Frank Miles wrote in message
...
In article ,
someone wrote:

ooha wrote in message
.. .
What are the most inexpensive sources of chemical fertilizers for
high
nitrogen application?

Grow comfrey, then chop the leaves and compost them in water as a
liquid
fertilizer. Smells like hell, though.

Comfrey flowers are great for attracting bees.

IIRC comfrey is illegal in some places -- due to invasiveness.

Eh??? Never! I've had comfrey growing for over 20 years both in my home
garden and on my allotment (UK). It's never been a problem. Maybe
you're describing a different variety of comfrey? Please post a URL if
you have information about invasive comfrey, I'd be very interested.

BTW, large comfrey leaves are useful for putting down on the bottom of
pots so the soil doesn't fall out :-). That's what I do.

s.

Agreeing with someone... don't know about illegality.

Taken from a book written in 1975, "Companion Planting For
Successful Gardening" by Louise Riotte...

snip
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Comfrey, also called knitbone
or healing herb, is high in calcium, potassium and phosphorous,
rich in Vitamins A and C. It was an ancient belief that comfrey
preparations taken internally or as a poultice bound to injured
parts hastened the healing of broken bones.

It is possible that the nutrients present in comfrey actually do
assist in the healing process since we now know that the herb also
contains a drug called allantoin, which promotes the strengthening
of the lining of hollow internal organs.

The very first leaves of comfrey, gathered in the early spring,
are quite delicious to eat, but let the later ones go. The leaves of
Russian comfrey are ideal for the compost heap, having a carbon-
nitrogen ratio similar to that of barnyard manure.
/snip

Hope that helps.

--
Jim Carlock
http://www.microcosmotalk.com/
Post replies to the newsgroup.

"someone" wrote:

Frank Miles wrote:
In article someone wrote:

ooha wrote:
What are the most inexpensive sources of chemical fertilizers for high
nitrogen application?

Grow comfrey, then chop the leaves and compost them in water as a
liquid fertilizer. Smells like hell, though.

Comfrey flowers are great for attracting bees.

IIRC comfrey is illegal in some places -- due to invasiveness.

Eh??? Never! I've had comfrey growing for over 20 years both in my home
garden and on my allotment (UK). It's never been a problem. Maybe
you're describing a different variety of comfrey? Please post a URL if
you have information about invasive comfrey, I'd be very interested.

BTW, large comfrey leaves are useful for putting down on the bottom of
pots so the soil doesn't fall out :-). That's what I do.

s.

"someone" wrote in message
...

Frank Miles wrote in message
...
In article ,
someone wrote:

ooha wrote in message
.. .
What are the most inexpensive sources of chemical fertilizers for
high
nitrogen application?

Grow comfrey, then chop the leaves and compost them in water as a
liquid
fertilizer. Smells like hell, though.

Comfrey flowers are great for attracting bees.

IIRC comfrey is illegal in some places -- due to invasiveness.

Eh??? Never! I've had comfrey growing for over 20 years both in my
home
garden and on my allotment (UK). It's never been a problem. Maybe
you're describing a different variety of comfrey? Please post a URL
if
you have information about invasive comfrey, I'd be very interested.

A plant that gets along fine in one environment may be very invasive in
another. That is especially true if you are talking about two different
continents.

Examples abound. Kudzu and Water Hyassins are a big problem in Southern
USA, but not a big deal where they came from. There are many plants
that are local to me (central Michigan, USA) that are no big deal here,
but are causing big problems elsewhere.


Ray Drouillard

The following link indicates it needs constant water, so it might be
invasive in areas around rivers or lakes or rain forests.

http://plantsdatabase.com/go/317/

It also indicates that some parts of the plant are poisonous. So I
take back what the author of the book I was reading said.

--
Jim Carlock
http://www.microcosmotalk.com/
Post replies to the newsgroup.

ooha wrote in message
...
What are the most inexpensive sources of chemical fertilizers for high
nitrogen application?

Grow comfrey, then chop the leaves and compost them in water as a liquid
fertilizer. Smells like hell, though.

Comfrey flowers are great for attracting bees.

s.

Jim Carlock wrote in message
...
The following link indicates it needs constant water, so it might be
invasive in areas around rivers or lakes or rain forests.

http://plantsdatabase.com/go/317/

It also indicates that some parts of the plant are poisonous. So I
take back what the author of the book I was reading said.


Hi Jim, yes, I think you're right both about what you read and what your
link said.

From what I've understood for many years, Comfrey can be made into an
ointment to rub on the skin to get rid of bruises or things like that.
Or so the homeopathists say, but I don't know.

People here also used to think you could make tea out of it and drink
it. But, as your link indicates, this is probably not a good thing to
do. Comfrey has a lot of silica in its hairy leaves, and these silica
shards shouldn't be ingested.

Nevertheless, it's a plant worth growing if you want some easy
nitrogenous fertilizer.

Ray could be right as well when he says that Comfrey is invasive,
although I've never had a problem. It does have a very long tap root,
and if it lives by water, could be difficult to get rid of. My garden
is quite dry and it's easy to yank the root out.

