Tain't Fit Fer Humans..

Category: gardening | Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:10 pm

But do plants ever slurp it up and thrive! How to make rather oderiferous comfrey "tea": fill a 5-gallon bucket half full of chopped, or cut up, fresh comfrey leaves and stalks. Add a quart of cut up fresh dandelion LEAVES, two large handfuls of epsom salts and 1 1/2 quarts of dried steer manure (if you happen to have the "weeds" plantain and stinging nettles available, be sure to add some of those also). Place the bucket in a sunny out-of-the-way place, fill almost to the rim with water, mix well. cover with a board. Stir daily. The "tea" should be ready in 5-6 weeks, or when you can smell it a block away.
To use: place a clothespin on your nose and extract a dog-food sized can full of the liquid from bucket, add to 1 1/2 gallons of water for dilution purposes, apply weekly to plants. Use the same dilution rate for a foliar feed, straining the tea, if necessary, to remove particles that might clog sprayer nozzle. Keep stirring the "witches cauldron" daily between uses, adding more water if level in bucket gets too low. At seasons end, pour anything left in bucket out in a barren flower/vegetable bed, work lightly into soil.
Comfrey facts: chopped up comfrey is an excellant compost accellerant, creates a lot of "heat" in the pile or composter while adding numerous trace minerals and nutrients. Freshly chopped leaves/stems can also be worked right into garden spaces to improve soils. In Australia, bottoms of potato trenches are lined with chopped leaves, covered with soil then potatoes planted as usual: the method is reputed to halt "potato scab". For EXTERNAL ONLY medical use (plant contains carcinogens, CANNOT be taken internally), sap in stems is unsurpassed in easing the agony of bug bites/stings when applied to the bite site. Leaves, fresh or dried, can be used as a poultice to stop swelling, discoloration and pain of bad bruises, sprains, hence the nickname: "The Bruise Plant". Comfrey blossoms are also great bee magnets. All in all, no garden should be without this highly beneficial herb of many uses.
Enjoy making/using the "tea"..your plants will love you for it!

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