S.J. Vallier

Alder Burns wrote:I need to grow some next year for sure!  My stash of old chewing tobacco has finally run out.  A tea of tobacco is the only thing I know of that will drop large numbers of aphids dead, and quick!  Nothing else works for me...not soapy water, not D.E.  My rutabagas have them bad right now and I'm out there rubbing and smushing every week.  I've been around some kids that grew it years ago....it's pretty easy once you get the very fine seeds to come up.

really good to know about this.  I'm also considering growing tobacco for barter purposes, and this would be a great fringe benefit!

M Ljin wrote:

Chance Lunceford wrote:

M Ljin wrote:Have you been eating any of that mallow? They are one of my favorite greens.

Just the blossoms and the cheese wheels.

Tell me what you like about the greens.

I don’t know what is not to like! They are mild, nourishing, tender, soothing to the digestion, and high in calcium. I have some by the doorstep and pick some most days.

That last bit about calcium makes me wonder:  would mallow be a good chop'n'drop around apple trees?  Is the calcium in a form that would benefit my fruit yeilds?  Or am I completely off base?

C. Letellier wrote:I am doing the bocking 4 russian comfrey and while it is easy to kill while establishing cuttings it is incredibly durable otherwise and super easy to make cuttings to propagate.

I may try that too, if I cant get this variety to work.  Would you ever suggest trying to start them indoors?  I always assumed that this was a non-starter, since they need space for a deep taproot

Erika House wrote:

S.J. Vallier wrote:
Yes. I live in the sierra nevada mountains between Sacramento and Tahoe.  We get 100+ degrees for a couple days a week in each summer.

I work full time so I can only water on my days off.  I assumed this was at least part of the problem, but wondered if there was something more to it.

Nice to have another permie from the area!

There are a few of us!

Anne Miller wrote:What kind of comfrey are you trying to grow?

I'm assuming true comfrey?  It's from https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/  It's the only kind I could find at local nurseries.

(I very very seldom shop online.)

I'm getting some from root from a local guy now however, whic I assume is also True Comfrey, since he says it spreads and is difficult to eradicate.

I considered Russian comfrey, but since I have space I decided I did not need a non-spreading variety.

I am specifically growing it for chop'n'dropping.  although the medicinal properties are a plus.  And the chicken feed uses.  (don't currently have chickens, had them some years ago, but as they died off I never replaced them.  I'm not too fond of eggs, but they can be used to barter... and I like french toast)

My goal is to use it for mulch in a food forest, made up of mostly apples, (empire and black thorn, with several unidentified ones that are yellow and slightly tart but not baking apples) but also including pears and plums.  I have already got the mature trees ringed with dafodils and have some type of wild sweet pea growing around the base of the most successful trees for nitrogen fixation.  I next plan on adding red clover, lupines and scarlet runner beans for groundcover and more nitrogen fixation.
Maybe add some chives as well?

Jay Angler wrote:Have you read about Olla pots?

John upcycled material to make his: https://permies.com/t/224939/experiment-ollas

Old tech is sometimes the way to go. It might make a big difference when getting plants established. Ideally we then wean the plants off artificial irrigation, and find ways to infiltrate what natural rainfall occurs. However, I've seen how many tree babies die in their first 2 years of life in my ecosystem. If you can't plant 100 seeds to get 1 tree, giving babies a couple of years of help is the approach I would try next!

This is incredible!   I will be making these in the future!  

Elanor Gardner wrote:I grew mine from root. I have lots and lots now. Won't stop popping up out of the ground everywhere. My chickens love the stuff.

Talked to a guy a few days ago who is giving me some from root.  That should solve the proble,m!

Elanor Gardner wrote:I grew mine from root. I have lots and lots now. Won't stop popping up out of the ground everywhere. My chickens love the stuff.

I will definitely ask around!

Jay Angler wrote:S J you are not the only one who's managed to kill comfrey. Considering the weather we've had this year, my first guess would be insufficient water while it was getting established. Mine gets some supplemental water during our summer drought.

However, there is a difference between 'dead' and 'died back' - are you sure they won't pop up next spring? As Nancy wrote, knowing a bit more about your eco-system would help.

I do find they're a heavy feeder in my ecosystem also. The two spots I lost plants early on, had too high a ratio of rock to soil.

Now that I'm more experienced and was able to start with larger sections of root, my patches all put out a few fall leaves, so I know they're alive for now... the deer pressure has been huge this year, and once they discovered that comfrey was edible, they've been quite hard on it.  I may have to find a way to fence it.

Here's hoping they do come back.  I considered that they might, since they are supposedly quite virulent (mine are true, not Russian,) and I tended them as much as I could, given time constraints.  For that matter, I wonder if my Scarlet Runners might pop back up in the spring?  I have heard that they can under the f=right circumstance...

Nancy Reading wrote:It will probably help to get better responses if you tell us your climate area. Many places have had a pretty hot summer, so it may be that the seedlings died of drought. Although tough, they may need some help getting established.

Yes. I live in the sierra nevada mountains between Sacramento and Tahoe.  We get 100+ degrees for a couple days a week in each summer.

I work full time so I can only water on my days off.  I assumed this was at least part of the problem, but wondered if there was something more to it.