Name Title Create Date Comments
Hamish Gale
2009-11-06 22:09:31
I have been breaking in a peice of land that has never been worked. I have planted fruit trees with tyres around them full of mulch and have planted comfrey roots around them which have sprouted leaves. This plant is fantastic! I use the leaves in fritters with farm fresh eggs from my freerange chooks. I wish I had fields of this plant to use - it is a real resource. To the person who is trying to get rid of it - dig it up and sell the root pieces on ebay to fellow gardeners! Help spread this great plant.
Nat
2009-11-05 21:59:04
When a friend of mine shared some comfrey plants with me, I was concerned about the fact that it was an invasive plant. I found an old tire, filled it with dirt, and planted them inside of the tire. They were planted almost a year ago, and so far there are no \"stray\" plants! They grew very tall and seem to be content.
Bernard Hickey
2009-09-18 01:38:16
my mum just broke her wrist yesterday. I was told by a woman i trust that a tea made from half a leaf to a cup will set anybones immediately. It came with a warning to use carefully as it is strong and effective. I wonder if the day after the break is the best time for this use? i think the warning about how effective it is has made me too timid to use it at all!
Elana
2009-09-15 11:00:05
One of my dogs ran into a stick or some object that tore a large hole into his side the size of a 50 cent piece. Happening on a Saturday afternoon and not wishing to endure a large veterinary bill I chose to treat it myself. I took dried comfrey and ground it up placing it into the hole and placed a salve also made with comfrey over the dried herb. I covered it with clean gauze kept in place with duct tape and changed it twice daily. The wound was always pink and healthy looking. After 8 days my husband who works out of town arrived and insisted I take the dog to the vet. So we did; to hear the Vet say "this looks great, what are you treating it with". The tissue was healthy and looked good. He told me to keep doing what I was and commended me. The wound healed nicely and I have continued to treat other pets for scrapes and cuts with comfrey as well. It is a fantastic herb. It only causes skin rash when people use fresh leaves. Dry it overnight, or make it into a ointment. It''s priceless.
Marilyn Firman
2009-08-25 11:59:12
I recently purchased a comfrey plant and it is doing nicely in my garden. Now I want to know how to use it.. I need recipes for making tinctures or tea or whatever and dose amounts that would be recommended for what. Can you just eat it in salad? How much would cause a problem? My husband has pneumular excema, would that be helped?
Dana Pratt
2009-06-06 23:53:33
Well, since I''m a new comfrey enthusiast, I just read/learned about the laws that will
apparently restrict putting comfrey fritters on the menu of my "meal at home" restaurant I
was day dreaming into existence ... and I guess I probably wouldn''t be able to sell it fresh at
the farmers market either, so I won''t plant a front lawn crop of it ...
On the other hand, if people everywhere just started eating it.... and documenting our
survival rates... I bet we''d actually have LESS cancer than average. Especially if we juiced it
with nettles, and keep drinking kombucha!
-The Grass Roots Comfrey Confederacy?
Dana Pratt
2009-06-06 23:39:36
One friend gave me comfrey which has been growing beautifully in a wine barrel outside
my kitchen door with some wild onions next to it. I feed it with kitchen scraps directly. It
continually blooms and grows. Another friend said we could make fritters, and we did. An
amazing tasty meal that can be a main dish. We dipped reasonable pan-sized (smaller)
leaves in egg, and then buckwheat pancake mix (in lieu of flower), then, sauteed in part
ghee part olive oil. Stupendous! Incredible. Very filling. We also dipped some squash
flowers since they were there and super pretty/yummy.
Spurred on by the adventure, I put many leaves in my kale juice the next day. I felt just
great. I feel intuitively confident to eat food put here before there were ever studies. The
original studies of our forebearers, went just like this. Eat, enjoy, respond. Share. Repeat.
I am now inspired to do the egg/batter sautee with my kale, nettle, and borage leaves.
And, I''d like to try a raw food version in the dehydrator.
jerome
2009-05-24 00:23:20
am a 78 yr old gardener growing comfrey, eating 6 to 10 comfrey leaves raw in my salad every day. i may cut down to 2 leaves to allow for the so called toxic study done on rats..
Sharilee
2009-05-18 14:16:46
My daughter was doing a research project on first nations healing products and comfrey was her main herb. We found it growing wild here on Vancouver Island, BC. After doing some reading I was concerned about the fact that people who use it have a higher incidence of certain cancers and liver failure but we are not going to ingest any of it. It appears to me that this herb has some great healing properties but can also be quite deadly.
