey, will be fun to see if I can get it to grow from seed next year just as an experiment to test if it is sterile and therefore B14. If I remember, I'll return to the thread then and update for anyone who is curious.

It was also helpful to learn that the leaves are best used when young and healthy. Mine is still pretty green but some of the leaves have turned brown. Funnily enough I had planned on using them for a batch of tea ready for the spring. Should I go ahead with that or would the tea be too lacking in nutrients given that the leaves / plants are on the way to dying back for the cold months?

Ta

 

I would still use it for comfrey tea if you like. The amount we dose is completely dependent on how much material we have made the tea from, the dilution factor and how much we water the plants, so it's completely unknown how many nutrients are there anyway. If you wish you can just dilute it less depending on how dark the liquid is but it will still have some goodness in it even if they aren't at peak levels. Alternatively you could just chop and drop them around areas you'd like to boost and make the tea next spring.

 

Thankyou @fairygirl and @Thevictorian. Mine is bought new, still in a pot. I checked it this evening and the stem and leaves are yellowing and browning, so I cut those and started a lidded tub of water for them to steep in. I then saw more clearly, there are new pale green shoots on the plant and I will try to plant it out this weekend. I hope one plant will be enough to start a colony!?

Glad seeing this reminded you, @Engelbert. You saved me having to ask!

 

Symphytum x uplandicum ‘Moorland Heather’ is the plant I have, by the way. It may have a synonym, but not sure.

 

I have the common, wild one, so it spreads, and is easy to make more plants, but if it's the sterile one, you won't tend to have more plants because of that @ClematisDbee . As it's propagated by division or cuttings ,you could always give that a go next year. You should still get enough foliage to make some concentrate though.
I had about 5 or 6 bottles this year - I use 4 pint milk bottles for it. I barely used any tomato food because that was enough for the plants that needed it. It depends on that though - if you don't have loads of flowering plants that need help, you won't need as much comfrey tea.

It lasts well, so even if you made some now @Engelbert , it would be fine for next year. Nothing would really be needing fed now, and it would just be a waste to use it.