Killer Compost/Murderous Mulch

[chefsdreams]

so i've heard... and been led to believe.

 

[baymule]

FEM if your friend can get you wood chips, get all you can! We have power line contractors in our area right now and they have gladly dumped over 30 loads here. We used 20+ already, spreading over the sandy soil we have in an effort to keep it from blowing so bad. We were gifted with 4 year old wood chips and have the garden covered in rich, black, crumbly mulch. We set aside several of the wood chip piles for future garden mulch.

 

[sumi]

@baymule if you'd like to/when you have time, I would love to see pics etc of what your place looked like when you moved in and how it looks now and all the steps you've taken to get this far. You guys have transformed that property from the sound of things!

 

[baymule]

@baymule if you'd like to/when you have time, I would love to see pics etc of what your place looked like when you moved in and how it looks now and all the steps you've taken to get this far. You guys have transformed that property from the sound of things!

Yes, we have and we aren't finished. Still a long ways to go, but we look around to see how far we have come. I'll do a post on it and tag you.

 

[MoonShadows]

Oh boy, pictures!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

@frustratedearthmother you can use it as animal feed for making ointments for skin issues as well. It has a few health benefits. It's just a fantastic plant all round. If you have some nurture it and if you don't, get some!

I have planted Bocking #14 in my BTE orchard. If you plant Comfrey, I suggest you plant one of the Bocking varieties which will not sprout from seed. Comfrey is an invasive plant, so you don't want it to be seeding. If you plant it, be sure to plant it where you want it. I've read that the roots will travel 10' deep. That is why it is so nutrient rich. It mines minerals from deep in the soil where more shallow rooted plants can't reach them. those minerals are then stored in the leaves. It is a high protein fodder plant, as well as making a wonderful compost amendment or mulch. I have yet to explore the uses of it for a healing salve, but Sumi's post has made me want to try that as well. My first venture into salve making was a poison ivy salve using: olive oil, coconut oil, bees wax, plantain, jewel weed, and sage. It was stupid easy to make, and my hubby has used it to great advantage to kill athlete's foot fungus. Any readers know the secret to starting jewel weed from seed? I tried this spring, but was not successful.

http://thefreerangelife.com/make-poison-ivy-salve/

 

[sumi]

@Lazy Gardener A few years ago a young lad I knew and me bumped into each other at a friend's house. I noticed the lad had a terrible looking, raised sore of some sort on his arm and asked him about it. It was really nasty looking, I think it might have been an insect bite that went bad? He said the sore developed out of nowhere and got worse and worse, so he went to the walk-in clinic for treatment and the doctor tried and nothing worked. They couldn't figure out what was wrong and why it wouldn't heal. So we told him to come round to our place for some comfrey leaves, let him try that and see what happens.

A day or so after he did come and we gave him some leaves, told him to mash them up, mix them with a bit of glycerin and put it on his wound and bandage it up. He retuned a few days later with a big smile and showed me how much his arm healed already. The difference from a few days before was amazing.

 

[Hinotori]

If you're going to use comfrey medicinally, make sure you have the correct species. Common comfrey is the one you want to use. Not russian or prickly comfrey.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

If you're going to use comfrey medicinally, make sure you have the correct species. Common comfrey is the one you want to use. Not russian or prickly comfrey.

Interesting comment. the fellow who sells the Bocking swears by it's medicinal value. I think I'll go on that assumption, until I find that it has no value for such. Thanks for the info. If I find it has no value, I'll know why.

 

[Hinotori]

It has more to do with toxicity. Common comfrey has much less pyrrolizidine alkaloid which damages the liver and can kill you.

Consult a modern herbalist before using any herbal drug that isn't culinary. Even then, some of those are toxic in higher doses. Example nutmeg