[michellela]

I've learnt lots about comfrey since taking on my plot in July.

I've learnt that you can make a thick black gloop that can be watered down and used to furnish your plants with goodness.

I've learnt that it can be placed in the bottom of the trench when planting potatoes to help them grow into wonderful specimens of potatoey yumness.

Most of all I've learnt that it's a pita to eradicate.  There is an ENORMOUS patch growing to one side of my plot which I don't think I'll have the heart to get rid of or move after dealing with the rest that's shooting up all over the rest of the plot.  It's not so much the digging up of it that bothers me, it's the fact that nomatter how many times I go over the same ground it keeps coming up.  Every couple of days there are new leaves poking through my manure mulch, in MANY locations.  So far I think I've got 1/4, maybe 1/3 of the plot dug over and it's giving me woe.

I HATE COMFREY.

[GrannieAnnie]

Unfortunately the roots do go down for MILES!  and it only takes a tiny bit left in the ground to re-grow!

Perhaps you can sell it all and buy your veg?  (OK not a good idea!).  It's such a shame as comfrey is a wonderful plant.  Funny though, when I moved my plant into 2 places several years ago.  they only come up in those 2 places, but the bit that crept out of the original pot and sneaked into the ground still grows even though I keep digging it out, but it never spreads!

[DD.]

Plant horseradish as a competative plant.

On second thoughts, not a good idea.

[Springlands]

Plant horseradish as a competative plant.

On second thoughts, not a good idea.

Or mint - I am still paying the price of planting it in the ground and not in a pot 

[michellela]

GrannieAnnie perhaps yours is that Bocking 14 which I've read is sterile.  I'm pretty sure mine isn't, unless the previous plot holder went on a nutty, spreading roots around.

Horseradish and mint... I don't know for sure but I think you two are making trouble!

[Aunt Sally]

I'm struggling to get a plot full of comfrey under control before we can re-let it.

Plants I would ban from allotments:

Comfrey 
Horseraddish 
Jerusalem Artichokes 
Josterberries that don't get pruned 

[michellela]

Plants I would ban from allotments:

Comfrey 

Not sure if I would ban it as so many people seem to find it useful, but maybe they could dedicate an area on each site to it so that no one plot holder would have to deal with it spreading.

[Aunt Sally]

I wasn't being VERY serious michellela - I have some bocking 14 myself.

But if you had a 5 rod plot choked with the stuff and seeding everywhere that you were trying to clear ready to re-let .......


I rest my case me lud 

[Aunt Sally]

This is it - mare's tail and acres of comfrey

 

[michellela]

This is it - mare's tail and acres of comfrey

 

Oh. My. God!  That's insane.  I certainly don't envy you that job.  I don't even know where you would begin with that.  Will you just have to dig it all up by hand?

[Aunt Sally]

I've nuked it with glyphosate which I'm hoping will at least weaken it.  It will need hand digging to get as much root out as possible and then keep painting with glyphosate in the spring as soon as it raises its head. 

Mare's tail is not a huge problem if you dig out as much root as possible and then keep hoeing.

Fun eh and it's not even my plot    

Did I really put my hand up to be on the management committee

[Pip Judgeford]

Yep, I relate to this!  I am still tracking down by trowel the odd bit from some foolishness two years ago (ie ignored the black roots and thought they would compost, and instead just spread the patch around ).

I'm not that keen on spraying huge amounts of "total kill" around.  Some other ideas which might be worth trying:

1.  Mulch the entire area with serious supressants like carpet and or layers of cardboard, and build raised beds on the top using the lasagne gardening approach.

2.  Let the lot for nix with advice about how to deal to problem (ie get the tenant to solve it for you)

3.  Turn it into a large chook run for 3-4 years.  (not sure if this would deal to the horsetail?)  Chooks love comfrey and will eventually exhaust the energy in the roots by continually eating the tops.

On the horseradish, I have had success growing it in old florists buckets.  These are a metre high narrow galvanised buckets with handles.  The ones I picked up in a recycling centre had  their bottoms rusted.  Sweet for my purposes as I dug them into the ground and put my horseradish root in them.  I now alternate harvest of one or the other.  So far good harvest and no spreading.

Pip

[Aunt Sally]

Carpet is a real no no on allotments nowadays Pip.  It leaches nasty chemicals into the ground, makes weed killers look like fairy dust. It's almost impossible to lift if the weeds grow through it too, as they do.

[michellela]

1.  Mulch the entire area with serious supressants like carpet and or layers of cardboard, and build raised beds on the top using the lasagne gardening approach.

Lasagne gardening approach... I don't know what that is, sorry.  Could you tell me?

Carpet is a real no no on allotments nowadays Pip.  It leaches nasty chemicals into the ground

I was originally going  to try skip diving for old carpet but had heard about the leaching thing so gave it a miss.  Am considering trying to collect some cardboard to use instead, once I can find out how long it takes to break down as I don't want a mountain of soggy cardboard to deal with at the end.

[jstoneman]

Oh God I planted comfrey last year - I understood that it was OK to do this if it was Bocking 14. Is this the case? Shall I dig up my precious plants right away?javascript:replaceText(' ', document.forms.postmodify.message);