Do you want to make your own natural liquid fertilizer? One that is especially rich in potassium and perfect to encourage flowers and fruit set? I will show you how I make it with photos taken from my own creation of this potassium rich, super plant food.
No need to purchase fertilizer from the store. You too can make this potent liquid fertilizer at home by growing comfrey. Comfrey liquid fertilizer is completely natural. That means you are not exposing yourself or your plants to any type of synthetic chemicals. Also, you are not financially supporting the companies that make money contaminating the soil and food supply. I mostly use this fertilizer on my tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, squashes, cucumbers, melons, berries, and fruit trees. But I will also use it on any plant that needs a little pick me up.
Comfrey
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is a quintessential permaculture plant. It has so many uses in and out of the garden and a must have in any food forest. I first learned about comfrey when I started on the permaculture journey a few years ago. I guess I was lucky to come across such a versatile staple so early in my permaculture journey. But I guarantee you, it's never too late to make comfrey a permanent addition to your growing area.
What is Permaculture?
If you are new to permaculture, I highly recommend the book by Toby Hemenway called "Gaia's Garden". It is a great entry book and to quote the book:
Why is Comfrey a Quintessential Plant?
- Comfrey is a member of the borage family. It blooms in my food forest from early Spring to frost. Its white and purple blossoms are adored by pollinators. I have the Bocking #4 strain of Russian comfrey in my food forest. This variety and the Bocking #14 variety of comfrey are sterile, which means seeds are not viable. The sterile varieties are propagated by root cuttings.
- Comfrey is an awesome nutrient accumulator. Its long fat tap roots reach deep into the soil and pull out nutrients that are otherwise beyond the reach of average plant roots. Comfrey accumulates the nutrients in its leaves, stems and roots. You can chop and drop comfrey leaves as mulch and bring the nutrients back to the top of the soil, so the nutrients are again accessible to shallow rooted plants.
- Comfrey is an amazing biomass producer. I cut my comfrey leaves about three to five times each growing season. Mulching with comfrey leaves is a great way to add fertility to your soil. Comfrey leaves have high amounts of nitrogen. Therefore, it will not steal, or use up the nitrogen in the soil while decomposing. Now that sounds like the perfect mulch. Make sure to water the comfrey plants well after each cut to encourage new growth.
- Comfrey has medicinal properties that promote healing of many types of injuries. It was once called knitebone because it increases healing and recovery time from bone injuries. I make tinctures and poultices with my own comfrey.
Nutritional Value of Comfrey
Natural Fertilizer You Can Grow Yourself
I am going to show you my preferred way of using comfrey to produce free, natural, and potent liquid fertilizer for our food forest.
- Get two 5 gallon plastic buckets. Drill a few small holes on the bottom of one of the buckets. This is the top bucket. I drilled four 1/4" holes, evenly spaced. The other bucket will not have holes. That will be your bottom or collection bucket.
- Cut your comfrey at the base of the plant about 4" above ground. Put the cut comfrey in the top bucket. that's the one with the 1/4" drilledholes. Place one, or several, rocks or stones on top of the comfrey to act as a weight or press. This will slowly squeeze the juices from the plants.
- Put a rock in the bottom bucket. My rock is about the size of a fist. This will act as a spacer between the two buckets. Put the bucket full of cut comfrey (top bucket)inside the bucket without holes (bottom bucket). The rock inside the bottom bucket, acting as a spacer, will keep the top bucket with comfrey elevated. This will allow the juices to drip through the top bucket holes into the bottom bucket and accumulate.
- Secure the top bucket with a lid to prevent rain from getting in. Set both buckets (stacked on top of each other) in a shady area and wait a couple of weeks.
- The cut comfrey leaves in the top bucket will start to produce a dark liquid as the leaves decompose. This liquid will drain to the bottom bucket through the holes. Don't forget to place a rock at the bottom of the bucket without holes prior to stacking the one full of comfrey (with holes) on top, so this black liquid produced by comfrey can drain down.
- This dark liquid produced by cut comfrey leaves after a few weeks is super potent. I dilute mine 15 to 1 with water for established plants and dilute more if plants are small. I use this liquid to encourage plants to set flowers and fruits or when they just need a little pick me up. You can use this liquid fertilizer when watering into the soil. Or it can be sprayed directly onto the leaves. Have to warn you though, this liquid does not smell good. Not good at all. But, like my husband says, "I don't care how bad it smells since I know where the smell is coming from". You can store this liquid fertilizer if not used right away.
Photo illustration of how I make free comfrey liquid fertilizer
Cut & chop comfrey at the base of the plant a few inches above ground
Put the cut comfrey leaves in the bucket with holes. Weight the whole thing down with a heavy rock (put a heavy rock on top where you see a pair of scissors in the photo)
Place a rock in the bucket without holes, so once the second bucket is placed inside this bucket, it will be alleviated and liquid can drain to the bottom bucket through the holes freely
Stack the two buckets by adding the bucket full of cut comfrey inside the bucket without holes
Secure the top bucket with a lid to prevent rain from getting into the buckets
Set both buckets (stacked on top of each other) in a shady area. Check the bottom bucket after a couple of weeks for dark comfrey liquid
This potent comfrey liquid fertilizer is especially rich in potassium, perfect to encourage flowers and fruit set. You can store this liquid fertilizer if not used right away
Building up Soil and Saving Money
When growing vegetables, I am harvesting on a regular basis. That means soil fertility is constantly being diminished. Adding cut comfrey leaves directly on top of the soil or applying liquid comfrey fertilizer on it will rapidly add fertility back into the soil. Fresh comfrey leaves have high nitrogen content and will not steal nitrogen from the soil while decomposing. I also plant comfrey plants right at the base of fruit trees. Then, as the comfrey leaves break down, they slowly feed the fruit trees. Using nutrient accumulating plants such as comfrey in the garden can save you money on fertilizer and is a great way to build up soil.
The dark nutrient rich liquid produced by comfrey is an amazing natural fertilizer you can make at home from comfrey you can grow yourself. How awesome is that! Talk about self sufficiency and closing the loop on a food forest by recycling and using everything on the property.
Remember fertility in nature does not come from a bag of fertilizer, it comes from vegetation and living organisms. It's a whole nother world below our feet. One that is alive and ready to share it's accomplishments so all can flourish. It's up to us to take advantage of those properties and realize their purpose.
Two buckets, a few holes, rocks, comfrey, and time is all one needs to pull the concentrated fertility from comfrey. If you buy it, you probably had to work a few hours for the money to purchase it. Why not spend a bit of your hard earned wages on these simple items and learn how to make it. Then, you never have to work another day to buy comfrey. It will be working for you instead.
All photos come from my food forest
Photo copyright: @thelaundrylady
I am so glad to find like minded people on Steemit! It's a community I am happy to be part of. If you like my post, please upvote, resteem and comment. I would love to hear from you.
I am so honored to be an official passenger on the #ecotrain, a group of great people who are working hard to make this world a better place. Check out the previous ecoTrain magazines at @ecoTrain.