OTOH, maybe we're talking about two different, related species of
Comfrey.

Anyway, the manure works on tomatoes!

s.

Here's another god source

http://www.christiananswers.net/kids...gbenefits.html


(Laser6328) wrote in message ...
Hair.

It takes a while to compost in the pile but it is a god source. I collect a
bucketfull a week from a local barber. I would avoid the hairdressing salons
because of the chemicals.

Ed

In article ,
someone wrote:

ooha wrote in message
.. .
What are the most inexpensive sources of chemical fertilizers for high
nitrogen application?

Grow comfrey, then chop the leaves and compost them in water as a liquid
fertilizer. Smells like hell, though.

Comfrey flowers are great for attracting bees.

IIRC comfrey is illegal in some places -- due to invasiveness.

-f
--

I was told to help kill slugs in my garden, mix 1 part ammonia with three
parts water, and spray around my plants where I saw the tiny baby slugs. Well,
in my back yard I now have 6 foot tomato plants. In my front yard they are half
the size. I guess Ammonia is a real good and cheap nitrogen source.

In article ,
(Jack1000) wrote:

I'm not sure that ammonia is all that cheap in the quantities you would
purchase. Certainly, it is almost totally nitrogen. It is probably the
major fertilizer used comercially.

Dick

I was told to help kill slugs in my garden, mix 1 part ammonia with three
parts water, and spray around my plants where I saw the tiny baby slugs.
Well,
in my back yard I now have 6 foot tomato plants. In my front yard they
are half
the size. I guess Ammonia is a real good and cheap nitrogen source.

Frank Miles wrote in message
...
In article ,
someone wrote:

ooha wrote in message
.. .
What are the most inexpensive sources of chemical fertilizers for
high
nitrogen application?

Grow comfrey, then chop the leaves and compost them in water as a
liquid
fertilizer. Smells like hell, though.

Comfrey flowers are great for attracting bees.

IIRC comfrey is illegal in some places -- due to invasiveness.

Eh??? Never! I've had comfrey growing for over 20 years both in my home
garden and on my allotment (UK). It's never been a problem. Maybe
you're describing a different variety of comfrey? Please post a URL if
you have information about invasive comfrey, I'd be very interested.

BTW, large comfrey leaves are useful for putting down on the bottom of
pots so the soil doesn't fall out :-). That's what I do.

s.

The following link indicates it needs constant water, so it might be
invasive in areas around rivers or lakes or rain forests.

http://plantsdatabase.com/go/317/

It also indicates that some parts of the plant are poisonous. So I
take back what the author of the book I was reading said.

--
Jim Carlock
http://www.microcosmotalk.com/
Post replies to the newsgroup.

the Air you breathe is 78% Nitrogen, and legumes can lock up this nitrogen thanx to some wonderfull little nodes it has to do this with.
they will literaly take the nitrogen from the air and convert it into plant matter, then all you do is compost this and use it, Free Nitrogen all locked up and ready to use from fresh air

it doesn`t come much cheaper than that!

I'm not sure that ammonia is all that cheap in the quantities you would
purchase. Certainly, it is almost totally nitrogen. It is probably the
major fertilizer used comercially.

Dick


My supermarket sells ammonia for about $1.50 a gallon. I thought that was very
inexpensive.

Agreeing with someone... don't know about illegality.

Taken from a book written in 1975, "Companion Planting For
Successful Gardening" by Louise Riotte...

snip
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Comfrey, also called knitbone
or healing herb, is high in calcium, potassium and phosphorous,
rich in Vitamins A and C. It was an ancient belief that comfrey
preparations taken internally or as a poultice bound to injured
parts hastened the healing of broken bones.

It is possible that the nutrients present in comfrey actually do
assist in the healing process since we now know that the herb also
contains a drug called allantoin, which promotes the strengthening
of the lining of hollow internal organs.

The very first leaves of comfrey, gathered in the early spring,
are quite delicious to eat, but let the later ones go. The leaves of
Russian comfrey are ideal for the compost heap, having a carbon-
nitrogen ratio similar to that of barnyard manure.
/snip

Hope that helps.

--
Jim Carlock
http://www.microcosmotalk.com/
Post replies to the newsgroup.

"someone" wrote:

Frank Miles wrote:
In article someone wrote:

ooha wrote:
What are the most inexpensive sources of chemical fertilizers for high
nitrogen application?

Grow comfrey, then chop the leaves and compost them in water as a
liquid fertilizer. Smells like hell, though.

Comfrey flowers are great for attracting bees.

IIRC comfrey is illegal in some places -- due to invasiveness.

Eh??? Never! I've had comfrey growing for over 20 years both in my home
garden and on my allotment (UK). It's never been a problem. Maybe
you're describing a different variety of comfrey? Please post a URL if
you have information about invasive comfrey, I'd be very interested.

BTW, large comfrey leaves are useful for putting down on the bottom of
pots so the soil doesn't fall out :-). That's what I do.

s.