Comfrey in the Garden

It's recently been pointed out to me that my garden approach is different from that of many people, and that some of my plants are uncommon to a garden. I think that this is first because the focus of this garden is on sustainability, and second because I consider many garden plants to be a first product, a starting place to process the plant into another useful form. If there is a third reason, it would be that I love to try new things.

One of my favorite plants in the garden is Comfry. In past years that I've grown Comfrey, it has self- seeded throughout my garden. I have never thought that this is a bad thing, comfrey and borage (another vigorous self-seeder) look beautiful together and are medicinally extremely useful. If one patch is good then more are simply bonus. This time, though, I decided to try the varietal Russian Comfrey because it is sterile. A gardener can take root cuttings from the comfrey but the plant will not send seeds out into the garden. Furthermore, since the plant does spread through its' root system I am growing my comfrey in a half wine barrel. I also have true comfrey seeds in case I miss the joyful profusion spreading through my garden.

I consider Comfrey to be an indepensible item in any home medine cabinet. Dried comfrey leaves are crushed into powder and then used in a poultice for any skin irritation..poison oak, an allergic reaction to topical irritants (men who react to spermicide shoul take particulat note of this, it relieves pain and irritation in seconds), and any irritation caused by many garden plants. The comfrey leaves are always wrapped, never put into contact with the skin because of numerous fine hairs on the leaves. The other folk name for comfrey is boneset and comfrey is the first herb I reach for to treat a broken bone or sprained joint, again used as a poultice. Comfrey is rarely taken internally...only in the first three days of a broken bone and then in small amounts; it can be toxic to the liver. Never give comfrey internally to a child or a pregnant woman.

If you're not ordinarily a poultice user then comfrey is a great place to start. An undyed paper towel is slightly saturated with hot water...the comfrey powder is sprinkled on, about a tablespoon. The paper towel is folder over, sprinkled with a bit more hot water, then the poultice is wrapped around the injury and left there for five minutes for skin irritation...wrapped under a bandage and left for sprains or breaks, such as a broken foot bone which would not ordinarily be set. Comfrey poultices can be used on a broken bone to bring the swelling and discomfort down sooner.

Comfrey is also used in the garden as a good source of potassium. I grown comfrey near my potatoes. When the potatoes plants are six inches high I clip comfrey leaves and mulch the potatoes with them. I then cover the potatoes with a thin layer of straw, as the comfrey turns into a green slime that i'd rather not view every day. Extra comfrey would be a terrific addition to the compost pile, although I wouldn't know about that. "Extra" comfrey to me is like "extra" money. It's a nice concept but it's so useful that there's never enough to go around.