Comfrey: how to use, harvest, and propagate (Film #30 with Morag Gamble: 8 mins)

I love Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) – a perennial multi-functional plant that is so valuable in my permaculture system.

In my short film, I introduce some of the many uses of Comfrey and demonstrate how to simply divide a comfrey plant to have many cuttings to add to your garden or share with your friends.

In my garden, I use comfrey:

as an edge plant
to stabilize gardens
as a weed barrier
to activate compost
to add nutrients when making a no-dig garden
to make a simple natural fertilizer
to self-mulch and feed a fruit tree
and more…

Easy DIY Comfrey Fertiliser

I made another Youtube clip a while ago about how to make comfrey fertilizer.

DIY Comfrey Salve

In this film, I’m having a chat with my daughter, Maia – a budding herbalist, about a couple of the medicinal uses of comfrey.

At home, we always make sure we have comfrey salve at hand for bumps, bruises, sprains, and cuts – with three active young kids, this is often in need. I have written before about how to make the comfrey oil which is the base for the salve. Read more about it here.

Comfrey grows in most places

Comfrey is found around the world, can thrive in most soil types, and is so easy to use and propagate. I recommend that every permaculture garden integrate this wonderful plant.

Thanks for your support and feedback!

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About the Author

MORAG GAMBLE Blog is an award-winning Australian permaculture designer, speaker, author, blogger, film-maker and teacher. She creates the popular Our Permaculture Life Blog and YouTube channel, offers online permaculture education – The Incredible Edible Garden and the Permaculture Educators Program, a combined Permaculture Design Certificate and Permaculture Teacher Certificate.

Morag is the founder and Executive Director of the Permaculture Education Institute and runs a small permaculture charity, Ethos Foundation. Each month she also offers free online monthly masterclasses.

Morag is an urban permaculture pioneer and cofounder of the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network and Northey Street City Farm in Brisbane.

Morag offers a wealth of knowledge of all things permaculture and has taught in 22 countries – she is always teaching and sharing. Morag’s natural habitat is her award-winning edible landscape at Crystal Waters Ecovillage.

One Response

africanaussie May 8, 2017 at 12:40 pm | Permalink

Years ago I read about an English gardener who let comfrey sit in a bucket with an outlet and he would just let the comfrey leaves break down on their own and only collect the super concentrate. I have a very small garden and only one comfrey plant and have developed a system to have the leaves drip down into the bottom of an old milk jug. It doesn't smell so is good for small areas where you dont really have the room for stinky brews.

Morag Gamble

My name is Morag Gamble and I am living and working a permaculture life. I live an ‘Off-the-Grid’ lifestyle in a permaculture village near Maleny in the subtropical part of southeast Queensland, Australia with my husband and 3 young children.

We designed and built our modular eco-home – with much appreciated help from my family. We are mortgage-free and live simply. Our income is derived from permaculture-related activities. We grow a lot of vegetables, herbs and fruit in the polycultural garden-playground surrounding our home. We collect our water, deal with our wastewater on-site and produce most of our own power.

I love this way of living and I love bringing my children up in this environment. They are Nature Kids and they are learning vital skills for resilience, compassion and future problem solving through our ecological unschooling approach.

I am also passionate about how this way of life can make a positive contribution to society and support ecological regeneration.

africanaussie May 8, 2017 at 12:40 pm | Permalink

Years ago I read about an English gardener who let comfrey sit in a bucket with an outlet and he would just let the comfrey leaves break down on their own and only collect the super concentrate. I have a very small garden and only one comfrey plant and have developed a system to have the leaves drip down into the bottom of an old milk jug. It doesn't smell so is good for small areas where you dont really have the room for stinky brews.