Daddybob
2009-05-06 07:30:36
Is there a chart that shows where comfrey grows wild in the continental 48 states? Thanks.
ryan peters
2009-03-16 22:57:02
i am a 26 year old living in austraila i have used comfrey since i was very young, i have used it for many things from cold & flu to bone damage from sports and life . i have not found one thing that it will not help make better . i grow comfrey in every garden i have as it also helps keep pests away from the other plants . please try and do more test so we can find out what this plant can realy do i think it will be found to do more god than bad .
Dorena Rode
2009-02-10 07:59:40
Comfrey plants, seeds, dried herb can be ordered from Richters Herbs: http://www.richters.com/ * Tel: +1-905-640-6677 * Fax: +1-905-640-6641 * Email: orderdesk@richters.com * Snail Mail: Richters, 357 Highway 47, Goodwood, Ontario, L0C 1A0, Canada.
Sera Waters
2009-02-09 20:49:09
Where can I buy Comfrey seeds? It doesn\''t grow in the area that I live?
Angus Martin
2008-06-06 07:27:39
I let comfrey grow all over my (small) garden, especially in the vegetable plot, and use the
leaves and whole plants as mulch around plants, pulling them out as they get in the way.
Like nettle, their presence (and sacrifice) benefits the whole garden...
You can chew a small leaf of comfrey every day for arthritis, I am told, and I do so. Of
course I also use it in salve for skin.
I think the lab rat test was done, and done in such an extreme and unlikely way as to
discredit comfrey because this plant has shown such potential for healing, yet it cannot be
invented or patented by men seeking wealth and fame. Moreover, as with the cyanide in
bitter almonds/apricot pits, the so-called ''toxic'' substances in comfrey are held within a
complex matrix of chemical relationships which renders them useful to the human body.
This medical obsession with extracting isolated chemicals from an already perfect
medicine is barking up the wrong tree, and ultimately will not serve human life. It gives
the wrong impression, and then the wrong impression is implanted in people''s
consciousness and fears.
If you want to debunk a thousand years of direct human experience with a plant, you will
have to do it with some more convincing ''science''. Contining to ingest comfrey after such
a test is NOT the same thing as continuing to ingest saccharine. Saccharine is an
invention of human madness (caused by slavery-white sugar), comfrey is an element of
God''s creation.
People, you have to stop believing (or ingesting) what the FDA, AMA, etc feed you. What is
needed is diversified, sensible use of the free (and shareable) gifts of health and wellbeing
which our creator bestows us with, and which humanity has developed overwhelmingly
positive relationships over thousands of years. Everything else is just snake-oil.
Laura Weymers
2008-05-19 14:28:44
I am wondering if comfrey is safe to use for making your own organic fertilizer, to make compost, and to use the leaves on top of potato hills to help feed the potato plants. I''ve read a lot and it seems like a wonder plant. Does the cancer causing properties affect the compost when the leaves decompose? I also am wondering if it is legal to grow it in Michigan for the reasons I mentioned. I didn''t know it was restricted in the US. If it is OK to grow, where can I get some to plant? Thanks for any info you can give me. Laura
Dorena Rode
2008-04-16 15:13:27
I have not seen evidence that any comfrey is pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) free. However, there are wide variations in the amount of pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in different parts of comfrey plants and in different plants. The only way to be sure the product is PA free is by laboratory analysis. If the company is claiming their product is PA free ask to see the certificate of analysis. It is also possible to remove the PAs. They may do that. In any case if safety is the issue, I personally have no concerns about topical comfrey use. Take a look at the research and make your own decision.
Wendell
2008-04-16 14:50:18
I am interested in using a skincare product, velvet facial creme, by Suki Naturals, that contains "comfrey extract." I emailed the company to inquire about the safety issue (if there is one) in using comfrey topically on a daily basis. The answer was, in part: "...there are many types of comfrey that do not contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. the comfrey we use in our products does not contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, so you can use our products in confidence!"
Can anyone verify if this is an accurate statement? The company generally makes excellent products, but I am no botanist nor chemist, so I hope someone on the forum can offer guidance. Thank you.
Kirk Smith
2008-01-04 07:25:05
I am interested in composting comfrey and feeding it to worms.Will these worms be toxic?
Also in using the compost on my garden. Are the harmfull components in comfrey broken down by composting and will they harm my worms? Do they accumulate or dissapate?
