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I have access to a lot of free comfrey, and was wondering if it would be a bad idea to plant comfrey around the blueberry bushes to get them more nutrients easily.

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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black thumb
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1 Answers1

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No. It's not a great companion for anything as a growing plant because it grows rapidly and takes up a lot of nitrogen and minerals from the soil as it does. Precisely because it does that, though, Comfrey leaves have their uses; they're often used to make a sort of tea (or sludge, depending) to use as home made fertlizer, or as a 'green manure/mulch' using chopped up leaves, more info here

http://permaculturenews.org/2010/10/01/the-wonderful-multi-purpose-comfrey-plant/

Bamboo
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  • Agreed. Planting comfrey as "companion" is a bad idea. – Stephie Sep 05 '16 at 17:11
  • wouldn't comfrey be pulling nitrogen to the surface for the blueberries, then putting it back into the same soil? – black thumb Sep 05 '16 at 22:51
  • If you ever need bumble bees, though, comfrey sure attracts them (at least ours does here in southwestern Idaho). – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Sep 06 '16 at 05:31
  • @blackthumb - no, it won't, it'll be sucking it all in and keeping it to itself,all the time its got roots in the soil. – Bamboo Sep 06 '16 at 10:12
  • @Shule - yep, very valuable for bees in early spring here too – Bamboo Sep 06 '16 at 10:13
  • If bringing nutrients to the surface via chop-and-drop style gardening, then would the blueberry then have greater access to those nutrients or does the blueberry already go to the depth of the comfrey? – flickerfly Oct 16 '19 at 15:57