Comfrey liquid fertilizer

I've been reading up on this :- http://www.the-organic-gardener.com/Comfrey.html , and it discusses when to cut back the plant but it doesn't say how far I should cut. Do I just cut it down to the ground? Do people just used the leaves of can you use the stems too?

Thanks

 

I have lots of comfrey and just pluck the leaves as required. If I find one growing in the wrong place, I put the lot in the comfrey bin, roots and all.
Comfrey is a very common plant in this part of wiltshire, if I didn't have it in the garden I could collect it from the hedgerows.

 

Thanks! I might have to grow some more then, I only have one plant

 

I don't know if the variety mentioned in the article [very informative! ] is the one I've got, I suspect not, but it seems to work. The common one grows easily from seed and produces offsets but the Bocking cultivar mentioned in your article apparently is grown from cuttings or offsets. See if yours has produced any, they grow quickly.

 

cut it down about half way it will soon regrow you should get at least three harvests from it during the summer..and it spreads also as i started out with one plant and now have several.. you can make plant food with nettles as well leave them in a covered bucket for a couple of weeks to brew ..

 

I can vouch for that wyldeflower it's something you told me about and I've been doing it ever since, produces this evil smelling liquid which I dilute in the watering can and feed my plants, does them the world of good.

I usually use just the leaves for the feed and put the stems into the compost bin.

Where have you been wyldeflower?

 

On a similar note I went to cut some nettles to steep for food but they are covered in greenfly with no sign of ladybirds.

Can I still just soak the nettles, presumably in a couple of days the aphids would die?

TO

 

i suppose it would be okay to soak the leaves with greenfly on as they are just going to drown and also the nettles will start to ferment so nothing is going to live through that..if you put a cover over the bucket it generates heat and the fertiliser brews faster..

stingo...I am still around still poking around in the garden for the last year before we leave it..its like a over grown jungle now.. :D

 

COMFREY TONIC
Comfrey significantly is high in potash and other essential for plant nutrition, which makes it ideal for feeding your plants. Put comfrey leaves and water into a water tight container with a brick on top to weigh the leaves down and allow the mixture to stand for 4 weeks. The result is a ready to use evil smelling brew that can be diluted and watered onto plants. I add 1/8 to 1/4 of the comfrey tonic to a watering can and fill the rest with water to use the comfrey spray, dilute 1 tablespoppy with 2 pints of water. Add a drop of dish soap as a spreader sticker.