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comfrey and fertilizer

wazmanwazman Posts: 6

Hi can i use other plants instead of comfrey to make liquid fertilizer?

Last edited: 27 August 2016 10:06:44

Posts

  • wazmanwazman Posts: 6

    I got so much horseradish leave which im thinking of turning into liquid fertilizer as its much quicker

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618

    Any ideas of nutrient content?

    Comfrey has a high potash content, good for flowers and fruit.

    Nettle has a high nitrogen content, good for green leafy veg and brassicas.

  • Daisy33Daisy33 Posts: 1,031

    If you find out anything about the horseradish leaves come back and let us know will you? Thanks

  • wazmanwazman Posts: 6
    Daisy33 says:

    If you find out anything about the horseradish leaves come back and let us know will you? Thanks

    See original post

     hi yes will do .i am pretty sure that every green plant has different minerals and trace vitamins in it .I think horseradish has its own benefits to plants but im basically going to use comfrey and whatever green plants i can get hold of.

  • wazmanwazman Posts: 6

    I dont have comfrey but will grow it

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,905

    Hi wazman. Words of warning. Both horseradish and comfrey are absolute thugs in the garden. Once you have horseradish you will never be able to get rid of it. There is a cultivar of comfrey called Bocking 14 which is the one to go for as it is non invasive unlike its unruly relative.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • Bocking 14 is simply infertile but it has a massive tap root that can be a pain to remove if you ever chose to, there's a blog post about it here http://www.aimlessgardening.co.uk/organic-gardening/comfrey-bocking-14/
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    You can use young horseradish leaves as a salad. It is a brassica and taste a bit like rocket.
  • UpNorthUpNorth Posts: 376
    i understand you can use others from the borage family, i did some 'tea' from Alkanet.  i don't have any real evidence the fertiliser worked, as i didn't have other plants to leave and compare growth etc.....but i can say it didn't harm.  i have lots left to dilute this year alongside some nettle tea.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,087
    I rarely boil veggies but, when I do I save vegetable water from boiling potatoes, sweet potatoes, steaming broccoli etc and use it to water house plants once it's cooled.   Minerals from the veggies pass into the water.   Same on the few occasions I boil eggs as a bit of calcium is dissolved from the shells.  Just remember not to use salted water!

    If you're too impatient to wait for your compost heap you can also infuse veggie peelings in water to make a tea. 

    If you have access to fresh seaweed it makes an excellent fertiliser but be sure to rinse off all the salt before soaking in covered buckets. 

    Garlic infusions make good pest repellents and do not harm the good guys.
    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
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