Comfrey juice decanted

Time to decant the comfrey juice that has been squeezed out of the autumn harvest of comfrey leaves over winter and start a new batch.

Comfrey has a deep taproot and an extensive root system that pulls nutrients from the soil and subsoil, where most other plants cannot reach. Comfrey is high in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and accumulates essential trace elements. It is therefore an excellent fertiliser for the garden.

The leaves can be used as a mulch around the base of plants or added to your compost heap. The leaves can also be rotted down into a liquid fertiliser.

Many different techniques for extracting the liquid are described on the web but, whichever one you choose, under no circumstances soak the leaves in water or add them to your water butt. I am told that you end up with something that stinks like a sewer!

I use an old pedal bin with its plastic lining as the main collecting container for the liquid that is produced as the comfrey leaves rot down. I put the leaves in a large plastic flower pot, which by chance happens to fit inside the bin perfectly. I don't bother removing the stems as recommend by some people - it all seems to rot down perfectly well.

The rim of the flower pot sits on top of the plastic inner lining of the bin. This leaves several inches free at the bottom of the bin for the comfrey juice as it drips through the holes in the pot.

I weight down the comfrey leaves in the flower pot with a couple of large stones in a plastic food tray. Then I cover it all with the pedal bin lid.

When enough comfrey juice has collected at the bottom of the bin it can be decanted off into a bottle or similar container. I use old liquid fertiliser containers. I add the residue in the bottom of the flower pot to the compost heap.

I dilute the comfrey juice about 15:1 with water and use it every couple of weeks, mostly on the tomatoes and chillies that are in pots.