Mi Bri
2007-12-12 13:03:46
The Comfrey plant has defensive hairs. That''s why farmers allow it to wilt for 24 hrs before feeding it to livestock. Variety Bocking 14 has the highest concentrate of allantoin (the curative component). But you can use freshly cut variety Bocking 4 liquidised as a green drink. With no harmful effects. For external use, liquidise and use as poultice. For extra safety, allow cut leaves to wilt overnight and test the leaves. Are they prickly to touch? If not, create poultice or drink.
YVONNE MILLER
2007-10-23 07:30:27
Tania Hill asks where she can get Comfrey ointment and/or lotions for her child''s nappy rash. I used to obtain mine through a friend who was a supplier in Southern Africa. The products ranged from ointment, lotion, face creams, cleansers, moisturiser, tea and powder. All products had no additives and no perfume and were completely natural. It was supplied under the name of Symphatone.
I will find out if the products are still available and will post more details if you would like me to. I do not of course, know what international laws are about buying and sending these products to other countries outside South Africa.
YVONNE MILLER
2007-10-23 07:22:23
With regards to the person who wrote that the Comfrey poultice caused an angry rash when they applied it to the wound on their broken leg.... I can remember my dear late mum making a poultice simply by pouring boiling water over some leaves, then placing these "hot" wet leaves inside a clean linen or cotton handkercheif, then when it was a comfortable heat, placing the COVERED (by the linen cloth or hanky) leaf poultice onto the wound or hurting bone. Mum never applied the neat poultice onto a wound or the skin. I always remember mum saying that the "juice" would be absorbed into the skin and bones.
Perhaps it is best not to apply the raw poultice onto skin, but rather to place the poultice between a cloth first.
It is interesting to mention too, that on reading a historical book it mentions the use of Comfrey for medicinal purposes (especially for knitting bones and healing wounds) by humans going back to almost the Ice Age! I will certainly continue to eat, drink and use it myself.
c Wertman
2007-10-01 09:06:24
I planted my first comfrey plant in late spring. I am interested in making some sauve. I am new at this and will appreciate any advice I can get.
Should I use the leaves or the root?
Linda Moon
2007-09-17 12:29:42
Greetings. I make a salve that contains comfrey and sell it on my website at moonwiseherbs.com Feel free to take a look for email me rosemarygoddess@hotmail.com
tania hill
2007-07-06 02:20:36
hi i''ve been trying to find were i can buy comfrey ointment as my six month old son had really bad nappie rash and i try''d every cream known to man but nothing worked , a friend of mine gave me a small amount of comfrey ointment mixed with vaseline and it cleared him right up with in two days i''ve never known any actual nappie cream to work that fast . so if ne one know''s were i can buy this amazing ointment please could you post a bulleting many thanks ....
Michael Tierra
2007-05-13 08:12:50
I''ve lived with, used and prescribed comfrey since 1969. As a student of the late Dr. Christopher, who extolled its virtues to thousands throughout the country for several decades, I was encouraged and taught to use comfrey. I routinely taught and used comfrey root in Dr. Christopher''s comfrey glycerite combination. From 1968 through 1972 I lived at Black Bear Ranch, a commune located in the Klamath mountains of Northern California. This was a place where we routinely delivered our own babies and herbs were commonly used. Because we thought comfrey was so benign, it was routinely given to women along with raspberry leaf during all stages of pregnancy. Knowing the many children who were born at Black Bear, they all all very healthy today. Comfrey was routinely used internally and exernally for all injuries and chronic pain with great success. One case that prominenly sticks out in my mind to this day when fears of comfrey toxicity becomes a topic of concern is a man who at that time was probably in his late 20''s, early 30''s who had chronic lower back pain, probably from a disc injury. Like many of us who did strange things in those days, he consumed literally a quarter to a half pound of raw Russian comfrey (it grew all over our ranch) root daily for three to four weeks. It completely healed his back and now over 40 years later, I still see him occasionally -- no PA toxicity!
Of course, I could relate many other anecdotal cases and storied but this was by far the most dramatic -- eating a quarter to a half pound of raw Russian comfrey root daily for up to a month!
It was interesting to learn that one of a few local homesteads first settled in this area probably in the early 20th century had large stands of comfrey growing near their cabins. I can only assume that people who know of the healing virtues of this plant carried it with them and planted it in newly settled lands.
mary leslie
2007-03-11 18:11:39
I have use comfrey in salads theflowers are wonderful just like dandilion young leaves. You can also use it for drinking on a summer day when it is so hot you can have comfrey tea instead of lemmon aid it is very good hot as well. IT IS JUST A ALL AROUND GOOD HERB.
mary
2007-02-03 21:15:10
I used a comfrey poltice on my broken leg this week in hopes it would speed healing. I made the poltice by lightly blending 2 leaves in a food processor with a little water. I spread the mixture onto a non-stick dressing which I then applied to my leg and left it overnight.
