Bocking 14 Russian Comfrey is a BEAST!!

[Douglas.Curtis]

Animal fodder, fermented fertilizer, compost, what ever you use comfrey for this cultivar is amazingly robust.

Rooted crown two months ago with no leaves... here it is today needing a bit of water

After water...

Holy Rat balls Batman!!!

 

[Cakeboy]

knew an old grower on north coast nsw aust.. he just used to put the leaves in water where they broke down (putrified) quicker than anything, his satties loved it....is the bocking 14 the sterile one?

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Yes, it is sterile so it is propagated through root cuttings and crowns.

 

[RandyCalifornia]

It may be sterile but a tiny piece of root will start a new plant. Don't run a rototiller around it. One plant will turn into a hundred real fast.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I'm growing the crown out for the season, then I'll be chopping it up specifically to make hundreds. heheheh Sucks how bindweed is the same way. lolol

 

[RandyCalifornia]

Hundreds will turn to thousands real quick, like one season. Make sure you plant it where thats all you want growing.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I sell plants, feed rabbits and make liquid fertilizer. This is my first comfrey plant, so next season it begins with vigor!! lol

Yes, like horseradish and mint plants, they are always in containers. Excellent point!!

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

knew an old grower on north coast nsw aust.. he just used to put the leaves in water where they broke down (putrified) quicker than anything, his satties loved it....is the bocking 14 the sterile one?

Indeed, comfrey breaks down rapidly in water and makes a great vegetative fertilizer. When you use lacto bacillus the smell is not awful, it makes a lacto fermented fertilizer. I'll be researching both methods for sure.

 

[Rico Swazi]

Bump
How's it goin DC ?

I sell plants, feed rabbits and make liquid fertilizer. This is my first comfrey plant, so next season it begins with vigor!! lol

Yes, like horseradish and mint plants, they are always in containers. Excellent point!!

Found an old pic from 2017, recently harvested comfrey in container

Grown comfrey for years and found best biomass production happened when grown in the ground though you do get a good amount if your container is 25 gal or better. Wouldn't go smaller tho as the saying goes, 'as above, so is below'. Might I also suggest leaving your root/crown intact for a couple years to better establish health.


stem cuttings work extremely well as an alternative to bifurcation lol. Good luck and keep us posted.

What have you cloned?

This summer I took cutting off a forsythia and a lilac. All of the forsythia rooted and about 1/2 the lilacs. I put them in the ground towards the end of summer and hope they survive through winter. This spring i’d like to take cuttings of blueberries and rhododendrons. What plants have you...

www.icmag.com

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Hail and well met

My comfrey is currently overwintering. The single crown split to 4 during the short grow season. I had planted it in a ball of dirt on top of a large pile of rabbit manure and hay. Oh yeah!

 

[Rico Swazi]

Hail and well wet at times too!

container beast shown earlier in it's glory days

at 45N in the PNW mine are waking up
divided several couple days ago that were ready, gave them to friends
ready= crown offshoot from main plant...division rather than bifurcation
(of course you already knew that DC lol!..

One last thing
you can add mulching with the leaves to your research
pic name indicates the date taken, 8 ft ladder for scale,

lastly the last thing...
I have a cooler full of dried /chopped comfrey at all times .
Sealed containers keep it from turning to dust over time
Great soil amendment indoor and out