Cambourne gave me some Comfrey seed which I sowed about 3 weeks ago but none has germinated, though one seed is sitting on the soil surface looks like it started to germinate and died. I've got some left.....Any tips?
It's in my plastic mini greenhouse so may have been affected by the cold snap but nothing else was affected.
sorry to hear that kea i have a plant and i dont know if i can split it but will have a look and see if there are more seeds in my box...
come to my college open day on sunday (EASTON, Nr NORWICH) they have a few potted up specimens
I've still got plenty of seeds just wondered if they needed any special conditions. I'll try again. It must have been the cold snap just at the wrong moment.
Comfrey usually seeds itself successfully everywhere - so I wouldn't have thought that much would stop it going. If you are still unsuccessful I would take the root cutting offer up.
Yes i thought it would germinate easily but I've been searching on the topic now and it appears to need a chilling period then temperatures of about 20-21C to germinate so maybe it hasn't had a chilling period or not long enough at the right temperature.
I'm off to the Cambridgeshire garden Show tomorrow so i might come across a plant, In the meantime I'll put the seed in the fridge as well.
Have a nice day at the show Kea ;)
any comfrey that freely seeds is not the one you want! 'Bocking 14' is the strain, Symphytum uplandicum, or russian comfrey. it rarely grows from seed, but is propagated by root cuttings. Because it does,t grow from seed, you can leave it to flower and then dig it in or apply as a mulch without ending up with it as a weed.rgds, Tony ;)
The germination time of comfrey seed, other than that straight off the plant which will germinate quickly, is very variable - so don't give up yet.
Even if it is the type which seeds, you can prevent it from becoming a nuisance by seeding everywhere by cutting the plant to almost ground level when the flowers first appear (ie mid May) and using this on your compost heap or to make a comfrey fertilizer; the plant will grow again and you will get up to four cuts a year.
A neighbour cuts hers down and just lays it over her plot,is this as an effective method as making it into fertilizer?
and how do you make it into fertillizer we have loads growing wild in an old unused part of the site.
Steve i usualy chop mine up and add it to compost to help get it going if i have added a lot of brown stuff. I add the chopped up bits into my beds before planting and later next week i will be making comfry tea by filling some old tights with comfry and sticking in water.
I have laid mine down on the top of the bed around tomato plants not sure if it made much difference as the tomatos go blight.
My suggestion is go over and hack down as much as you can and try and dig up a couple of plants. Leave others for other allotment holders to take or for you to go back for a second harvest as it grows quickly!!
is it best on fruit or leaf?
not found anything that does not like comfry yet :D
No sign of any comfrey at Garden show, not much I needed at all I spent more on food than plants! Just as well my home garden is full I could have had a NZ garden, there were a lot for sale. I haven't seem one of my favourites (Dodonaea viscosa/ ake ake) since I was last in NZ and was very tempted but couldn't think of anywhere to put it.
I'll have another attempt at germination.
Kea i will have a shot at taking a cutting from my plant for you.
Quote from: STEVEB on May 30, 2008, 20:02:18
A neighbour cuts hers down and just lays it over her plot,is this as an effective method as making it into fertilizer?
and how do you make it into fertillizer we have loads growing wild in an old unused part of the site.
re cutting and laying over plot i found this on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfrey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfrey)
Comfrey as a mulch- a 2 inch layer of comfrey leaves placed around a crop will slowly break down and release plant nutrients. it is especially useful for crops that need extra potassium, such as tomatoes, and also fruit bushes like gooseberries and currants. It also warns against placing flowering stems as this would potentialy root!! eak i hope not
Cambourne, don't damage your plant to get me a cutting especially if your's is not that old.
its a couple of years old so should be fine.
I will do it fresh before i pop down your way might not be next week as the weather is looking nasty.
I shoved a load down around my tomatoes last year, seeds and all, and only got one tiny bit rooting this year! When you want it to grow, it can be really stubborn! ;D
kea i have a nice comfry plant for you just need to arrange to go to huntingdon to meet up :)