Not many people I know grow comfrey, an herb well know for it’s thug like behavior in the garden. It can grow up and into even the most densely rooted plant and will spread underground taking over any open ground and trampling any plant in it’s way. When you attempt to weed it out, any little molecule left in the ground will form a new colony by the time you get to the compost pile. The species self seeds crazily so defines the word garden pest. So……… why grow it?

Well, a well know fact to most European gardeners  is that comfrey leaves make unbeatable fertilizer. The plant acts as a miner, pulling out nutrients from deep in the soil and storing them in it’s leaves. You can put the leaves as is in your compost for a nutrient boost, or put them in a container to decompose,( a little smelly so put your bucket far away from the windows) then dilute the thick black liquid they form with water to make a foliar fertilizer. Recipes are  here http://www.howtodothings.com/home-garden/how-to-make-comfrey-fertilizer and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRbHqz1m7kk although I just use a 5 gallon bucket and a brick . The fertilizer is totally organic and totally  FREE!

I could say that is why I grow comfrey, but I think that may come off as , well, the bold face lie that it is. I grow it for the amazing color show. The buds of comfrey when they are all tight and closed have a surreal pink glow to them, especially against all that dark green foliage. Then they open to the most beautiful blue,yes blue, true blue, not a purple masquerading as blue or an if I squint my eyes that resembles blue blue, but real honest to goodness blue. AND they bloomfor a looooong time. I pea stake them or use a cats cradle set up in the spring so all that blueness rises above the other plants near them ( they will flop without it) and I enjoy their show.

When they go wayward, I spade out the offenders and compost them or add to my bucket of leaves . Thug or not, I would not be without it, and when I leave this world it will be a race between the comfrey and the trumpet vines to see who takes over this little acre first.