Anders Drew

I did my permaculture design course with the late great Patrick Whitefield, at Raglans Lane Farm in Gloucestershire UK….. a permaculture training site as well as an apple / apple juice producer.
They had rows of apple trees under planted with comfrey…. which were performing better than those with
grass underneath.
The comfrey was a complete ground cover under and around the trunk perhaps with approx 1metre diameter cover from the trunk.
Explanations given were that the comfreys deep tap root did not interfere with the apple trees shallower root system, that it brought up deeper minerals than the apple tree had access to, that it out-competed the grass which was more competitive in terms of shallow roots, and that the option to cut and drop on site providing a very rich plant fertiliser. Also good bee attractor and possibly other beneficial insects.
I have been planting comfrey under apple trees since my PDC and at the moment see no reason to stop
Great medicine and food also for us humans

Hi nick
When I studied my PDC in UK with Patrick Whitefield we stayed on a farm which produced bottled apple juice. The orchard fruit trees were inter planted with comfrey, creating wonderful ground cover but also as was explained to us, the comfrey pulled up minerals from deeper than the apple tree roots and the plant could be cut back three to four times a year with
The nutrient rich leaves left in place to decompose and feed the fruit trees. Obviously you also have the medicinal and edible properties of comfrey as a benefit for us humans as well

A little thought on snails before you go throwing them to the pigs or ducks.....especially the really big ones, of which we have plenty here in the Ariege mountains (French Pyrenees). Having developed my mountain smallholding over the past 7 years, my knees have taken a battering due to the harsh slopes, slippery roots and continual ascents and descents. I tore my cartilage in 2014 and was told I would never be able to squat again comfortably unless I was operated on. A little research into cartilage and natural healing led me to a daily routine of nettle thrashing (knee only!!!), comfrey sap and then followed by a slow snail dance while I enjoyed a healing glass of red wine. Snail bave (French word for trail / lubricant) is incredibly healing for cartilage (snails repair their own shells very quickly when damaged). After the nettles bring increased blood supply to a part of the body with little blood flow and comfrey sap/juice helps to knit, the snail bave is transferred through the skin. It's also a very meditative part of the day!!
Over the last 6 years I have had little to no problems with my knee, only the odd tweak when I catch my foot awkwardly, but have enjoyed skiing, walking and smallholding.....with the odd squat thrown in....
I recently re-tore the cartilage and am once again on a daily routine of nettles, comfrey and snails.
Wonderful healers......

Hi Anne
welcome to permies.com.....from the French Pyrenees.....I shall be very interested to read your book based on a forest garden in beautiful Devon, a favourite holiday destination as a child (Croyde Bay).....its often difficult to understand the language complexities in French herbalist books, so one based around the warm temperate climate of South West England will be much more pertinent to my mountain smallholding in the Ariege. I am reading Stephen Harod Buhner at the moment so my fascination of plants is growing by the second. I look forward to joining your online teachings.