Making comfrey tea in late fall?

Hello,

So I mentioned in a previous post that I have a need for comfrey tea in spring, just before my initial flush of comfrey grows.

So I have quite a lot of perfectly lush, healthy comfrey right NOW, just as I am tucking in my garden for the winter.  I had a thought about harvesting comfrey now, letting it sit I water (or stay in a cool part of the basement) and letting it seep until spring when I would use as a spray or pour directly into my woodchips.

Any thoughts?  Is sitting around for months in water too long?  I just don’t know.

Thanks in advance,

Eric

Instead of making comfrey tea, you might want to try making comfrey extract like they do in the 4th segment of this video https://www.facebook.com/ABCTV/videos/2472237896226315/
Less liquid to store over winter and you can dilute as you need it.

Hey, thanks Megan!!

That is probably a much better idea and storing extract sounds a lot better and easier than storing tea.

Thanks very much, extremely helpful!!

Eric

Megan,

Thanks very much for the feedback, but I am afraid that I will have to put that idea on hold.  We just had 2 extremely hard freezes in a row (lows were around 12-15 degrees F for 2 nights—not exactly extreme for some, but the damage is done) and the comfrey is thoroughly frozen and wilted over.  I doubt I am going to get much in the way of top growth till spring.

I am totally up for suggestions for something productive to do with still green but recently wilted comfrey leaves.  But I think time will be critical.  I don’t expect this to stick around very long.

Eric

Eric Hanson wrote:Megan,

Thanks very much for the feedback, but I am afraid that I will have to put that idea on hold.  We just had 2 extremely hard freezes in a row (lows were around 12-15 degrees F for 2 nights—not exactly extreme for some, but the damage is done) and the comfrey is thoroughly frozen and wilted over.  I doubt I am going to get much in the way of top growth till spring.

I am totally up for suggestions for something productive to do with still green but recently wilted comfrey leaves.  But I think time will be critical.  I don’t expect this to stick around very long.

Eric

I never cut my last flush of comfrey.  Hundreds of spiders over-winter under them.  If you cut the last flush, they lose that habitat.  My recommendation is to leave them alone.

From waldeneffect.com "Mulching is the best way to attract spiders to your garden, but having perennial plants around is also a good bet.  Comfrey seems to be especially attractive, even more so if you let the winter-killed leaves lie on the ground rather than "cleaning" them up.  One study in Switzerland found 240 spiders for every square meter of soil beneath comfrey leaves. "  Spiders and Comfrey

How about a compromise, leave some comfrey for the spiders to shelter in and pick and harvest just enough leaves to make a batch of tea in spring. The leaves dry very easily, I shred and dry them for making salves but you could drape them over a mesh shelf or on a fold up clothes rack, store in a paper bag or bucket and just add water when you want to use it. If they are not completely dried, you may want to put them in a bucket just in case they start fermenting which is not such a bad thing just so long as you can contain the smell with a tight fitting lid😉

Megan Palmer wrote:How about a compromise, leave some comfrey for the spiders to shelter in and pick and harvest just enough leaves to make a batch of tea in spring. The leaves dry very easily, I shred and dry them for making salves but you could drape them over a mesh shelf or on a fold up clothes rack, store in a paper bag or bucket and just add water when you want to use it. If they are not completely dried, you may want to put them in a bucket just in case they start fermenting which is not such a bad thing just so long as you can contain the smell with a tight fitting lid😉

It's funny you mention the smell.  I made comfrey tea exactly one time.  After about three days, I couldn't get near it without coming close to vomiting.  There are too many things that work as well without having to be subjected to that again.