Parent Care Sanity

Comfrey is a great plant for healing the body, but this little plant packs more to it then healing powers. It’s great when you come across a plant that has more than one purpose. Then if it is a plant that is almost impossible to kill it makes me even happier. I love to garden but sometimes I get distracted by my other responsibilities and forget things like watering. Which is why I have most of my garden as Huglekultures. When it comes to being dependant on some plants, its useful to have something that you don’t have to worry about. Some parts of the yard are hard to grow in even if I had a green thumb. We do have some pine trees growing, and a shady side of the house. These areas are hard to grow anything so it is nice to be able to use this area to grow something that can benefit the entire garden. The benefits from this plant are growing and to find out more about the things it can do for you click HERE. For now, we are going to go over what it can do other than healing.

1. Mulch- Since it grows like a weed and after a while, you will have more than you know what to do with, you will have plenty to spare. Mulching is important to the soil since it insulates the earth, cuts down on weeds, and using comfrey won’t leech the good stuff out of the soil like some mulches will. Leaves in the spring and fall can be cut and laying them on your garden. Do this around all of your plants except leafy vegetables. when mulching around vegetables such as spinach and lettuce it will make them seed quickly.
2. Fertilizer for your garden- Now making tea with comfrey is no longer considered a good practice as it is recommended not for internal use. Grandma did drink the tea and the woman was 101 and she was going pretty strong. They have found that there is a chemical in the comfrey plant that has been connected with Liver failure so it isn’t recommended to be drinking it. What can drink comfrey tea without fear of problems is your plants. Having a bucket in your garden with some leaves soaking in it is perfect liquid fertilizer for your plants. To make the perfect tea for your garden the leaves should soak in the water for 3-6 weeks.
3. Feed for livestock- This may not really be the garden but since some animals are useful in the garden also we are adding it to the list. When Comfrey is dried it is 26% Crude Protein. We have given comfrey to our bunnies, chickens, and other livestock. The Bunnies would eat it fresh even though it is kind of fuzzy but all the rest like it dried a little first. When it is fresh it has a layer of fuzz that can be a little uncomfortable when they eat it. When it is dry that all comes off and then they all love it. In using this we have found that our animals were healthier and we didn’t have problems with them getting sick or having any problems. For animals like pigs and chickens where you have to pay attention to Fiber intake that’s not as much of a problem with comfrey. It actually has less fiber to it than most grass. Since it grows so well it makes it a cheap option to supplement feed.
4. Compost- Comfrey is Nitrogen-rich and when added to your compost pile it can actually speed up the process. They now have started to sell the powder of the root to add to your compost. You can do this yourself by just grinding up the roots and adding them to your compost. using the stalks and leaves in your compost will also speed up the process and make your compost rich and ready to grow.
5. Ornamental- As medicinal plants go most of them look pretty good in gardens. As I mentioned before usually you have somewhere in your yard that just won’t grow anything. Shady areas, under pine trees, soil that isn’t the greatest, this plant will not just grow in these areas, but it will also look nice. They have big green leaves and topped off with little purple flowers. Even if you forget to water it for a long time and it dies, the next year it will still come back. This plant can grow from a small chunk of root and will prosper for many years.

Planting this in your yard will give you many options. To top it off by planting it in rough areas can make it a great area within a few years. The roots grow like crazy and can actually loosen up the tough areas. This plant can do your gardening for you. The only problem is it grows like a weed. Your soil will be better than ever but you will have to constantly be pulling comfrey from your garden. I don’t mind because the garden is close to the chickens so they get the little shoots. Those roots you dig up can be used for other things. There isn’t any part of this plant that will go to waste.