Heart of the Garden

I inherited a yard with comfrey popping up everywhere. I knew you could chop and drop comfrey leaves as a mulch to surpress weeds, retain moisture, and add NPK to the garden soil, but Monty Don (England’s most revered gahdnah) informed me that you can make a comfrey tea in this very succinct and lovely snippet.

Comfrey tea can be used as a liquid feed or foliar spray to give any plant a potassium and nitrogen boost. Loosely pack some comfrey leaves in a bucket and cover with water. Put a lid on the bucket even though this won’t deter sewer flies from getting in because even Monty calls it a “vile smelling sludge.” Let it sit for three weeks or so. Dilute the sludge with ten parts water and you have free organic fertilizer for days! Just don’t spill it all over your shoes when moving the buckets around before you have to go pick up your kid at preschool. I’m not sure my attempt to stay down wind was very effective.