Comfrey Tea (for the garden)

Comfrey is such a beneficial plant to have growing in your garden and with it being so hardy with minimal requirements it’s a real winner! It will grow in average soil conditions in full sun or part shade and once established is very drought tolerant. Comfrey is packed full of nutrients which will help improve soil health and can be used in a number of ways in the garden.

1.   Grow some comfrey next to your compost bin/compost bays and regularly harvest bunches of leaves to add to your compost. It’s a very effective natural compost accelerator. It’s  best to wear gloves when handling comfrey as the stems have course hairs that may irritate the skin. 

2.   Use comfrey leaves as mulch around your plants and trees. Nutrients are released into the soil as the leaves break down and will help plants grow stronger and become more resistant to pests and diseases. It also doesn’t deplete nitrogen from the soil as can unfortunately happen with the use of some other types of mulches.

3.   Make comfrey tea! A fantastic liquid fertiliser “superfood” brew for your garden!  Fill a big container (or a general sized garden bucket if that’s all you have) with comfrey leaves. Then weigh down the pile with something heavy such as a brick so the leaves remain completely submerged once the tub is filled with water. Once the container is filled with water place a lid or covering over the top and allow it to steep for at least a couple of weeks (longer is fine). WARNING – it gets super stinky! So you’ll need a strong stomach when using it. Once it’s finished brewing into a black horrid smelling concoction dilute it with water (approx 1:9 parts water) and apply it to your garden. The sludgy leaves at the bottom of the container can be placed into your compost bin or around the base of any plants. Now if you don’t have a strong stomach and the smell is going to be an issue you can make a quick brew comfrey tea. Do the same as above but only allow it to sit for around 3 to 5 days. It still gets smelly but it’s a much more tolerable stench. As the quick brew isn’t as potent it’s fine to apply directly to your garden without diluting with water first. 

Comfrey is also regarded as a medicinal plant but it’s best to consult a qualified herbalist or naturopath before using it, or at least do some thorough research beforehand.

This is a blog post that I had originally written and published on the Infinite Earth - Organic Market website in December 2018.