There is no shortage of Comfrey on the allotment so I decided to scale up the production of Comfrey tea from a bucket to a water butt. Comfrey leaves are a good source of NPK (nitrogen/potash/potassium). Actually I chop up the stems as well though perhaps the goodness is concentrated in the leaves. Add water and let them steep till it becomes a potent though smelly brew.

 NB That reminds me that I've been writing a series of entries on the various types of Comfrey. By this point in the season it's mainly a purple flowered Comfrey on the allotment. I assume this is Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum ) which is the hybrid S. officinale x S. asperum. Actually S. officinale aka Common Comfrey looks very similar though Russian Comfrey tends to have darker flowers, is bristlier and grows on drier soil.

 S. x uplandicum re-crosses readily with S. officinale so the exact genetics are moot. Henry Doubleday is said to have trialed 21 strains of Russian Comfrey at his research site in Bocking, Essex. He concluded that "Bocking 14" was the best for fertiliser and "Bocking 4" for livestock forage.