It’s not just a clickbait title, with a few easy steps you can have nutrient rich soil forever, and never need to buy fertilizer again. How? Grow comfrey. Comfrey is beneficial it is borderline supernatural. As a dynamic accumulator comfrey gathers nutrients from where other plants cannot and transfers these nutrients to its leaves. These leaves can then be used in the place of store bought fertilizers with amazing results. Not only is comfrey an amazing alternative to expensive fertilizers, but it is also incredibly easy to grow, propagate, and use to enrich your soil, here’s how.
- Purchase some comfrey starts, or better yet make your own from a friend’s plants. To make starts from an existing plant all you need to do is to dig it up and split the larger portions of the roots. Any root segment that is more than 1 ½ inch long should grow. Although comfrey is very hardy once it is established it is prone to pest attack when it is just getting started because of how nutritious its leaves are, so place them on a table or inside to get them started.
- Comfrey is not a picky plant, it is able to grow in just about any reasonable soil and can tolerate shade. But if you want to get a lot of nutrient rich leaves to use as fertilizer it is best to plant it in the sun so that it will grow fast. Comfrey grows very dense, and can be used as a border for your garden or around trees.
- Once your plants are established they will be virtually impossible to harm. You can take 90% of their leaves at a time and they will continue to bounce back.
- Though many people will tell you to make a compost tea with the leaves, a slow release process is much easier, and in reality, just as fast since the act of making the tea will not take any less time. Simply cut off the leaves, and mulch with them. Worms love comfrey, and the leaves will quickly be part of your soil, releasing the nutrients that their roots have gathered from up to 30 feet into the subsoil where your vegetables will never be able to otherwise access.
Gardening usually requires hard work with no shortcuts, so it can be difficult to believe that comfrey can so easily solve your soil nutrient problems, but it’s true. Comfrey is a natural wonder and no garden is complete without a supply of it.
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