[PAH48]

I ask this simply because I was looking up on various forums ect for the nutrient value of things I tend to use, the NPK values.
Comfrey from what info' I could gather was .003% on average, on each value.......The reason I bothered, to make sure as a beginer, is what I'm using be sufficient.
This is what I gained info' wise......
 all%                                  Nitrogen......Phosphate......Kpotassium
Horse Manure                        0.7              0.4                 0.5
Growmore                             7.0              7.0                 7.0
Potato Fertiliser                      7.0              5.0                12.0
Sulphate of Ammonia             20.0              0                    0
Super Phosphate                      0               18.5                 0
Fish,Bone & Blood                   6.0              6.0                  6.0
Home Made Compo'                0.5              0.3                  0.8
                           
                    Totals                41.2             37.2                26.3
             
                      Grand Total 104.70

Now my questions are, is that a balanced diet so to speak?
Sould I realy be that concerned as to getting it somewhere near balanced?
Have I missed something out, need to add anything?

PS Thanks John (HG') after trawling through pages and pages (forums),
I finally found your listings, :oops:  should of know better :!:  :?:  

Any answers gatefully recieved and thanks..PAH

[compostqueen]

It's easy to grow and versatile. I use the leaves to stuff in the compost bins as an accelerator, in a comfrey pipe to collect the concentrated liquid and add that to rain water to make a feed as I understand it's high in potassium (I think)

Organic folks like it as many fertilisers are artificial but comfrey is natural. You can make ointment out of it too  

I have Bocking 14 plants and a huge Russian one which I like to take whole great stalks off and lay them on the herbaceous borders where they rot down unseen and feed my plants.  You can cut comfrey leaves up and put them in the bottom of planting holes for your veggies. Gets em off to a good start apparently

[flowerlady]

In a word .... YES !!!  

I use it as a mulch too    Spuds and toms love it

[PAH48]

Hi  Compostqueen and flowerlady......thanks for the quick answers, I see exactly where your coming from, my question was based on the nutriment value, Heck! I 'm the one if its there use it, anythings better than nowt, free thank you mam..  
When I type that lot out, it was laid out like eer! listed, so it could all be read and added up.My fault should of put dots or dashes into the contex, but never mind we live an learn. :o  :o
What i was trying to say was the  nutriment value in it  worth growing  it being as its so low?
Yes I realise it has other values/properties and therefore I was considering was it worth my while.
Hope this lot now makes sense, thank you ladies for you promt answers.  

Bye for now PAH

[flowerlady]

OK try this ...

The value of comfrey lies in its composition. The roots bring up potassium, phosphate and other minerals from deep in the ground, and the leaves are also high in nitrogen. As a percentage of dry matter, comfrey contains:
·   5.8% potassium
·   3.5% nitrogen
·   0.5% phosphate
That is 2-3 times more potassium than farmyard manure, which makes it especially good for the production of flowers, fruits and seeds. The high nitrogen means that comfrey can be used as a surface mulch or dug into soil with no worries about robbing soil nitrogen, as so often happens with green manures in the short term.
The leaves can be cut 4 to 5 times a year. Through the summer, as soon as a good crop of leaves is produced is a good time to cut it. It is best to leave the last cut no later than early September to allow the plants to build up a bit before winter.

... the full doc is 4 pages long if you cant a copy pm me an email addi !!

[Deano27]

anyone have any idea how much comfrey you need to grow to make it worth your while? i only have a smallish veg patch so space is at a premium

[PAH48]

Hi ...Flowerlady, thank you ......please - please it was a genuine question,
what I am asking is (a) do I need it?    and ( b ) do i need it/ is it worth while me growing some?.... given all the info I gathered today and alll that I am now using?
I always appreciate everyones comments/thoughts/ideas whatever, I really do appreciate yours.
I'm too old in the tooth not to want to learn, Heck! thats why I'M ere init' :?:    Thanks   PAH

[gobs]

I think the real point about growing them is not much to do with NPK, it's more to do with that their roots go down to Australia, so collect a lot of minerals, etc. that are not available to shallow rooted veg.

