Comfrey is famous for kick-starting potatoes and infamous for creating a giant stink as it rots in your liquid manure. Photo / Waihi Leader
If you really want to succeed at organic gardening, there's a herb you should know, writes Justin Newcombe.
If you consider yourself serious about all this gardening get-up then make sure you get yourself some comfrey plants this summer.
Comfrey is a bit of a weed once it becomes established, but don't let that stop you from giving it a go.
It is an undisputed hero in your
organic gardening arsenal. Extremely high nutrient levels, combined with healing properties have made it popular in many cultures for centuries.
Comfrey is a nutrient glutton, coming third only to nasturtium and nettles on my table of beneficial weeds. Although it contains fewer actual nutrients than the other two plants, its concentrations of nitrogen are quite staggering, equal to that of farmyard manure. It has similar levels of phosphorous and twice as much potassium. The leaves are also high in vitamins B,C and E and beta-carotene. With those jaw-dropping levels of potassium it makes an ideal fertiliser for any fruiting plant which at this time of year that means tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, melons, potatoes - in fact, any other plant you can think of that bears fruit. The leaves can be used directly on the garden as mulch or you could add them to your compost or liquid manure barrel. It is best to harvest the leaves just prior to flowering as this is when the nutrient levels are at their highest. More annoyingly, the flowering stems are capable of taking root so you need to avoid them getting into your garden beds or compost. Comfrey is famous for kick-starting potatoes (line the trench with wilted leaves) and infamous for creating a giant stink as it decomposes in your liquid manure.
