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.

The message . com
from contains these words:

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,

Depends on variety, see below

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.

I use comfrey and nettles as chopped green mulches, (good slug/snail
deterrent) compost heap activator (add large amounts), and for making
a"teas" for plant feeding (soak an armful in a barrel of water (with
lid; it really stinks) dilute and water on. I've been doing this for 20
+ years.

There are many kinds of comfrey and some of the ground-creeping ones
would undoubtedly take advantage of the opportunity to take over new
empires. The one I use was developed for compost/tea purposes by the
Henry Doubleday Research Association (well-known Organic group in the
UK; they have a website which no doubt has more info). It's called
Bocking 14. Grows about a metre tall, produces a large number of huge
leaves a foot long, but is never invasive because it doesn't sucker or
set viable seed (in this climate). Propagates easily from root cuttings.
I grow a bed of it just for the above purposes and harvest it around 3 X
a year. Nettles in industrial quantities are mine for the cutting on the
farm next door.

Yarrow is used in Biodynamic gardening , which might help with your
websearch. I've occasionally added it to the compost heap but not in
sufficient quantity to know if it has any effect.

Janet (Scptland)

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message . com
from contains these words:

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,

Depends on variety, see below

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.

I use comfrey and nettles as chopped green mulches, (good slug/snail
deterrent) compost heap activator (add large amounts), and for making
a"teas" for plant feeding (soak an armful in a barrel of water (with
lid; it really stinks) dilute and water on. I've been doing this for 20
+ years.

There are many kinds of comfrey and some of the ground-creeping ones
would undoubtedly take advantage of the opportunity to take over new
empires. The one I use was developed for compost/tea purposes by the
Henry Doubleday Research Association (well-known Organic group in the
UK; they have a website which no doubt has more info). It's called
Bocking 14. Grows about a metre tall, produces a large number of huge
leaves a foot long, but is never invasive because it doesn't sucker or
set viable seed (in this climate). Propagates easily from root cuttings.
I grow a bed of it just for the above purposes and harvest it around 3 X
a year. Nettles in industrial quantities are mine for the cutting on the
farm next door.

Yarrow is used in Biodynamic gardening , which might help with your
websearch. I've occasionally added it to the compost heap but not in
sufficient quantity to know if it has any effect.

Janet (Scptland)

Hi Janet,

Great to hear that you've been using Comfrey for 20 years! I hope I can say
that one day.

I'm still not sure about nettles. I read:
..................FERTILIZER: Place nettles in a large container and cover
with water; place cover on container and allow to 'steep' for a couple of
weeks or less (it gets quite rank); use this 'tea', diluted, as a spray to
enrich the soil before planting or after as desired.
OR: Soak a bundle of nettle in rainwater for 3 weeks; strain the liquid and
use as a spray. Spread the decomposed sludge as a healthy mulch.

CONTAINS: Iron, calcium, sulphur, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, silica,
essential trace elements. High in Vit. A, and C with 6.9 grams of protein
per 3.5 oz. of greens.

http://earthnotes.tripod.com/nettle.htm

But they sound like a weed / thistle. I will read more about them.

............The nettle is a common weed and will grow in almost any
nitrogen-rich soil. The rich minerals, nitrogen and chlorophyll stored in
the plant make it valuable in the compost heap, or as a mulch around other
plants. An excellent plant fertiliser can be made by soaking armfuls of
nettles for several weeks in a 40-gallon drum of water. When this solution
is sprinkled onto plants, it is said to protect them against fungus diseases
and aphids. http://www.uq.net.au/hyperlinked/Herbs/nettle.htm (I have also
read that Comfrey foilage spray takes care of powdery mildew.)

I would like to come up with a range of herbal feeders. I can grow them. I
can therefore afford them.

Take care,

Peter

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