• Register  |
  • LoginLogin
Close
Login
 
 
Register
 Advanced search
  • Search
  • Register
  • Login
  • JOIN!
  • View unanswered posts
  • View active topics
  • Gardening
Gardening Forum   ORGANIC GARDENING FORUMS  Organic Gardening Forum

Nettle and Comfrey Tea




Post a new topic
Post a reply
11 posts • Page 1 of 1

Nettle and Comfrey Tea

Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:10 pm

I decided to brew aerated nettle and comfrey tea between AACT. It's not as schedule-driven since I don't HAVE to use it up within a certain time limit :wink:
Image
The big white stuff is spun bonded cover I'm draping over the bucket to keep bugs out.

This photo shows how dark green it turns out:
Image

I gave some to the leeks as well as the watermelon and melon patches this morning. :()
User avatar
applestar
Mod
 
Posts: 27219
Joined: May 1 '08
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M
Top

Thu Aug 30, 2012 5:39 pm

ha...until this moment I thought comfrey tea was something you drank lol. Shows what I know. What are the benefits?
Jeff

USDA Zone 7a, Sunset Zone 32.

Failure is only a fact when you give up.
User avatar
GardenRN
Greener Thumb
 
Posts: 1102
Joined: Jan 12 '11
Location: Chesterfield, Va
Top

Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:23 pm

All that green so definitely Nitrogen and iron, calcium. Also Potassium from comfrey and micronutrients/minerals as I understand it. (but I'm not "brewing"/fermenting anaerobic ally for weeks until really stinky so maybe not 100%)

Both plants grow deep taproots to bring up minerals from the deep. Comfrey is also said to promote regeneration of cells and has anti fungal properties.

I'm still learning, so I hope more experienced members will chime in. :wink:
User avatar
applestar
Mod
 
Posts: 27219
Joined: May 1 '08
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M
Top

Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:57 am

Never tried it, but both nettle and comfrey are supposed to be great for your compost pile because of those properties and both of them have been used in medicinal teas for people, so it sounds like it should be good.

I don't brew them, but I do keep nettle when it shows up, so I can add it to the compost pile. And I grow comfrey for tea and the compost pile.
Twitter account I manage for local Sierra Club: https://twitter.com/CherokeeGroupSC Facebook page I manage for them: https://www.facebook.com/groups/65310596576/ Come and find me and lots of great information, inspiration
User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
 
Posts: 25281
Joined: Feb 15 '09
Location: TN/GA 7b
Top

Fri Aug 31, 2012 3:19 pm

comfrey is amazing. i like it as a green layer in delayed-onset lasagna mulching (haha)...i make a just-comfrey leachate-style 'tea' as well, which is super-concentrated and shows some awesome results on lagging plants of all sorts. to make it, just fill a container (i use a 4.5 gal bucket, but i'd love to have enough comfrey to do more at a time) with chopped comfrey, as much as will fit, all pressed in, and then wait for 6 months or so while most of it liquifies. no added liquid, and there is something of a purely carbon structure to pull out, but then the resulting liquid is so dark green it's almost black and can be diluted quite a bit, depending on the application. it smells NOT GOOD. that's the only drawback.
User avatar
!potatoes!
Greener Thumb
 
Posts: 1860
Joined: Apr 14 '09
Location: wnc - zones 6/7 line
Top

Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:39 pm

I have made nettle, comfrey and manure tea dozens of times in plastic drums 200 litres at a time but i have never aerated any before, what benefits does aerating the tea mix serve?
nickolas
Senior Member
 
Posts: 161
Joined: Jul 23 '11
Location: Victoria, Australia
Top

Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:08 pm

Why are you aeratng it? It works better if you don't aerate it. No energy use either.

My nettles just started up in the patch otl be a little while before I make some
For all things come from earth, and all things end by becoming earth.
User avatar
soil
Greener Thumb
 
Posts: 1855
Joined: Jan 23 '09
Location: N. California
Top

Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:44 pm

"I have made nettle, comfrey and manure tea dozens of times in plastic drums 200 litres at a time but i have never aerated any before, what benefits does aerating the tea mix serve?"

Typically You Aerate a compost tea -- the aeration serves to create aerobic enviroment

youd add compost , water , and molasis (microbe food source) and aerate for 24 hrs or so and use ---

Yes thers nutrients in the compost used but the main purpose of a compost tea is to provide a large healthy herd of your beneficial micro organisms.


As far as Aerating the comfry/nettle tea, not sure if it promotes aerobic bacterial growth -- but it should prevent fermentation process in the short term?

the other above mentioned method with comfrey is a fermented extract

two different animals
cmist
Full Member
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Jan 3 '13
Location: florida
Top

Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:23 pm

I'm interested in making plant food from other plants as well. I made a comfrey "tea" last year as you described, just letting comfrey sit packed in a 5 gallon bucket for a few weeks. It smelled so bad I was afraid to use it, so I dumped it on my compost pile. Is that smell normal? :shock:
When a king dies, his people say:
"He did this; and he did that..."

But when a great king dies, they say:
"We did everything ourselves."

-old Chinese saying
mattstern
Newly Registered
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Jan 6 '13
Location: Williams, OR
Top

Mon Jan 07, 2013 4:09 am

The bad smell is the result of anaerobic decomposition and I think that you were well to dump it on your compost pile. Some anaerobic bacteria can be nasty. That's why applestar was aerating hers.
Twitter account I manage for local Sierra Club: https://twitter.com/CherokeeGroupSC Facebook page I manage for them: https://www.facebook.com/groups/65310596576/ Come and find me and lots of great information, inspiration
User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
 
Posts: 25281
Joined: Feb 15 '09
Location: TN/GA 7b
Top

Re: Nettle and Comfrey Tea

Tue Jan 27, 2015 2:32 am

Bump for my own purposes, but others might be interested :D
Learning never ends because we can share what we've learned. And in sharing our collective experiences, we gain deeper understanding of what we learned.
User avatar
applestar
Mod
 
Posts: 27219
Joined: May 1 '08
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M
Top

Please Share. Thank you!

 
 
Top


Post a reply
11 posts • Page 1 of 1

 

 

  •   Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post
  • nettle fertilizer
    in Composting Forum
    2
    775
    by jul1799 View the latest post
  • Comfrey
    in Herb Gardening Forum
    1
    488
    by imafan26 View the latest post
  • Comfrey
    in Composting Forum
    7
    1226
    by estorms View the latest post
  • Comfrey leaves to help with Potatoes Scab?
    in Vegetable Gardening Forum
    5
    601
    by Mr green View the latest post
Return to Organic Gardening Forum
  • Delete all board cookies • All times are UTC
Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Copyright HelpfulGardener.com 2003-2018 all rights reserved.
All trademarks and copyrights held by respective owners.