I wanted to share another experiment that I've started at the farm. Comfrey is a multipurpose herb. It has been used for many things including medical practices, in particular to heal bone fractures. It can also be used as fodder for animals - chickens in particular enjoy pecking at the leaves. It has also been used as a rich liquid fertilizer.

Comfrey is also a Nutrient fixer. It has a long taproot that burrows down deep into the soil to draw up nutrients to the surface which other plants can then benefit from.

My mum has always planted comfrey in her garden and she was kind enough to provide me with some for my next experiment - to create a living mulch.

I have planted comfrey around a couple of my fruit trees as a living mulch to provide shade around the root system. It will help manage evaporation of moisture and also protect and improve the soil with the nutrients it brings up to the surface. If the comfrey grows well, it can be fodder for my future chickens or I could cut and drop them to decompose into the soil to improve its fertility.

Wow! Talk about your multiple uses! Well, that's the theory ... now to put it into practice :)