Comfrey

SOME of the best things in life are free - including plant food made from comfrey.

There's a good article in the latest Guardian on how to make great liquid plant food from this versatile plant.

While comfrey dies down in winter, it's very hardy and will grow in pots too.
I planted some near the compost bins so i can pull of a few leaves each time I add some material to the mixture.
These leaves seem to help break down the compost more quickly.

Compost catch-up

YOU would think running seven compost bins on the go would mean I have constant supply of the good stuff.

Hilda, Gidget and Ledgergirl help turn over the compost

Well despite filling the mini-food rubbish bin - after the good scraps go to the chooks - and emptying it twice a week into the 'going' bin, my compost seems to be taking way too long to break down.

This is because I have been a bit lazy and not been tuning over the compost enough or adding the right balance of comfrey. In my defecne your honour, I will say work does get in the way of gardening.

Anyway.

So after some newspaper shredding todays plan is to get out the garden fork and release the feather riot and encourage them to get down into the bins and help them them over.

There's bound to be some worm casualties but the three bins which need their help are so full of gorgeous worms I am happy to sacrifices a few dozen to those cheeky chooks to help turn over the organic and carbon matter.

Of course if they drop a bit of fertilizer into the mix, that would be a bonus.

Rocketing along

Great excitement this morning as I went to feed the gals - the rocket seeds i planted last Sunday have popped up!

Woo hoo!

As you can see, they are coming up thick and fast so I'll thin them out tomorrow if the rain stops (or maybe I'll just pull on my op-shop version of the driasabone) and put some in pots to give to friends.

To the right are a couple of clumps of the ever-useful comfrey which I will add to my fertiliser mix.

Spring really is settling into full gear and it is so exciting to witness those tiny seeds transform into green goodness.

My rocket is up but not the lettuce...

Comfrey and Joy

Rich in nitrogen and potassium, comfrey is a great herb to grow as it's a proven compost activator.

Not only will it enrich your compost heap by breaking down the ingredients, it’s also a great mulch as containing so much nitrogen, when decomposing it will not leach it from the soil as does high-carbon mulches like straw and leaves.

Comfrey’s high potassium content helps to increase flower and fruit production making it especially beneficial for flowers (attracting those fabulous bees), fruiting vegetables (such as beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and cucumbers), berries, and fruit trees. 

I’ve heard anecdotally from other greenthumbs using comfrey to mulch root crops such as parsnips and carrots or leafy greens like lettuce, tatsoi and spinach may encourage them to go to seed prematurely.

Hens like it too! I also pick fresh bunches for my chooks who enjoy the occasional peck.

It does die back in winter but will zip back into life come spring.

Beware, it can take over so I try to keep it in the areas when I ave my compost bins. Everytime I add some vegies, paper or green waste to one of my seven compost bins, a few comfrey leaves are added.