Feeding plants with herbs
peter wrote:
Hi all, I'm curious to hear what herbs others have used for feeding thier gardens. I've found out heaps about Comfrey and it sounds real easy to grow, harvest and use. It also reads as being a very valuable food source for plants, especially flowering plants. I have heard of nettles being used but have not found much with google yet. I've heard that Yarrow is very helpful too, as an activator and maybe feeding too, still to finish that google. I would especially like to hear from anyone who has heard of Valerian as a useful herb in the garden. I have heard it is a very good companion plant. So, just wondering what others have experienced or heard. Cheers and thanks Peter =========== Carefull with the Comfrey as it can be invasive, but isn't real hard to control. I have it in the garden as it blooms from late May through September (if you keep whacking it back) and the bumblebees love it. I let the cuttings dry out a bit and then run them through a grinder and use it for mulch around tomato plants. I think in the UK they till it under and plant on top of it??? Never tried making tea from it, forget what other uses it has. |
Hi- I haven't gotten on this newsgroup for years (literally..); I can't
remember if I posted back when I had a cow who sustained a ghastly teat injury which I wasn't able to get sutured in time- I did twice daily wound care for 6 weeks. I used the standard antibiotic preps for cattle- BUT- also made a comfrey preparation- comfrey chopped ultimately fine in the food processor, I think it was- kept it refrigerated- and used it as a wound dressing for about 2 weeks- I believe that I did see some encouraging results in the nature of quicker development of healthy tissue. But as I kept having to work to avoid any infection and the comfrey prep was not sterile, I finally stopped using it. I had heard that one of the risks using comfrey because it *does* accelerate wound healing is that healthy tissue will grow quickly and seal in an area of infection- as the wound edges were coming together I saw a risk of this happening, so I stopped. Nice to see you all are still around.. lw "Cyli" wrote in message ... On 27 Jun 2005 05:49:27 -0700, wrote: (snipped) Never tried making tea from it, forget what other uses it has. Supposedly good for general healing, especially as a poultice on wounds. However it has some nasty things in it that aren't good for your liver, so while some swear by it, others won't have anything to do with it. Cyli r.bc: vixen. Minnow goddess. Speaker to squirrels. Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless. http://www.visi.com/~cyli email: lid (strip the .invalid to email) |
Hey lw- good to 'see' you around again! Don't remember hearing about the
cow before, I hope she finally healed. Do you still have 'heretic'? I have heard to not use comfrey on deep wounds due to the rapid healing of the surface tissue. But it makes a great plaster for sprains. Back to the topic--- Both comfrey and nettles make a great 'tea' for watering plants. Just put the plants into a big barrel and fill with water. Cover and let steep at least a few weeks. Get a breathing mask, or a clothes pin for your nose, and open the barrel. You can dip out liquid as needed and add more water and herbs. Lots of minerals in this tea. Deb -- In Oregon, the pacific northWET. NWF habitat #32964 "lw" wrote in message ... Hi- I haven't gotten on this newsgroup for years (literally..); I can't remember if I posted back when I had a cow who sustained a ghastly teat injury which I wasn't able to get sutured in time- I did twice daily wound care for 6 weeks. I used the standard antibiotic preps for cattle- BUT- also made a comfrey preparation- comfrey chopped ultimately fine in the food processor, I think it was- kept it refrigerated- and used it as a wound dressing for about 2 weeks- I believe that I did see some encouraging results in the nature of quicker development of healthy tissue. But as I kept having to work to avoid any infection and the comfrey prep was not sterile, I finally stopped using it. I had heard that one of the risks using comfrey because it *does* accelerate wound healing is that healthy tissue will grow quickly and seal in an area of infection- as the wound edges were coming together I saw a risk of this happening, so I stopped. Nice to see you all are still around.. lw "Cyli" wrote in message ... On 27 Jun 2005 05:49:27 -0700, wrote: (snipped) Never tried making tea from it, forget what other uses it has. Supposedly good for general healing, especially as a poultice on wounds. However it has some nasty things in it that aren't good for your liver, so while some swear by it, others won't have anything to do with it. Cyli r.bc: vixen. Minnow goddess. Speaker to squirrels. Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless. http://www.visi.com/~cyli email: lid (strip the .invalid to email) |
Deb wrote:
Hey lw- good to 'see' you around again! Don't remember hearing about the cow before, I hope she finally healed. Do you still have 'heretic'? I have heard to not use comfrey on deep wounds due to the rapid healing of the surface tissue. But it makes a great plaster for sprains. Back to the topic--- Both comfrey and nettles make a great 'tea' for watering plants. Just put the plants into a big barrel and fill with water. Cover and let steep at least a few weeks. Get a breathing mask, or a clothes pin for your nose, and open the barrel. You can dip out liquid as needed and add more water and herbs. Lots of minerals in this tea. More garden tea hogwash. -- Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 5 |
Travis a écrit dans le message ... Deb wrote: Hey lw- good to 'see' you around again! Don't remember hearing about the cow before, I hope she finally healed. Do you still have 'heretic'? I have heard to not use comfrey on deep wounds due to the rapid healing of the surface tissue. But it makes a great plaster for sprains. Back to the topic--- Both comfrey and nettles make a great 'tea' for watering plants. Just put the plants into a big barrel and fill with water. Cover and let steep at least a few weeks. Get a breathing mask, or a clothes pin for your nose, and open the barrel. You can dip out liquid as needed and add more water and herbs. Lots of minerals in this tea. More garden tea hogwash. -- Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 5 Don't know that comfrey "tea" would have an effect one way or the other and nettle "tea" would not provide much in the way of minerals since any minerals of interest in the plant are not water soluble. Nettle does contain a great deal of formic acid which is very water soluble and therefore makes a nice pesticide. Diluted cow "pee" 10 parts water to 1 part urine makes a nice nitrate fertilizer. Has a tendency to pollute the water supply though. JOL |
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