Comfrey (a.k.a. “boneset”) is a perennial herb used in herbalism as a topical salve for wounds & to treat inflammation from broken bones & sprains.

In the garden, it has long been coveted as a fertilizer. Comfrey has a long tap root that allows it to dig deep below the soil surface & mine for nutrients. Those nutrients (especially nitrogen, potassium & phosphorus) are stored within the leaves which can then be fermented into a tea to feed to plants (i.e., a liquid fertilizer) or chopped & dropped directly beneath plants as mulch. Comfrey leaves have been shown to promote vigorous growth & fruiting & maintain plant health.

I knew the moment I saw the free Kikkoman buckets my brother-in-law sourced from a Chinese food restaurant that they HAD to be repurposed to hold my comfrey tea.

All the bucket needed was a simple modification to make accessing the liquid fertilizer hassle free. We drilled a hole into the bucket, then fitted it with a brass tap.

I harvested a clump of comfrey leaves, added them to the bucket, then topped with filtered water. All that was left to do was let the heat & microorganisms do their work of breaking down & fermenting the leaves into a nutritious plant tea.

In a few short weeks, I’ll have a living fertilizer that’s better than anything I could buy from the store.

Self-sufficiency for the win!