[compostqueen]

In answer to your orignal question, there is no effort growing comfrey

it grows fine once planted

[PAH48]

Start again.....
 All BASED upon %' ages..."N"itrgen...."P"hosphate"...."K"potassium
Horse Manure------------------0.7-----------0.4----------------0.5
Growmore----------------------7.0-----------7.0----------------7,0
Potato fertliser-----------------7.0-----------5.0----------------12.0
Sulphate of Ammonia---------20.0----------0.0----------------0.0
Super Phosphate-------------- 0.0----------18.5---------------0.0
Fish,Blood &Bone---------------6.0----------6.0----------------6.0
Home Made Compost----------0.5----------0.3----------------0.8

Nutrient, Totals-----------------41.20------37.20-------------26.30
Grand total of above nutrients.....104.70

Now my questions were...
"a"..Is that a balanced diet so to speak?
"b" ..Should I realy be concerned, as to getting it somewhere near balanced?
"c" Have I  missed out, need to add anything? ref: the balance of the nutriments.


I'm only hoping this now prints out as i mean't it to read.
Thanks for your patients     PAH

[peter james]

what is it you are thinking mixing all these to make a genrel fertiliser :?: .  i  have a good chart down the plot on my shed door that someone with more understanding of what the plants need made up. from sprouts to tattes to a general fertiliser for all round use.i,e 2 parts fish blood bone 1 part sulph ammonia 1 part potasiam sulph e,c,t, .will try copy and post for everyone tommorrow but you will have to work out the n,p,k values yourself ....  p,j

[Wildeone]

Start again.....
 All BASED upon %' ages..."N"itrgen...."P"hosphate"...."K"potassium
Horse Manure------------------0.7-----------0.4----------------0.5
Growmore----------------------7.0-----------7.0----------------7,0
Potato fertliser-----------------7.0-----------5.0----------------12.0
Sulphate of Ammonia---------20.0----------0.0----------------0.0
Super Phosphate-------------- 0.0----------18.5---------------0.0
Fish,Blood &Bone---------------6.0----------6.0----------------6.0
Home Made Compost----------0.5----------0.3----------------0.8

Nutrient, Totals-----------------41.20------37.20-------------26.30
Grand total of above nutrients.....104.70

Now my questions were...
"a"..Is that a balanced diet so to speak?
"b" ..Should I realy be concerned, as to getting it somewhere near balanced?
"c" Have I  missed out, need to add anything? ref: the balance of the nutriments.


I'm only hoping this now prints out as i mean't it to read.
Thanks for your patients     PAH

Are you going to put ALL those on your plants?  You will scorch them wont you!

[gobs]

Start again.....
 All BASED upon %' ages..."N"itrgen...."P"hosphate"...."K"potassium
Horse Manure------------------0.7-----------0.4----------------0.5
Growmore----------------------7.0-----------7.0----------------7,0
Potato fertliser-----------------7.0-----------5.0----------------12.0
Sulphate of Ammonia---------20.0----------0.0----------------0.0
Super Phosphate-------------- 0.0----------18.5---------------0.0
Fish,Blood &Bone---------------6.0----------6.0----------------6.0
Home Made Compost----------0.5----------0.3----------------0.8

Nutrient, Totals-----------------41.20------37.20-------------26.30
Grand total of above nutrients.....104.70

Now my questions were...
"a"..Is that a balanced diet so to speak?
"b" ..Should I realy be concerned, as to getting it somewhere near balanced?
"c" Have I  missed out, need to add anything? ref: the balance of the nutriments.


I'm only hoping this now prints out as i mean't it to read.
Thanks for your patients     PAH

Are you going to put ALL those on your plants?  You will scorch them wont you!

Hope not. Some plants do like poorer soils, too. it depends on your soil, plant type and time of year.

Tomato feed will be good though for flowering veg in the summer on any soil.

The real great thing about Comfrey is that its roots go down to Australia, so it brings up minerals, etc, unavailable to most shallow rooted plants otherwise.

[jimroden]

In a word .... YES !!!  

I use it as a mulch too    Spuds and toms love it

we cut a load and put it in a water butt and used it as a liquid fertalizer we had a bumper crop in the green house of toms chillies and peppers so i would say yes to

Jim

[purplebean]

Anyone know of  a good source of comfrey plants? Also will they grow in shade or partial shade? Unfortunately our garden is over shadowed by several huge conifers that let nothing through  and I'm trying to keep the bits that do get light for veggies that need it