RE: Things to do and things on my mind
I've grown comfrey here for the best part of a decade. Here's a comfrey story for you:
There was a permaculture farm near me that had to shut down. They organized a diaspora to distribute as many plants from the farm to as many people as they could. One of the plants I got was dwarf comfrey.
I planned to put it under my McIntosh tree that had not really produced edible apples since it was planted 25 years ago. The tree was seldom pruned and never sprayed. So I got the comfrey planted under it.
A couple years later we had the most amazing harvest off that tree. We made 8 gallons of cider, 8 gallons of vinegar, I don't know how much apple sauce and gave away bags and bags of apples.
That year would be the year we were without a pig. So I called a farmer who had pigs and asked him to clean the tree off. He and 8 helpers came and loaded the back of a pickup.
Here's a photo of some of the apples:
These were the ones not good enough for eating. It was unbelievable, the size and quality of the apples. Everyone in the area had a bumper harvest but we'd NEVER had a harvest from this tree.
Was it the comfrey? Don't know... But the tree has done well ever since, but not as well as that year.
Oh my gosh, what an awesome story! Comfrey acts as a natural mine, going really deep (I read 10-15 feet deep) to get nutrients and bring them up.
Your story has me sold on comfrey now if it's a good choice for my land. Is there a way to tell if it'll work before you get it planted?
I don't know. I've just got the 2 patches, under the apple tree and in the Big garden. Won't hurt to try it....
By the way, the patch in the Big garden, a full size type, is there for the chickens, the layers....both as fresh and as dehydrated for winter...
Yeah, I've read that it's really good for chickens too. A lot of other herbs are as well. seedsnow.com has a kit that's just herbs that are good for chickens. They claim it can replace traditional feeding by over 50% while increasing health and production.
Gonna go source some comfrey. I've heard of a few types, maybe research will reveal one as a better choice for us here.