6 Best Comfrey Seeds For Creating Organic Fertilizer Old Farmers Swear By
Boost your garden with nutrient-rich organic fertilizer. Discover the 6 best comfrey seed varieties that seasoned farmers have sworn by for generations.
You’ve stared at the bags of organic fertilizer in the store, done the math, and realized your garden’s appetite is bigger than your budget. Every tomato plant, every zucchini vine is a hungry mouth to feed, and the cost adds up fast. There’s an old-school solution that grows right in a corner of your yard, a living fertilizer factory that asks for little and gives back so much: comfrey.
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The Power of Comfrey in Your Organic Garden
Comfrey is what old-timers call a "dynamic accumulator." That’s just a practical way of saying its deep taproot—sometimes reaching 10 feet down—pulls up minerals and nutrients from deep in the subsoil where other plants can’t reach. It then stores these nutrients in its leaves, essentially mining free fertilizer for you.
When you chop and drop the leaves as mulch or brew them into a liquid "tea," you’re making those deep-earth minerals available to your shallow-rooted vegetables. This plant is a closed-loop system for fertility. It’s the ultimate workhorse for a self-sufficient garden, turning unused soil depth into top-dressing for your hungriest crops.
The biggest question is always about its aggressive nature. Yes, comfrey is tenacious. Common comfrey (Symphytum officinale) spreads by seed, so you must plant it where you intend for it to stay. The Russian comfrey varieties, like Bocking 14, are sterile and only spread by root division, giving you more control. Choosing the right type for your space is the most important decision you’ll make.
Strictly Medicinal Seeds Bocking 4: Seed-Grown
Starting the famed Bocking 4 comfrey from seed is an interesting proposition. Traditionally, this sterile variety is only propagated from root cuttings to ensure every plant is a perfect, non-seeding clone. Strictly Medicinal Seeds offers seed-grown Bocking 4, which introduces genetic variability.
What does this mean for you? It means you are participating in an experiment. Not every plant grown from these seeds will be a true, sterile Bocking 4. Some may produce viable seed. This is the choice for the curious farmer who has space to isolate the plants and is willing to observe them, removing any that begin to set seed. It’s a tradeoff between the convenience of seed and the genetic certainty of a root cutting.
True Leaf Market Common Comfrey: High Germination
When you just want to get a patch of comfrey established without fuss, high germination is what you need. True Leaf Market’s Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is known for its reliability. You plant the seeds, and they grow. It’s that straightforward.
The crucial consideration here is that Common Comfrey spreads aggressively by seed. This isn’t a plant for a tidy perennial border. This is the variety you plant in a forgotten corner, along a ditch bank, or in a dedicated "chop and drop" patch far from your main vegetable beds. Once it’s established, it’s there for good, so choose your location with permanence in mind. For building pure biomass for fertilizer, its vigor is a huge advantage.
Baker Creek Russian Comfrey: Fast, Vigorous Growth
If your goal is to produce the maximum amount of fertilizer in the shortest amount of time, speed is everything. Baker Creek’s Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum) is selected for its sheer growth power. This hybrid comfrey puts its energy into producing enormous leaves, often allowing for multiple harvests in a single season.
This variety is typically sterile or has very low seed viability, giving you the growth of common comfrey without the worry of it spreading everywhere. It establishes quickly and bounces back from cutting with impressive speed. This is the perfect choice for a hobby farmer who needs to get their fertility system up and running this season, not next. Think of it as the production model, built for output.
Eden Brothers Wild Comfrey for Naturalized Areas
Not every planting has to be about maximum production. Sometimes you want a plant that serves multiple functions. Eden Brothers’ Wild Comfrey is perfect for integrating into a food forest, a pollinator garden, or a wilder, naturalized section of your property.
While it still produces nutrient-rich leaves, its growth may be less uniform than a cultivated variety like Bocking 14. The tradeoff is its value to the ecosystem. The bell-shaped flowers are a magnet for bees and other beneficial insects. If you’re looking to support local pollinators while also having a source of mulch and fertilizer, this is an excellent, low-intervention choice.
Sow Right Seeds Organic Comfrey for Small Plots
Working with a small backyard or a few raised beds changes your calculations. You don’t need a massive stand of comfrey; you need a few productive plants that won’t take over. Sow Right Seeds offers certified organic comfrey seed in packets perfectly sized for the small-scale grower.
The organic certification is a key feature here. It ensures the seeds were produced without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, which is important for anyone maintaining a strictly organic system. This is the ideal starting point for an urban or suburban gardener who wants to create a small, manageable comfrey patch to supplement their container gardens or raised beds.
Mountain Valley True Comfrey: A Cold Hardy Pick
For those of us farming in northern climates, winter survival is non-negotiable. Mountain Valley’s True Comfrey is a reliable performer in colder zones. Its deep taproot not only mines for nutrients but also acts as an anchor, helping the plant survive deep freezes and heaving soils.
A plant that dies back to the ground each winter and returns reliably in the spring is a massive time and money saver. You plant it once and reap the benefits for years. Choosing a cold-hardy strain is critical for ensuring your fertilizer source is sustainable and permanent. This is the practical, no-nonsense choice for anyone gardening in Zone 5 or colder.
Brewing Comfrey Tea: A Simple Fertilizer Recipe
Once your comfrey is established, making liquid fertilizer is incredibly simple. You don’t need special equipment. All you need is a five-gallon bucket with a lid, water, and a pile of comfrey leaves.
Here’s the process:
- Stuff the bucket about three-quarters full of fresh-cut comfrey leaves. Don’t bother chopping them perfectly.
- Fill the bucket with water (rainwater is best) until the leaves are submerged.
- Put a lid on it—not for brewing, but to contain the smell. Comfrey tea is famously potent and smells like a swamp.
- Let it sit for 2 to 4 weeks. The mixture will ferment and break down into a dark, nutrient-rich liquid.
To use it, you must dilute it. A good ratio is one part comfrey tea to ten parts water. Use it to water heavy feeders like tomatoes, peppers, squash, and corn. They will respond almost immediately to the boost of potassium and nitrogen. It’s a free, powerful fertilizer you grew yourself.
Choosing the right comfrey seed isn’t about finding the "best" one, but the right one for your specific patch of land and your goals. Whether you need a controlled, sterile variety for a small plot or a vigorous seeder to naturalize a wild corner, the perfect comfrey is out there. By planting it, you’re not just growing a plant; you’re cultivating a sustainable source of fertility for years to come.
