permaculture

[Elfpermacl@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/25/98 1:45:27 PM, burrenag@iol.ie wrote:

<<Dear all,



Cuttings seem a bit odd but in any case it is *very* easy to grow comfrey

from pieces of roots. You can divide a big plant into many small ones in

the winter or spring. Growing them from seed is an option but takes a lot

longer. I'd try to find someone who has comfrey plants and ask for some

roots, plant those in rich ground and divide the plants further in the next

year and the next and the next........

It's a wonderful plant, alright. I recycle chicken dung onto their ground

during the winter and have huge plants all summer which I cut 2-3 times for

mulch and comfrey water and also give young shoots to our goats.



UteB>>

Yes, the standard way to propagate comfrey is to run over it a few times with
a rototiller.  You will get thousands of plants from one medium-sized comfrey.
Cuttings DO work, by the way, if you use the stem that carries the flowers.
The leaf petioles do not work.  And every piece of root tries to become a new
clone, as noted.  It is a great bumble bee plant. 

We like to plant it 6 - 8 inches outside the poultry netting so the chickens
can reach through and grab a bit while 3/4 of the plant is unaffected and
available for use in other ways.

For Mother Earth, Dan Hemenway, Yankee Permaculture Publications (since 1982),
Elfin Permaculture workshops, lectures, Permaculture Design Courses,
consulting and permaculture designs (since 1981), and now correspondence
courses via email.  One is now underway.  Next live program: Advanced Design
Training in Paraguay, 8/10-22/98.  Copyright, 1998, Dan & Cynthia Hemenway,
P.O. Box 52, Sparr FL 32192 USA. Internships available. YankeePerm@aol.com  

We don't have time to rush.

A list by topic of all Yankee Permaculture titles may be found at
http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/ypc_catalog.html