Comfrey from aquaponics.

[halemart]

Hi,

 

I have been testing growing comfrey in aquaponics, and it does great.    Now the next question in my mind is how does one use this in the typical chop and drop operation or making a compost?

 

How much of the plant can you trim back in the typical chop / drop?

 

How do earthworms like comfrey or BSF?

 

Has anyone made compost tea with it?

 

I have 3 excellent plants and I am ready to harvest it, but not sure how to.    I don't want to kill the plant but find the best method.

 

Thanks!

[Linda Logan]

Miguel,

Are you basically watering with the comfrey water.  If I have an outside compost pile that is basically anaerobic (I don't turn it) can I pour on it to start a decomposition process?

Miguel Afonso said:

Recipe for Comfrey Tea:

Fill 1/2 bucket with comfrey add water 80% to top. 

Cover and leave in shady area. 

After a week monitor (can take up to 5 weeks). If you have foam on top then it is ready to use. Once complete dilute about 10:1.

If goes beyond foam stage then it has become anaerobic and do not put on plants directly. Just add it to compost pile. Once complete dilute about 10:1.

 

Comfrey is an excellent starter for compost pile.

 

Comfrey is an excellent dynamic accumulator of potasium and to a lesser extent phosphorous, magnesium and other trace elements. This means that it may be sucking up all those nutrient up in your aquaponics system. The reason they are beneficial in this way in soils is because they are excellent at drawing these nutrients from deeper soil layers.

 

Yes comfrey is medicinal and nutritious. Definately a plant worth growing in your garden.  

[Miguel Afonso]

If your compost is anaerobic, you definately want to  turn it and if it stinks a little of ammonia, you don't want to add comfrey. Comfrey has a very high nitrogen to carbon ratio (14:1) . I said that it was a good starter for compost pile because its high nitrogen content will get bacterial activity kick started in your pile.

 

If your pile stinks or is way to wet turn it and add carbon rich materials such as dry leaves, straw or wood chips. Ideally compost piles should smell clean and have a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30:1.  Let me know if this is rocket science and I will gladly simplify it.

[TCLynx]

If you compost pile doesn't stink, then don't assume it is anaerobic just because you don't turn it.  I don't turn my compost, as long as you add enough fluffy "browns" or carbon rich materials as you add the wet nitrogen rich materials you can usually entrap enough air in a pile to keep it from going anaerobic as long as it doesn't get overly wet for some reason or another.

[halemart]

THANK YOU!

 

That is what I have been looking for.    Wow 10 to 1 dillution that must be power stuff!

 

Miguel Afonso said:

Recipe for Comfrey Tea:

Fill 1/2 bucket with comfrey add water 80% to top. 

Cover and leave in shady area. 

After a week monitor (can take up to 5 weeks). If you have foam on top then it is ready to use. Once complete dilute about 10:1.

If goes beyond foam stage then it has become anaerobic and do not put on plants directly. Just add it to compost pile. Once complete dilute about 10:1.

 

Comfrey is an excellent starter for compost pile.

 

Comfrey is an excellent dynamic accumulator of potasium and to a lesser extent phosphorous, magnesium and other trace elements. This means that it may be sucking up all those nutrient up in your aquaponics system. The reason they are beneficial in this way in soils is because they are excellent at drawing these nutrients from deeper soil layers.

 

Yes comfrey is medicinal and nutritious. Definately a plant worth growing in your garden.  

[Paul Holowko]

I was reading all about  the comfrey talk and I put together a posting for using green tea as a disease suppression for peach trees and other plants.  Here is a link how to make green tea....

http://www.gardeningrhythms.com/green-tea-from-comfrey-or-other-lea...

 

[TCLynx]

Yea, comfrey is strong stuff (I would compare it to urine in strength as a fertilizer or compost activator.)

[halemart]

Hi Paul,

 

I have already been using compost tea and I had a look at your site  I have used similar teas, except I have not tried the hydrogen peroxide as the site suggest.   I have 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide, and I wondered if you might comment on its use in compost tea.

 

Have you used this brew with comfrey  much  and what has been your results?    

Thanks for your insights!

 

Mart

Paul Holowko said:

I was reading all about  the comfrey talk and I put together a posting for using green tea as a disease suppression for peach trees and other plants.  Here is a link how to make green tea....

http://www.gardeningrhythms.com/green-tea-from-comfrey-or-other-lea...

 

[TCLynx]

Where do you get 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide?

[halemart]

I get mine from here ->

http://www.dfwx.com/goediscuss.htm

But Amazon.com has it, as well as health food stores.

 

Caution if you ever choose to buy this treat with a HIGH degree of respect.    Read all labels and follow precautions this stuff will burn you if it has not been properly diluted.     It is a great buy, but one must treat with a high degree of respect.   Don't ask me how I know :-)

 

 

[TCLynx]

Very good point to remind people of how dangerous the stuff can be.

Definitely, anything that strong deserves careful handling.  But that also makes it a very effective sterilizer that will go away very well with dilution.

halemart said:

I get mine from here ->

http://www.dfwx.com/goediscuss.htm

But Amazon.com has it, as well as health food stores.

 

Caution if you ever choose to buy this treat with a HIGH degree of respect.    Read all labels and follow precautions this stuff will burn you if it has not been properly diluted.     It is a great buy, but one must treat with a high degree of respect.   Don't ask me how I know :-)

 

 

[Paul Holowko]

High concentrations of H2O2 is used only for four reasons:

It's cheaper to buy it in high concentrations than the little bottles at the drug store.

It's used for a killing all micro organisms on your composting brewing equipment.

It's used to sterilize straw or paper for growing Oyster mushrooms or Button mushrooms.  These sorts of mushrooms create H2O2 to seperate the carbon from cellulose.

It's used by surfers to bleach their hair.  Can you tell I live in CA?

[Paul Holowko]

Please remember the post is about green tea, not compost tea.  I'm not using any compost in making the solution.  I am growing the micro organims that are already on the Comfrey leave surface.  It's being multiplied and sprayed back on new leaves and plants.  Please remember leave cells have portals on the cell walls connecting to benificial fungi, bacteria and protozeon.  You can not see that with the naked eye; hence, the leave still looks green.  When pathogentic bacteria and fungi grab hold of most of the leave cells, you have a disease. 

Pathogentic bacteria is not a disease.  The plant's reaction to a takeover of a pathogen is called a disease.   Most pathogens reproduce by changing parts of the host cell's DNA.

 

As for your question on how effective the processes is; if you look at some of the links of the "green tea" posting, you will see a posting that talks about schedules and recipies.  In that posting contains results.  When I'm consistent in my "teaing", I have no pathogen problems on my fruit trees or any other plants (roses for instance).

 

I use the H2O2 for cleaning my compost brewing equipment.  I dilute it down to around 3%.

halemart said:

Hi Paul,

 

I have already been using compost tea and I had a look at your site  I have used similar teas, except I have not tried the hydrogen peroxide as the site suggest.   I have 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide, and I wondered if you might comment on its use in compost tea.

 

Have you used this brew with comfrey  much  and what has been your results?    

Thanks for your insights!

 

Mart

Paul Holowko said:

I was reading all about  the comfrey talk and I put together a posting for using green tea as a disease suppression for peach trees and other plants.  Here is a link how to make green tea....

http://www.gardeningrhythms.com/green-tea-from-comfrey-or-other-lea...