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Mon, Oct 3, 11 at 12:28
| I recently read that comfrey facilitates quicker composting. Does anyone know anything about this, how and why. I have comfrey that I am never sure what to do with, and I have a plastic compost bin. Any instructions would be appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Mon, Oct 3, 11 at 13:21
| It's a great green, some even grow it for the compost ;-)
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- Posted by inchworminjersey 7b (My Page) on Mon, Oct 3, 11 at 20:09
| Great picture! |
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| Comfrey's marvellous stuff. I think the 'kick' comes from it being extremely high in protein, as well as nitrogen. It also makes fantastic liquid fertiliser.Speaking of high though, be warned as that protein makes it a pretty pongy brew... Also, comfrey can be cut several times in a season but make sure not to cut right to the base, as each bit may grow and no hot compost will stop it! |
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| Comfrey has a protein content ranging from 15 to 30 percent, so added to compost as a green it will feed the bacteria that are digesting the compost quite well. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Comfrey
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- Posted by inchworminjersey 7b (My Page) on Wed, Oct 5, 11 at 18:07
| I made a tea with it and dumped all of it on top of the compost. I'm glad to know it was the right thing to add. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Oct 5, 11 at 18:26
| Geez with that kind of protein level we oughta be eating it. Seems to be a trifle toxic though. :-\ |
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- Posted by inchworminjersey 7b (My Page) on Thu, Oct 6, 11 at 6:49
| I have heard that it is toxic too toxcrusadr...will that toxicity get into my compost. Always heard it was okay to use comfrey externally, but that it should never be ingested. Am I making a mistake using this? |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Thu, Oct 6, 11 at 10:47
| You are correct. The toxin will most likely break down in the compost, but in any case, it is a good idea not to eat the compost. Aside from the bacteria, there is probably all kinds of stuff in there that's toxic to humans (comfrey or no). That's why it's not food. But, you can apply compost topically, which many of us do, at least inadvertantly while turning the piles. :-] |
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- Posted by inchworminjersey 7b (My Page) on Thu, Oct 6, 11 at 19:07
| LOL...No, I didn't mean I was going to eat the compost, though I will admit the wording I used made it seem possible. I am wondering, since I am new to composting, if the toxins from the comfrey can get into the compost and contaminate other plants. I know not to use anything with pesticides or fertilizer in the compost bin because of that...just wondering if comfrey would cause a problem. |
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| inchworminjersey, you're fine. The only plant I have round here with any level of persistent toxicity is oleander and even that breaks down in time. As far as I know, the process that leads to compost makes all but the most awful things ok. I've been told by an extremely experienced composter that he could pour a cup of DDT into his hot pile and the bacteria would convert it into inert, long-chain molecules. Not something I want to try at home and maybe he was exaggerating for dramatic effect, but you get the idea! |
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| feijoas, if your "experienced composter" would pour some DDT into his mixture he is not a composter. |
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- Posted by inchworminjersey 7b (My Page) on Fri, Oct 7, 11 at 8:52
| I so appreciate all of you taking the time to reply to this post. I will definitely continue using the comfrey. I also think I need to take the time to read as many of the composting posts as I can. Quite a bit of good composting wisdom can be found here. |
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| '...but you get the idea!" Apparently not everyone. ;-) Lloyd |
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| Jon, I am so envious of your setup I could just spit. It looks like a car wash. A car wash filled with black gold. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Thu, Oct 13, 11 at 12:30
| To digress further, a leaf mold pile might do a better job on the DDT. White rot fungus (often associated with decomposing wood) has been proven to biodegrade chlorinated compounds such as DDT and PCBs. In fact this 'technology' has been adapted to remediation of contaminated sites. I worked on one where a composting type process was used to degrade pentachlorophenol wood preservative in soil. Of course I wouldn't put it in my pile on purpose either, but this is what feijoas' friend was talking about. |
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| (I've also read that Yarrow is a compost accelerator.) |
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| Yarrow's great drought-resistant compost and insect food. It's also the only plant strong enough to grow through the cardboard and very deep mulch that killed my running-grass lawn. Respect. |
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