To my horror the next day I found my leg to have an angry red, raised rash with welts and blisters everywhere. This was 5 days ago and despite using aloe vera and bathing my leg in chamomile tea I still have some blisters remaining.
I wish that SOMEWHERE, anywhere on the web was some advice on the possible allergic reactions to comfrey on the skin. Unfortunately a thorough Google search shows NOTHING.
Never again
Dorena Rode
2007-01-18 07:27:18
The pyrrolizidine alkaloid indicine was investigated as chemotherapeutic agent. It is considered a relatively non-toxic compound, but failed in clinical trials because it resulted in severe, irreversible hepatotoxicity.
Dorena Rode
2006-11-27 12:05:17
Comfrey plants can be ordered from Richters Herbs: http://www.richters.com/
* Tel: +1-905-640-6677
* Fax: +1-905-640-6641
* Email: orderdesk@richters.com
* Snail Mail: Richters, 357 Highway 47, Goodwood, Ontario, L0C 1A0, Canada.
Lauri Chase
2006-07-07 16:00:09
If the comfrey plant is not indigenous to S.C. where may I obtain a plant?
Vallee Rose
2006-04-15 12:40:31
Back in the early 90''s, I began to have difficulties with my news. First my left knee wouldn''t support weight and then I actually had to rent a car because with my standard, my left knee would hurt so badly every time I shifted that I would cry. Doctors said everything friom my knee caps were out of alignment to torn ligaments but nothing definite. SO they were planning surgery because I was basically on crutches for 6 months. In the meantime I was trying all different types of herbs to try and heal the problem. Nothing worked until I took some comfrey tablets. Literally overnight (2 days before scheduling surgery) ALL pain was gone. Now my knee is bothering my again and I can''t find ways to buy the capsules. Tea hasn''t been enough. Salves haven''t been enough. I just need a high 1-3 time dose to get back on track and find that I can''t buy capsules anymore. Any ideas?
Billy Mcivor
2006-02-07 13:15:32
I had an ankle fusion done on aug 14 2005 and have had an infection ever since which has stopped the bone from healing. What and how is the best way to go with Comfrey,tea or poultice or both?
Dorena Rode
2006-01-25 18:38:59
Comfrey is notorious for taking over a garden. You might notice that the comfrey on the homepage is confined to a pot for this very reason. It appears that even the smallest portion of comfrey root or rhizome left behind when moving a plant will sprout a new plant.
So how to get rid of comfrey? Exercise extreme diligence in digging up the plant to ensure none is left behind. If some does sprout (or if you decide not even to try digging up the plant) snip off the new leaves immediately. This too takes diligence, but the underground portion will eventually die if the leaves are never allowed to open and feed the roots. If you are trying to kill an established plant you may have to do this consistently for a year. I know, I have done it.
lea
2006-01-25 10:09:04
comfrey may be great for medicinal purposes, but it has over run my garden and part of my property! How do I get rid of it?
Louise Damadian
2005-10-28 12:20:17
Growing up in scotland, UK, my sister used comfrey ointment for chronic eczema as a child and no longer suffers from the condition. Traditional prescribed steriod creams had not worked for her. The thick brown comfrey traditional mixture worked the best of the different types she used but I had my mother ship me some from europe when I realized it was extreamely hard to find here in the USA. I have recommended it to clients for many skin conditions, always with great success. I wish it was easier to come by!
Eric Yarnell
2005-06-06 16:46:33
I have recently used a complex tincture formula that included 10% glycerite of fresh
Symphytum officinale leaf (made with 75% glycerine and 25% alkaline water, pH = 8) for
just over six weeks in my office receptionist who fractured her ankle. There was significant
concern from the treating podiatrist that she would have problems with healing due to her
weight, but in fact she healed just fine. I estimate she was taking 1.5 ml of the comfrey
product daily, for a total of 63 ml. I do not know the PA content of this product. She has
had absolutely no signs of adverse effects in the two months since this occurred. She felt
significant pain relief from use of the formula incidentally.
Dorena Rode
2005-05-21 16:10:01
Welcome to the comfrey forum. Please feel free to post comments regarding your use of comfrey