Comfrey compost tea.

While strolling through Longwood Gardens around the herb gardens, Shirley & I were talking about Comfrey. I mentioned I heard it was a good fertilizer and that I just cut it down to add to my compost pile.
Here is an article on making compost tea if anyone is interested.
http://cc-calendula.blogspot.com/2006/07/pull-up-chair-its-time-for-compost-tea_07.html

Thought I would jump in here. Anyone that does not have Comfrey just D-mail me I have a good bit to share.

Chris, I meant to thank you for posting this. I have lots of comfrey ready for harvest and I plant to make me a big brew of this tea.

I thought this might be helpful since it gives a breakdown on the tea's NPK.

"You can make a concentrated liquid containing all of the big 3 nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, in substantial amounts. A high potash feed, it has an
*N : P : K of about 8 : 2.6 : 20.5 %.

Place the plant's leaves into a large container, preferably one with a tap or hole at the bottom, and a tight lid at the top to exclude water and flies as well as keep any smell inside. Fill the container with leaves e.g. an empty Can-O-Worms container will do the job, filling the bottom module with tap, as well as the upper modules. Cut the leaves before the flower buds appear and before the ageing leaves develop infections. (I normally exclude rust infected leaves if I'm going to give any of the liquid away, otherwise rust is simply 'part and parcel' of the herb's life.)

A block of wood and a brick could be placed on top of the pile to press it firmly and gently down, (without crushing). Fresh Comfrey leaves contain more nitrogen than farmyard manure and a black liquid smelling of ammonia will soon collect in the bottom. It is drained off into a screw topped collecting bottle. The solution needs to be diluted 15 - 20 times with water before application in the garden (giving N.P.K. = 0.5 : 0.4 : 3.8. - a high potash feed."

There's more here on how to mix in worm compost tea to make a more balanced fertilizer.
http://www.the-organic-gardener.com/Comfrey.html

I have been putting the leaves in the compost pile because they're a great compost activator. More on that and more uses for comfrey leaves here:

"Comfrey is a particularly valuable source of fertility to the organic gardener. It is very deep rooted and acts as a dynamic accumulator, 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 fibre, 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, seeds 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.

There are various ways in which comfrey can be utilised as a fertiliser, these include:

Comfrey for potatoes - freshly cut comfrey should be wilted for a day or two, then laid along potato trenches about 2 inches deep. Avoid using flowering stems as these can root. The leaves will rapidly break down and supply potassium rich fertiliser for the developing potato plants.
Comfrey as a compost activator- include 2-3 inch deep layers of comfrey in the compost heap to encourage bacterial activity and help to heat the heap. Comfrey should not be added in quantity as it will quickly break down into a dark sludgey liquid that needs to be balanced with more fibrous, carbon rich material.
Comfrey liquid fertiliser- can be produced by either rotting leaves down in rainwater for 4-5 weeks to produce a ready to use 'comfrey tea', or by stacking dry leaves under a weight in a container with a hole in the base. When the leaves decompose a thick black comfrey concentrate is collected. This must be diluted at 15:1 before use.
Comfrey as a mulch- a 2 inch layer of comfrey leaves placed around a crop will slowly break down and release plant nutrients. it is especially useful for crops that need extra potassium, such as tomatoes, and also fruit bushes like gooseberries and currants.
Comfrey potting mixture- originally devised using peat, environmental awareness has led to a leaf mold-based alternative being adopted instead. Two year old, well decayed leaf mold should be used, this will absorb the nutrient-rich liquid released by the decaying comfrey.
In a black plastic sack alternate 3-4 inch layers of leaf mould and chopped comfrey leaves. Add a little dolomitic limestone to slightly raise pH. Leave for between 2-5 months depending on the season, checking that it does not dry out or become too wet. The mixture is ready when the comfrey leaves have rotted and are no longer visible. Use as a general potting compost, although it is too strong for seedlings."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfrey

and here, an excellent article from Organic Gardening:

http://www.organicgardening.com/featureprint/1,7759,s-3-81-726,00.html

Hart you are welcome. I think the more we use what is available to us the better gardeners and keepers of the earth we become.

Me too, Chris. And even if you didn't care about that, you can't buy anything that's so good for your soil as compost you've made yourself or fertilizer teas made from things in your garden. It's a win/win.

I'm so happy to now have all this rabbit fertilizer for my gardens. Everyone I know who keeps horses has beautiful gardens. LOL The chicken litter goes into the compost pile.

Hmm mine already bloomed is that too late now to harvest the leaves?

Amy, sorry no one has replied to your ? yet. I'd just cut them down and add to your compost pile, they will grow new leaves soon.