The beneficial ones are the carnivores, devourers of aphids, etc.
There is one herbivorous ladybird here [called the 28 spot] which is a
problem with its taste for potato leaf and more.
We have found this bug also likes comfrey leaves, and the availability of
lots of comfrey leaf allows its population to grow and it is then predated
sufficient to effectively eliminate its impact on the potatoes.
So Bart, maybe comfrey is a weed as you suggest but:
- it has potential in pest management
- it is a good grass barrier
- being deep rooted it is a mineral miner and this adds to its value as a
compost accelerant
- under its broad leaves, the ground is cool and moist and provides habitat
for all sorts of creatures
- being deep rooted it is not a great competitor with the shallow roots of
young fruit trees
- it tends to die back early in drought weather and is not fiercely
competitive in times of water stress
- you can use its juice (containing alantoin), preferably from a piece of
root, the leaf being prickly, to deal with scratches in the field
BUT it must not be chopped up by a cultivator, unless you want to become a
bulk supplier of comfrey leaf to a herbalist, as every root fragment will
grow. Not a problem if you don't use a rotary hoe.
We put four bits of comfrey root around every fruit tree we plant, two or
three feet from the trunk. It's cheap, multipurpose and valuable. You do
need, through the summer, to hit the comfrey leaves, two or three feet high,
with a knife [I use a cane knife, which has a handy hook at the tip of the
back, very good for pulling mulch where you want it], every few weeks
through summer, chopping them up where they fall and pulling them away from
the trunk.
As the trees mature and the canopy closes (in a close planted permaculture
orchard), and grass competition declines, the comfrey gives up.
Dennis
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