the nourishing homestead

Comfrey, the Miracle Plant

The more we learn about and experiment
with comfrey, the more smitten we become.
Comfrey is a vigorous perennial with hairy
leaves about 12 to 18 inches long. It grows
about 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide and has a
strong tendency to spread and take over a
given area if the seeds are allowed to set
or if the roots are disturbed. To alleviate
this issue, we grow a sterile cultivar and
take pains to avoid disturbing the roots,
unless we are dividing the plants in order
to cultivate a new patch elsewhere.

We got our original five comfrey plants

from a friend who was dividing his patch.
The first year, we did not cut them back at
all, and by the second year, our original
plants had grown enough to divide and
begin spreading around the homestead.
Now, three years later, we have enough
comfrey to cultivate as much as we want
and divide for friends.
Whats so great about comfrey? First of
all, it is rich in calcium, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and trace minerals that
it mines via its 6-foot-plus-long
taproot. To take advantage of all
these nutrients, we cut the plants
back at the base four or five times
each summer, letting the biomass
fall in place, where it mulches and
feeds the surrounding trees and
bushes, releasing all its stored
nutrients as it decomposes.
Comfrey can also be made
into a powerful garden tea by
filling a barrel half full of leaves
and adding water to cover. After
steeping for three to six weeks,
and straining into a sprayer,
youve got an extremely nutrientrich (and stinky!) drench to water
your plants with or administer as
a foliar spray.
Comfrey can also be used as
an animal feed. It is high in protein (20 to 30 percent), low in
fiber (this makes it easier for nonruminants to digest), and rich in
minerals. We have experimented
with feeding it fresh in summer
and dried in winter to poultry,
Comfrey and Jerusalem artichokes in the orchard
pigs, cows, sheep, and goats, and

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soil and gardens

we are excited by the potential it holds for

helping to wean this homestead from its
unsustainable grain habit and as a local
source of minerals for our ruminants.
For this reason, we are planning to
experiment much more with comfrey in
the coming years, perhaps planting rows
of it along the fringes of the pasture for
the cows. Once grazed, these rows could
be fenced off and allowed to regrow multiple times per season.
We are still experimenting with how
much of the diet can be replaced with this
amazing herb. There has been some controversy over the possibility that it can

cause liver problems when used internally. As far as we can tell from our
research, this seems to stem from results
of studies that isolated the pyrrolizidine
alkaloids (which are said to cause the
toxic effects) and fed or injected them
into animals in very high doses. Comfrey
leaf has been regularly ingested by people
and animals around the world with no
negative effects.
Of course, used externally, it is hugely
beneficial for many ailments of both
human and livestock. For more information on how to use it medicinally, see
Making Your Own Medicine in chapter 8.

Chickens gathered round the comfrey bar

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