How to Make Comfrey Liquid Fertilizer Part 1: Jugs

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today I started making liquid fertilizer from Russian comfrey. This plant fills a lot of guild roles in permaculture including fertilizer, miner, mulcher, protector, attractor. I have been using it primarily as a bee plant that I can also slash-and-drop several times a season. I grow it under many of my trees and there's some in the prairie garden too.

There are various ways to make liquid fertilizer from comfrey. I will be testing two: 1) a small amount of comfrey leaves in a large amount of water, and 2) only comfrey leaves crammed tightly in a jug. (See Part 2: Leaves.)


Things I wish to test in this experiment:

* Which method is faster and easier from start to usable product?
I suspect that the method with leaves and water will be less work and go faster, but effectively it makes less because it doesn't need as much dilution to use.

* Which end product smells worse?
I suspect the pure comfrey glop will smell worse, but reports are mixed from other gardeners. However, I predict that both will smell less horrible than the fish emulsion that my mother preferred.

* Does either end product improve the performance of plants, and if so, is one better than the other?
I don't know if this will work, but I suspect that once diluted to a working formula they should perform the same.

* Can either product be used as a weedkiller? If so, what concentration will kill which weeds?
Most fertilizers include a warning to dilute it carefully so you don't burn your plants. But what if you want to burn some plants? First, understand that too much of a good thing can cause problems, so too strong a fertilizer can damage or kill plants. Second, understand that weeds are "bandage" plants, which means they're designed to sprout fast on disturbed or otherwise poor soil. Hence why "kill it with kindness" often works on them, because improved soil allows other plants to outcompete weeds that tend to struggle in rich healthy ground. Now, most weedkillers are toxic but organic fertilizers are not -- the pile of nutrients will disperse presently. So I want to see if comfrey liquid fertilizer will work as well as a fresh cowpat (which I don't have access to). I love mad science in the garden.


This is the front view of Jug 1 for comfrey and water. I bought these two lightweight plastic jugs at a thrift store, and I think they both hold about 2 to 2 1/2 gallons. I chose jugs with spigots to minimize the need to open, dip into, or otherwise mess with probably rank liquid fertilizer. Regrettably the top opening on this one is too small to fit my hand inside.




This is a side view of Jug 1.




This spigot is flush with the wall on the inside, and does not project into the jug. Normally this is a good thing, but here it's less than ideal. It opens by pressing the ridged handle toward the jug, which causes a flat piece of plastic to move away from the hole. This type is probably less secure but also less likely to clog.




This is the front view of Jug 2 for only comfrey. It has a nice big lid so I can reach inside, and the spigot extends inside the jug. If you are scrounging for jugs to use for this type of project, then this is the kind you want.




This is a side view of Jug 2.




This spigot extends into the jug, which is sometimes a nuisance but is convenient here. It opens by pulling the handle upward. I couldn't seen inside to identify the mechanism, but I suspect it is some sort of ball valve. It is probably more secure but also more likely to clog -- hence the filter sponge, which I hope will minimize gunk getting inside the spigot mechanism.




I used an AquaClear Bio-Foam filter sponge. It cost $3.99. Hopefully, this will keep gunk from clogging the spigot on Jug 2. Regrettably Jug 1 has a top opening too small to fit my hand inside, so I couldn't put a filter sponge in that one as I had intended. Any sort of medium-grain sponge should work for this purpose; it doesn't need to be fancy, so look for something cheap.




I cut the filter sponge in half. I saved the other half for some future use.




I used the scissors to cut a hole partway through the sponge. This will fit over the part of the spigot that extends inside Jug 2. Cut the hole just a little narrower than the spigot part so it will fit snugly, and just deep enough to cover the extending part to the wall. You need a thickish chunk of foam for this.




Here is a closeup of the filter sponge on the spigot in Jug 2.




I used a ballpoint pen to write the materials on the price tags of the jugs.




Jug 1 will have a small amount of comfrey leaves and a large amount of water. It cost $2.99.




Jug 2 will have only comfrey leaves, packed as tight as feasible. It cost $1.99.




I put the two jugs on the north bench of the old picnic table. This spot is mostly shady.




Here is a closeup of the empty jugs.