Forum home› Tools and techniques
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Comfrey tea without the smell (or fuss)

shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
in Tools and techniques
I never wanted to go to the bother of making Comfrey tea as the descriptions of smell, sludge etc put me off. I was discussing this with a colleague and they told me if a much easier method. They just stuff leaves into a pipe and cover the end with a mesh bag and let it decompose in the pipe and drip into a bottle.
I tried it in autumn and using the last of the leaves from a division they gave me I put them in a 40mm pipe (all I had on me) in the garage. 
My wife has the sense of smell of a bloodhound and no comments yet - I cannot smell a thing. What comes out is something akin to thin soy sauce and it smells like seaweed extract.
I'll be using it at about 1 egg cup full to a 10l can eventually to see how it goes.
I hope I have uploaded a photo of my 'rig'. This includes a two foot length and 8" length of 40mm pipe plus s 135 degree bend and an upcycled garlic bag and oasis bottle (other juices are available!). You can see the liquid in the bottom of the bottle.

«1

Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    A bucket with a lid seems less hassle to me.
  • GrannybeeGrannybee Posts: 332
    I really like the 'witch' aspect too! It grows in the hedgerows round my village and I like pulling it and taking it home to make a brew.
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    Each to their own  :)
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    Ha ha. I'd have to pay commission to my workmate!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    There was an Irishwoman featured on GW last year who does pong free comfrey tea by stuffing the leaves into a large container and weighting them down with a stone.  The container has a hole in the bottom and is stood on bricks so it can drip down into a smaller container below.   The resulting liquid can then be diluted as needed and used as a foliar spray or a liquid feed.

    No smelly goo in buckets that needs to be strained and diluted whilst holding one's nose and the residue is a lot less smelly on the compost heap too.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    Sounds very similar. The water (and rotting vegetation) is left out of it until watering can phase
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited January 2021
    Yes.  I like your pipe system (and your Wolf tools display) but I have an old kitchen bin in mind for my comfrey tea this year.  Much easier to stack and I'm hoping to grow quite a lot of comfrey this year......


    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    Good idea! This is my first attempt so once the divisions get going I may have to come up with a bigger solution myself 👍
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    @shane.farrell67 -I think the main drawback of your system is removal of the waste left behind in the pipe - especially with the bend in it. 
    Have you got a widget of some kind to push it all out?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    Yep I have a bendy stick but there's hardly and residue as it seems to eventually all rot down. Either way I can just take it apart and dump in the green waste if needed.  

Sign In or Register to comment.