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.

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)

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