Comfrey Root

  • Comfrey Root

    Posted by Wilburs-Place on September 3, 2022 at 1:29 pm

    Just received my order of comfrey root from Perma Pasture Farms. I am getting ready to put my seven-year-old grandson to work digging 40 holes! I cannot wait to get the comfrey started around my fruit trees today! Between the new comfrey and my recent purchase of Billy’s bone sauce, I am in Homestead heaven!

    Billy replied 2 years, 2 months ago 15 Members · 23 Replies
  • 23 Replies
  • LittleEden

    Member
    September 4, 2022 at 5:37 am

    We bought ours from them too and most of them came up even through the drought.

    We are so thrilled to have learned how useful this plant is through watching Billy and the Fam’s videos.

    Currently, we are still working on the infrastructure for everything and decided to live in an older RV we are renovating, on the land we have. Hoping to have the few trees that survived the drought, live through the winter.

  • Songdogshooter41

    Member
    September 4, 2022 at 11:02 am

    I have 10-15 comfrey plants interplanted between raspberries and blackberries. It’s getting closer to fall and I’m thinking of dividing the plants and transplanting some to create barriers to other garden patches.

    Is there a “good time” to dig comfrey? Or is it hardy enough to do it any time?

    I could wait and do it the same time as I harvest my horseradish (months that end in “er”)

  • IsleOfViewHomestead

    Member
    September 4, 2022 at 1:54 pm

    I just bought a 20 pack of root, should be here any day now. We rent currently, but there is a little “flower” bed in front of the house that nothing but pioneer species, and one little stargazer lilly grows in (no clue where it came from). I’m going to toss a few comfrey root in there to liven it up, and grow extra root to harvest just before we move, so I can plant those as soon as we buy our land. But im really excited to see how our chickens react when we give them some for the first time. 😁

  • Jeremy-aka-One-Step-Closer

    Member
    September 4, 2022 at 8:10 pm

    Just got mine from them too, and was able to plant some today. So you know if it will grow in relatively shady spots?

  • HoneysGarden

    Member
    September 4, 2022 at 9:18 pm

    Had an odd thing happen yesterday. I’d watered the planting area where my comfrey are doing great; when I went to collect the sprinkler, I noticed one of the plants was . . . not just limp, but absolutely flat on the ground. Checking further, I discovered that the entire plant had been cut off about half an inch below the surface. I’m worried that perhaps a gopher came around, and decided it liked the root . . .

    • OldBear

      Member
      September 4, 2022 at 9:45 pm

      Could be a cut worm, they love to take out my smaller plants. Stick a stick into the ground right up next to the stems and it should keep the cut worms at bay.

      • HoneysGarden

        Member
        September 5, 2022 at 12:01 pm

        This plant was a bit larger than cutworms normally hit; I went digging last night, and there’s no sign of the root.

  • Mike_A

    Member
    September 4, 2022 at 10:30 pm

    Ordering some this evening. When is “too late” to plant it, and would it be better to wait until spring?

    • Billy

      Community Leader
      September 5, 2022 at 4:35 pm

      You can always plant comfrey if you’re able to work the soil.

      • Mike_A

        Member
        September 5, 2022 at 9:09 pm

        Thanks Billy!

      • HilltopLeatherHomestead

        Member
        September 10, 2022 at 2:33 pm

        Thanks Billy will be ordering soon. I was also wondering if it would be better to wait till spring here in Kentucky.

  • FaintlyArtistic

    Member
    September 4, 2022 at 10:43 pm

    I ordered 10 recently and got a few extras. I stuck them in pots in the greenhouse because the areas they are going in aren’t ready yet.

    Thanks, Billy and fam!

  • Billy

    Community Leader
    September 5, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    Thank you everybody for the vote of confidence and a fantastic discussion! There’s really no need for me to respond half the time because it seems all of the answers are provided in our little community here. What a joy!

    • DeeJefferson

      Member
      September 5, 2022 at 9:29 pm

      The leaves on our comfrey keeps turning yellow then black. They haven’t really gotten very big like we’d though they would. Any ideas what’s going on and what we are or are not doing here?

      • Billy

        Community Leader
        September 8, 2022 at 12:48 am

        Seems like some kind of fungus. You might try spraying milk on it.

      • Beachchic

        Member
        September 8, 2022 at 4:01 pm

        I have one plant that is doing this too, the rest are amazing and I keep taking sone leaves. Ive done salve, fed the animals and even buried some leaves for fertilizer.

        *even tho the reply wasnt to me, thank you Billy I will try this as well.

  • Higgins

    Member
    September 8, 2022 at 4:07 pm

    Where do you usually find comfrey for sale? I’ve looked everywhere and none of my local nurseries have it, and some looked at me like I’m not even sure they knew what I was talking about? Can you grow it from seed?

    • Maytag

      Member
      September 8, 2022 at 4:13 pm

      I asked a few local nurseries about comfrey and they thought I was asking about coffee lol. I was like, no, comfrey, like the herb… Needless to say, they didn’t have the plants or seeds. I bought some seeds online this summer and 3 of the 5 I tried to start sprouted. I put them in the ground just last night so hopefully they handle the transplant well. If they do I will try using the rest of the seeds.

      • Higgins

        Member
        September 8, 2022 at 4:16 pm

        I just checked Billy’s web page and he is sold out… do I dare try Amazon?

        • This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  Higgins.
      • Maytag

        Member
        September 8, 2022 at 4:21 pm

        I’ve got most of my seeds this year from Seedman and they have comfrey seeds in stock: https://www.seedman.com/comfrey.htm

        The only stuff I had germination problems with was oregano, and that may have just been my fault, not necessarily bad seeds.

  • Higgins

    Member
    September 8, 2022 at 4:26 pm

    Thanks for that info!

    • Songdogshooter41

      Member
      September 11, 2022 at 11:49 pm

      Not sure what the official thoughts are, but if you get seeds for comfrey, you don’t know exactly what you are getting.

      I have some plants I can divide and send you a couple roots. I have the biking 14.

      You might check “out in the wild”… I saw some wild comfrey out at our local lake. It’s a crapshoot again on the variety, but it could be an option.

      • Billy

        Community Leader
        September 12, 2022 at 12:52 am

        I’m right there with you!

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