Hi Everyone,

I'm a Canadian living in Bristol, ready to resume my obsession with soap making after a bit of time away (just making stuff for my own family).

I'd like to get my author status because I can't wait to see what is revealed, to be honest but I don't post unless I really have something to say.  Soooo, I am wondering what to submit.... perhaps a tutorial on digging up your own comfrey for salve making in urban UK?  Is that illegal?

That aside, this is a lovely community and I am astonished at the amount of material and support available on this site even since the last time I was here!

Take care, talk soon

Now you are talking - hey and hope this winter didn't make you wish you were back in Canada?

I was thinking about planting some comfrey this year as it is good for the compost. Does it grow wild here as well?

Welcome back!

For something like comfrey ypu could dig it up if you had permission of the landowner.

(Lots of wild comfrey around MP (to the extent that it can be a nuisance in som agricultural areas).

Hi de hi and welcome back!!!     :buttrf:

Hello  :buttrf:

ah, not so much agriculture in London...will have to have a look on the field behind work. It's barren ground and last year there was an amazing amount of weeds herbs growing there. Might just chuck some comfrey seed on it, they wouldn't notice the difference. It was supposed to be a car park, but as adders have been spotted in the field (thanks for telling AFTER I went in there to pick blackberries), they are not allowed to convert it.

Thanks for the replies

I used to make loads of comfrey salve back in Canada as it grows all over the place on the Coast.  I had my eyes open for it for ages looking around to see where it is here and finally, after over a year of searching I discovered a HUGE wild patch of it growing by the M4 exit.  Is one allowed to harvest on land that appears to be public?  No buildings or houses around... Lots of people have it on their properties and allotments so it wouldn't be hard to get that way, I just wanted to find an isolated patch on my own and I like the idea of scavenging.

I will look into the legalities involved and perhaps start putting together my own article on wild foraging for cosmetic/soap products...

I do kind of miss proper snow from when I was a kid but I spent most of my adult life on Vancouver Island where the climate is very similar to here, so no shock...

Comfrey can be very invasive as EJ points out.  New research notes that the allantoin content is just as good in the leaves as the root...so no need to dig up the root.

I make my comfrey oils and salves from the leaves instead of the root...there are a few variations of Comfrey...symphytum officinalis is the one used by herbalsits but there is also symphtum uplandicum which contains more PA's...but as they are not being ingested and ony being used topically the amount of PA's does not matter.

symphytum has had bad press in recent years due to the PA's but as mentioned before if used topically it is of little consequence.

I have a patch in the garden but also use some leaves from the local woods where it grows abundantly....

The only worry I would have with wild foraging is fox pee, but then, in the garden it may have cat pee on it....I can't see anyone complaining if you do some free weeding for them, doesn't look like Comfrey is a rare herb...[off to look at some pictures]

Wash then dry - same as you would with sald greens picked from gaden or wild.

Hey, thanks for the info-

I didn't realize there were two different kinds of comfrey... I looked at pictures online to get a sense of the difference but I can't seem to work it out.  Does the officinalus have fuzzier looking leaves?  Also, could you please tell me what PA stands for?

Wow, the learning curve is steep at every turn...

Hi.

Eire

Hi and welcome

Linda

Welcome back... my cousin lives on Vancouver Island, Nanaimo. 

Not been able to post for a while, but in answer to your question...PA's  are alkoloids that comfrey contain, whcih research has shown to be toxic to the liver if ingested in large amounts, but bear in mind that the scientists test on animals and give them huge amounts to eat and then test their livers...so comfrey is safe to use externally and can be prescribed internally by a herbalist...  hope that helps... :buttrf: