tel. 512 280 1192 May 24, 2018
Nursery notes: we have some stunning Japanese Ginkgo trees:
10g for $99, and lots of beautiful fruit trees. Rare Lipstick Trees
also in stock for $25. We are also fully stocked with bagged goods.
(We are open for business on Memorial Day.) Please drop by to
say hello! ❦
____________________________________________________May is for mulching: decorate and protect your beds now, before
the summer heat arrives, advises Roger Cook. But don't get carried
away, he warns. With too much of it, 'the soil becomes so matted
that nutrients and water can't penetrate to the roots, and the plants
will suffer.' This Old House ❦
EZ Herbs: the Art of Herbal Preparations: tomorrow (May 25)
from 10 - 4 p.m. Ellen Zimmerman will demonstrate how to make
medicinal infusions and decoctions (teas), healing salves, oils and
herbal tinctures. $85. Drum circle and fire to honor the plants before
the medicine is made. EZ Herbs ❦
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Grilled watermelon with feta and mint: 'Grilling watermelon for
just a few minutes can completely transform this fruit,' writes Felicia
Campbell, 'lending it a subtle smokiness along with caramelized
sweetness that pairs well with savory and spicy flavors.' Find a rec-
ipe here from the pages of Edible San Diego ❦
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Central Texas Gardener: learn from Tim Kiphart how to create
structural drama while screening or defining garden spaces. On
tour, visit a couple who applied geometry in front to boost the
dimensions of their small east Austin lot. Saturday 4 p.m. Sunday
9 a.m. KLRU ❦
In the Comfrey Zone
by Chris Winslow
One interesting herb that we hear so little about is comfrey. This
easy-to-grow perennial (Symphytum officinale) is from the borage
family, and has broad leaves, and it blossoms with small bell-shap-
ed, light-colored flowers.
It has lots of uses for the organic gardener, and also for those of us
interested in botanical medicine. Organic gardeners like comfrey
because its leaves are rich in plant nutrients. As it grows and mat-
ures, comfrey mines a host of these nutrients from the soil.
You can use the herb’s leaves as a mulch, a side-dressing, make it
into comfrey tea, or create a compost. Each method will provide
organically-derived nutrients to your vegetables, flowers and land-
scape plants.
Comfrey is especially rich in potassium, an essential plant nutrient
needed for flower, fruit, and seed production.
Gardeners can also use comfrey leaves in small amounts to activate
compost. Its nutrients give a big boost to the process, helping to
breakdown organic matter into rich soil amendments.
In the world of medicine, comfrey has been known as ‘knitbone,’
because of its ability to speed up the healing of bone fractures,
bruising and cuts. However use of the herb internally is a somewhat
controversial subject. The FDA warns against it due to possible
liver damage.
Growing this herb is fairly easy. All you need is a shaded, well-
drained location with plenty of compost and a slow-release organic
fertilizer (blood and bone meal) to give it a start. Keep it on the
moist side.
Your stand of comfrey can easily be increased by root division.
Segments of these black, turnip-like roots can be cut and placed
into the soil to create new plants.
Using comfrey in this way as an organic source of plant food,
along with composting, brings the gardener yet another step closer
to independence and self-sustenance. Happy gardening everyone! ❦
