Gardening
Related: About this forumIt's getting to be that time...
Reflecting upon it this is one of my favorite times in the garden, soil building time. I love growing my soil.
Been working all season for this. After every harvest in the raised bed we amend the soil as naturally as we can. In the spring I save a goodly amount of the grass clippings catching it in the grass catcher. I pile the clippings up next to the compost pile which we use to cover the composting stuff. And we grow Comfrey
a lot of comfrey.
Ill usually get 4 to 5 harvests off the plants, I chop and dry most for use in the winter growing season
great fertilizer. Weve found its good for seed starts as its hard to over-fertilize
anyway
.time to put it to use.
The onions are done, pulled and drying this is the bed Im working on. Cut down a comfrey bed and put it in the now empty raised bed.
This is another bed of comfrey similar in size to the one I processed today.
All that biomass went into the raised bed
Along with a wheelbarrow full of the grass clippings that have been marinating by the compost pile.
Mix throughly let rest till the snow melts.
We all brag, and rightfully so, about our veggies. How good they taste, how many vitamins are in them, etc, etc. But we do need to replace the good stuff so we can enjoy the same next year.
Grow your soil first.

Diamond_Dog
(38,184 posts)Just curious, what do you do with your comfrey?
MiHale
(12,088 posts)Of course you see the usage in the post
amending the soil.
The first couple harvests I run it Ive with the mower and collect in the grass catcher bag, dry that and process in a food processor to a smaller size for fertilizing our indoor winter crops and seed starting mixes.
We also make a Comfrey cream, infusing organic coconut oil with comfrey leaves. That infusion is used for sore muscles and to alleviate bruising.
https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/comfrey-ancient-and-modern-uses
https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/does-comfrey-really-improve-soil/
Bayard
(26,675 posts)Ours didn't come up. I'll have to look into comfrey.
Our cantaloupes are starting to come in now. Quite sweet and juicy. Watermelons will be soon. Green beans, and cow peas, with sliced okra, already done and canned, along with about a million jars of pickles. Waiting on enough tomatoes to start canning those. We've been eating them all!
Disappointed that the fancy Cinderella coach type pumpkins are not pumpkinizing. The vine is a monster, with tons of blooms, but no punkins.
Happy gardening!
MiHale
(12,088 posts)We use it for fertilizing almost everything or now amending the soil. Since its early enough I mix it in directly and allow it to decompose naturally. Because its roots go so deep into the ground it pulls up a lot of the minerals needs for good growth.
We did green bean in straw bales this year
they (the beans) love it. Must of picked 20 pounds so far. They get dehydrated and stored in glass containers. Throw into soups and stews to rehydrate tons of flavor. Thats how most of the onions will be processed.
Dehydrating a lot more this year to save on freezing so much. Onions, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, celery carrots, corn all those a being dehydrated. Some broth, beef or chicken throw in the dry ingredients bam!
soup or stew.
At this time we have about 3 months of meals in dry dock. This includes a variety of beans and lentils.
Started this a couple years ago with the idea
if it all goes to shit we got this. Properly stored dehydrated veggies can last years.
Bayard
(26,675 posts)What brand do you use?
MiHale
(12,088 posts)Been using it for about ten years or so. Works great for everything.
https://excaliburdehydrator.com/collections/9-tray/products/excalibur-9-tray-26hr-timer-solid-door-black