Comfrey, scientific name Symphytum officinale, is an ubiquitous and quintessential element in the permaculture ecosystem. It's a perennial plant in my zone, which is nice because that means it will grow back year after year in my region . If you would like to learn more about comfrey, check out the following websites: Mother Earth News, The Spruce, and Wikipedia.

The reason it is often found in the permaculturist's repertoire is not just because it is very {and I do mean VERY} easy to grow. It's because it is considered a plant that pulls vital nutrients from deep within the soil into it's leaves. When the leaves are "chopped and dropped", cut down then laid around as a mulch, the nutrients are great feeders for other plants.

Wikipedia says:

Comfrey is an excellent source of potassium, an essential plant nutrient needed for flower, seed and fruit production. Its leaves contain 2–3 times more potassium than farmyard manure, mined from deep in the subsoil, tapping into reserves that would not normally be available to plants

This is the primary reason I see people growing it. While it's not edible because it causes liver toxicity, it is widely used in ointments and topical teas for bone pain, broken bones, sprains, etc.

I purchased an infertile variety of comfrey known as Russian Comfrey from MARSH CREEK FARMSTEAD after watching a short video from the ART AND BRI Youtube channel, which is a channel I really enjoy. This kind does not propagate by seeds, although it can and does spread easily by its very hardy and persistent roots. So, be mindful where you plant it as it can be very hard to get rid of once it's established because just a sliver of root left in the ground can potentially sprout. Of course, in permaculture, that's part of the appeal of this plant. Still, look to the future design and plan of your growing space so you are not frustrated later.

I have to say that I am very happy with my purchase because this comfrey is growing so well. After receiving it I was concerned I was going to run into the same problem as I did with the Sunchokes because I couldn't plant them right away and they were already sprouting. They were short sections of tough hairy dark roots. They looked like roughly one inch damp sticks. The instructions said not to plant them during the hottest time of the summer and to start them in pots.

Well, me being me, I ignored that advice. Good news, every single root cutting is growing. Maybe a little too good considering where I planted them. I planted them in any small open area in my "spiral garden" not expecting them to grow so fast. They are quickly taking over in size. The plan was always to move them. These were just temporary locations until the fall when I hope to have their permanent locations prepped. Well, they are growing so fast I might have to move them much earlier then I planned.

Here are what my comfrey plants look like as of today in the straw bale where the whole area was planted with about 12 cuttings spaced about 3 inches apart. Oops. It's not like the instructions said to plant them farther apart. sarcasm

This was last week after I had pruned off the largest of the leaves. There are so many leaves growing from the cuttings that I wanted to make sure they don't out compete each other before I get a chance to transplant them into their permanent homes. I threw a few leaves around the zucchini squash and at the base of the newly planted fruit trees.

This was two weeks ago before I pruned off the largest leaves. All those holes in the leaves are from hail damage from a storm. It's not super clear here, but in the time these comfrey root cuttings have been planted to now, this straw bale soil has shrunk in half!!! It has almost collapsed to the ground from all of the nutrients the plants have sucked out of it.

This picture is also from today from another straw bale that had open space. The comfrey is quickly overtaking the common white yarrow root that was transplanted. To the right of the comfrey are strawberry runners I pushed into the soil to get them to root. We bought 25 overwintered strawberry roots this spring and killed every single one of them.

A couple months later I found a really nice hanging planter with lots of shoots, hoping to propagate enough to make up for the mistake in the spring. I think they will be fine here next to the comfrey, but I'm not sure about the yarrow. That's okay, though, because there are probably at least 200 other yarrow roots here I can transplant. I know now that the yarrow roots are easy to transplant, which was the main purpose of putting them here in this straw bale, anyway.

This picture is flipped around but is the same planter as the above picture, two weeks ago just after the strong storm with nickel sized hail. THAT'S HOW BIG AND FAST COMFREY GROWS!

Ignore the puny onions that were damaged and stopped growing after that hail. This is another "open spot" in the spiral garden I thought I could fill in with comfrey root. Well, it's obviously going to have to go somewhere else if I want to use this space for a fall garden. Which of course I do because I have nowhere else even remotely prepared to plant.

And the final picture is what the comfrey looked like 10 days after planting. That is a month ago. Keep in mind, I have pruned off the largest lower leaves now at least 3 times.

As you can see, comfrey is a fast vigorous plant. I'm glad I didn't just pop them in the ground in some random spot. I am definitely looking forward to getting them into their forever home, although truthfully I'm still not sure where that is going to be lol. Probably close to the newly planted fruit trees. The thing is, I'm having an incredibly difficult time making any progress digging holes, amending soil, planting, weeding, keeping up with the bugs. Everything has pretty much gone wild.

That's why I want a permaculture food forest. I'm really not cut out for intensive gardening. Landscaping? Forget about it! Someone else has to do almost all of that as it is. So, the sooner this place is planted with plants that can basically fend for themselves, grow year after year, the better. Yes, I know. Fruit trees and orchards aren't easy. They require pruning, pest and disease patrol, etc. But, the fundamental goal of a permaculture food forest is to create a nature mimicking, or nature regulating, food jungle to attract beneficial insects and animals, everything balancing it each other out without the need for micromanagement. That's the goal. I'm increasingly frustrated that we are not making faster progress but I know that when everything is implemented, much of the stress will be reduced.

Okay, that's all for this post. If you found this post enjoyable, please consider upvoting, resteeming, following, and commenting! Thank you kindly for reading...

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COMFREY: ANOTHER QUINTESSENTIAL PERMACULTURE ADDITION TO OUR FOOD FOREST

This is the primary reason I see people growing it. While it's not edible because it causes liver toxicity, it is widely used in ointments and topical teas for bone pain, broken bones, sprains, etc.

Here are what my comfrey plants look like as of today in the straw bale where the whole area was planted with about 12 cuttings spaced about 3 inches apart. Oops. It's not like the instructions said to plant them farther apart. sarcasm

This picture is flipped around but is the same planter as the above picture, two weeks ago just after the strong storm with nickel sized hail. THAT'S HOW BIG AND FAST COMFREY GROWS!

And the final picture is what the comfrey looked like 10 days after planting. That is a month ago. Keep in mind, I have pruned off the largest lower leaves now at least 3 times.

Okay, that's all for this post. If you found this post enjoyable, please consider upvoting, resteeming, following, and commenting! Thank you kindly for reading...

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT 2018 BY ME, @phedizzle. Hope you enjoyed them!

Here are previous posts of mine:

STORIES:

2011 GARDEN:

RECIPES:

POEMS:

PLANTS AND ANIMALS-EDUCATIONAL:

WALK ALONG WITH ME:

2018:

CONTESTS/REVIEWS

Phedizzle signature created by @bembelmaniac

(Created by @soulturtle)

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