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Nettle/Comfrey Fertilizer.... confused again

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  • #1

    Nettle/Comfrey Fertilizer.... confused again

    Dear All,

    Forgive me for carping on about these natural fertilizers again... I believe I've got befuddled.

    I was always of the impression that Nettle tea was high in Nitrogen, and Comfrey tea was high in Potassium.

    So there I was last night eagerly digesting my shiny new copy of GYO - only to find a fascinating article that tells me Nettle tea is NOT high in Nitrogen and that Comfrey tea is better for both N and K (if I remember correctly)

    IF this is the case - is there any point in brewing nettle tea - and having two foul smelling containers one labelled 'N' and the other 'K'

    I understand I'm drifting perilously into the realms of 'gardening geek' here.... but once I know I've got this right - I'll be happy.

    Thanks for your help

    J
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  • #2
    here are the nutrients in each out one of me books:
    Nettles: Ca, Cu, Fe, K
    Compfrey: Ca, Fe, K, Mg
    And suprisingly Dandelion has more than both: Ca, Cu, Fe, K, MG, P
    Hope this is of some use
    KK

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    • #3
      Hmm, can I bung all my flowering nettles and dandelions in one bucket of water?
      Happy Gardening,
      Shirley

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      • #4
        Help! what do all those scientific looking codes stand for

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        • #5
          Ca - Calcium
          Cu - Copper
          Fe - Iron
          K - Potassium
          Mg - Magnesium
          P - Phosporous

          All vital (trace) elements for plant growth..

          Can't BELIEVE my GCSE Chemistry has FINALLY been usefull!!!

          J

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          • #6
            Thanks JimmerG,
            I didn't do much in the way of science at school so never learnt the codes.
            More philosophy and languages for me
            Sounds like dandelion juice would be good for veg. How strange!

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            • #7
              Originally posted by shirlthegirl43 View Post
              Hmm, can I bung all my flowering nettles and dandelions in one bucket of water?
              Having done a bit of reading - I can't see why one can't just chuck everything in one bucket - sure some plants need slightly different trace elements.... but one only has so much time to mix different potions for different plants.

              I reckon I'll stick comfrey and nettle together in the same bucket - I've even read that mares tails can be thrown in too as they're full of good stuff.... must be their 5 foot long roots tapping into deep reserves that other roots cannot reach.

              J

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              • #8
                where did you read about the mare's tail? Our garden is riddled with it It's a constant battle and it gets everywhere!!!!
                If it can be put to some use then I would love to know. At the moment it goes in old growbags and gets disposed of. I don't want that in my compost

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                • #9
                  I've got nettle liquid and dandelion liquid in separate cartons but when I use them I usually mix a slosh of each into the water.

                  I've heard of dandelion being good, but never knew exactly why - thanks, Krazy Krok and Jimmer G
                  - I used mainly flower heads with the odd stalk sticking on and a few leaves.

                  I keep them in large milk cartons (though I've lost the caps) as recommended by Two Sheds on another thread.

                  One thing, the dandelion mix is non-smelly.
                  Last edited by maytreefrannie; 04-06-2009, 11:18 AM.
                  My hopes are not always realized but I always hope (Ovid)

                  www.fransverse.blogspot.com

                  www.franscription.blogspot.com

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Incy View Post
                    where did you read about the mare's tail? Our garden is riddled with it It's a constant battle and it gets everywhere!!!!
                    If it can be put to some use then I would love to know. At the moment it goes in old growbags and gets disposed of. I don't want that in my compost
                    Incy - I found it here... Liquid plant fertilizer - Green manure protects the garden

                    It talks about fresh/dried marestails (surely they can't be both!) in a bucket of water for one day!! High in Nitrogen apparently - which is handy as I have a blue drum half full of water which I use for 'drowing' maretails and couch grass - had no idea the water would be usefull.
                    There's also mention of a couple of interesting ways of getting rid of the 'open sewer' smell of rotting nettles and comfrey..!

                    J

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                    • #11
                      Thanks J, looks good will have a read

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Incy View Post
                        where did you read about the mare's tail? Our garden is riddled with it It's a constant battle and it gets everywhere!!!!
                        If it can be put to some use then I would love to know. At the moment it goes in old growbags and gets disposed of. I don't want that in my compost
                        Use for mares' tails. Scrunched up they make good pan scrubbers. It's the silica in them. Allegedly!
                        Whoever plants a garden believes in the future.

                        www.vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated March 9th - Spring

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                        • #13
                          Pan scrubber ......No, not in my vocabulary, pans wash themselves round here ( or maybe OH does while I'm working)

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                          • #14
                            Surprised nobody actually mentions nitrogen (N) in their answers, only Jimmer in his question.

                            ___________________________________________

                            Nutritional Value of Bocking 14 Comfrey.

                            L D Hills listed the following in his book Comfrey, Past Present and Future –
                            Comparative Nutritional Analysis of comfrey, compost and manure Material Water
                            % Nitrogen(N)
                            % Phosphorus (P)
                            % Potash (K) %
                            Carbon-Nitrogen Ratio

                            Farm Yard Manure (H2O)76.0 (N)0.64 (P)0.23 (K)0.32 14 - 1

                            Wilted Russian Comfrey (H2O)75.0 (N)0.74 (P)0.24 (K)1.19 9.8 - 1

                            Indore Compost (H2O)76.0 (N)0.50 (P)0.27 (K)0.81 10 - 1

                            I know it's a bit boring but no gardener should forget his/her nitrogen.
                            Why didn't Noah just swat those 2 greenflies?

                            Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
                            >
                            >If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

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                            • #15
                              JimmerG,a VERY good question.
                              krazy krok,thanks for the explanation,at least I know what's in my pong.
                              Now I'm sure about dandelions(nobody believed me when I said it was good).
                              So,as a result-may I use my nettle pong to water toms and chillies(shortage of comfrey here)?
                              As for mare's tail-you can make some herbal tea-it's good for nails and hair(because of silica)

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