comfrey

[Mickey328]

I put in 2 plants last spring...to use for herbal remedies and such...and the chickens ended up getting most if it...they're crazy for the stuff! This year we have bunnies too, and I'm starting new compost bins so that comfrey's gonna be working overtime I dunno about seeds either...I ordered plants. I rather doubt it'll spread much here either...I think it's pretty cold tolerant but it does like moisture and that we just don't have here in the high desert. Having to water seems a fair trade off for not having it take over though

 

[so lucky]

I planted seeds last year and nary a one germinated. I need to read up on what it needs to sprout, I guess. I used to have a little patch, growing on the north side of the house, but I dug it up for someone who was wanting it for a cancer treatment. I was surprised that some didn't resprout.

 

[shadetree]

Planted some seed this year. Says on the packet

Planting depth: 1/4 inch

Start indoors 3 months before transplant date, Germination can take 30 days if soil is not kept warm. Or direct seed in garden once the soil has warmed.

I have one packet in flats and will plant the other outside when it warms up. May need some luck with this one.

 

[so lucky]

Hey, Shadetree, welcome to TEG. I guess I will try the comfrey seed again, but I will be on the lookout for a plant, too. I don't need much.

 

[digitS']

I am just going to say this and no more about comfrey and it is mostly a caution about human use.

For 40 years, I have seen and heard things about comfrey, mostly about its potential as a livestock feed. Never have I seen the plant used as a hay by farmers. The FDA (click) advises against even small amounts of comfrey in dietary supplements. "These plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, substances which are firmly established to be hepatotoxins in animals."

Plants Poisonous to Livestock - Cornell University, Department of Animal Science (click): " PAs are hepatoxins and can cause irreversible liver damage. One of the problems is that the effects of the alkaloids can be cumulative. . . Comfrey has been promoted and used as a medicinal plant for years. However, no published studies could be found to support the medicinal claims."

Purdue also has information on the amino acid deficiencies of comfrey. Without a balance, the high protein levels of the plant are pretty much lost as an animal nutrient. Last paragraph under "Uses," Purdue University (click )

Steve

 

[shadetree]

Thanks Steve,
I've heard this before and will limit my use as feed to the chickens. My main reason for growing it was as a chop and drop and compost, both pile and tea

 

[digitS']

I am such a naysayer. I hate being a naysayer.

There was once a college prof who told me that I would make a positive statement and then back away from it. He was my thesis adviser and I tried to take that under advisement and to heart.

Hating to be a naysayer, I am also a believer in science. It costs us a lot to pay for these gals' and guys' educations and their research! They are often wrong. So, it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Progress . . .

Steve
Welcome to TEG Shadetree! (lifting my cup of oolong in greeting )

 

[shadetree]

Steve,

Science is just an explanation of a natural occurring process. It will occur regardless, often in spite of science.

Thanks for the welcome. All the knowledge is appreciated.

henry (as I return your toast with Lemon Zinger)

 

[so lucky]

Steve,

Science is just an explanation of a natural occurring process. It will occur regardless, often in spite of science.

Thanks for the welcome. All the knowledge is appreciated.

henry (as I return your toast with Lemon Zinger)

I like that.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I have 2 plants, well now 3, and this year? I was given a plant and it does not spread. I never knew what to do with it and read about the compost pile, so I thought that sounds great and I bought one at the Farmer's Market a couple of years ago. Last year it came up and it was now 2 plants maybe headed towards the blackberries. I gave some to the rabbits, but they did not like it that much and then read not to give them very much, so I quit giving it to them. Before I "inherited" the rabbits, the owner would throw rhubarb to them, leaves and all. He had some chickens too and the rabbits and the chickens ate all the leaves. I thought they would be dead, but they lived on. I would never give them rhubarb leaves and decided aganist the comfrey, so now it just attracks bumble bees and I put it in the compost pile. It gets tall. I think they were almost 6 ft tall when a storm came with wind and blew them over. I cut them off at the ground and they grew right back up again before end of summer.