Comfrey The Permaculture Plant

Solution

Comfrey has long been recognized by both organic gardeners and herbalists for its great usefulness and versatility; of particular interest is the ‘Bocking 14’ cultivar of Russian Comfrey, a strain developed in the 1950s by Lawrence D Hills, the founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (the organic gardening organisation)

Comfrey is a particularly valuable source of fertility to the organic gardener. It is very deep rooted and acts as a dynamic accumulator,[7] mining a host of nutrients from the soil. These are then made available through its fast-growing leaves (up to 4-5 pounds per plant per cut) which, lacking fibres, quickly break down to a thick black liquid. There is also no risk of nitrogen robbery when comfrey is dug into the soil as the C:N ratio of the leaves is lower than that of well-rotted compost. Comfrey is an excellent source of potassium, an essential plant nutrient needed for flower, seed and fruit production. Its leaves contain 2-3 times more potassium than farmyard manure, mined from deep in the subsoil, tapping into reserves that would not normally be available to plants.

Use Comfrey as a compost activator and a mulch, make it into liquid
fertiliser and use as a companion plant for trees and other perennials.