Step by step: make your own comfrey manure

Comfrey is an incredibly valuable plant for your garden! It is rich in nutrients (especially potassium), which the plant takes from the soil through its roots. This makes it a good comfrey manure (also known as comfrey fertilizer).

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The leaves of the comfrey can be used as a potting soil improver and as a garden fertilizer. For example, use it as mulch around your plants. In the liquid fertilizer form, you can apply comfrey to all garden plants.

Comfrey is vigorous and will grow several times in a season if you cut it back to the base. However, do not let it run wild, as it can spread rapidly. Fortunately, there is a Russian sterile cultivar, 'Bocking 14', which does not set seed and only propagates via the roots.

It is very easy to make your own comfrey manure.

Cut large amounts of leaves from the plant and don't be afraid to cut it back to the ground. Always wear gloves when harvesting comfrey, as the hairy leaves can cause skin irritation.

Place the leaves in a bucket (possibly in a panty as a bag) and keep the plant remains under water with bricks. Put a lid on it, because the rotting process stinks. The process takes between 3 and 6 weeks, when the leaves are almost dissolved the comfrey manure is ready.

Strain the liquid and dilute it with water in a ratio of about 1:20. The less water you use for the rotting process, the more water you need for dilution. The remains that you have sieved from the comfrey manure can be put on the compost heap.

Would you rather not dilute your comfrey manure when using it? Then let three kilos of leaves soak in 45 litres of water. After four weeks you can use it undiluted. You do need space for this.

Would you rather make a concentrate? Then you can put the cut leaves in a container with a hole in the bottom. Then you place a collection tray underneath. After two to three weeks, a dark, strong-smelling (stinking) liquid will drip into the collection tray. You can use this diluted with ten to twenty parts water. For tomatoes and cucumbers, dilute the concentrate in a ratio of 1:15. You can store the concentrate for the entire growing season. Anything left at the end of the season can go on the compost heap.

Comfrey is very rich in potassium and therefore especially suitable for fruit-bearing crops. For plants where the leaf is important, such as various leafy crops, need a lot of nitrogen. For these plants you use nettle manure .

You can use comfrey manure to feed the following plants, among others:

You can also mulch the soil around plants with comfrey leaves instead of fertilizing with liquid manure. The release of the fertilizers is slower and can be absorbed quietly. Also, the chance of burning the plant or roots with liquid manure is not present when you choose a mulch layer. Something to consider!