Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[CarolynF]

Like I said, I do not ingest it myself but some people do. From my understanding they only use it on occasion for digestive upset, not for any length of time that would cause liver damage. I understand being reprimanded by several people for my incorrect spelling of chicken names and my using hatchery names for chickens that have show names but it does become difficult to want to share any information at all when people find it necessary to to correct me for what other people do.

I have also heard that some people rub the leaves against their skin but I only use the root topically (it makes an excellent poultice in the dried ground up form I mainly use) and cut the leaves for fertilizer. The plants can take being cut to the ground and they come right back. The leaves are fuzzy but in a scratchy way so some people chop them up to try to extract the moisture. I just cut a piece of root and use that myself. It can be scraped or put in water as it dries and it makes a sort of gel like aloe. The roots can also be fermented but the leaves ferment faster, especially if they are chopped up first and put in the sun in a covered 5 gallon bucket. Nettles can be made into fertilizer this way also and they are great to use on potatoes.

To propigate Comfrey you can take a large piece of root and cut it into pieces that fit in ice cube trays. Put water in the trays while leaving the top of the root above the waterline and then put the tray on a windowsill. You will have new plants starting in a few days. You can bury pieces of root to grow plants but they start faster in water and then they can be planted in the soil. Comfrey has to be contained unless you want it to take over your entire garden. The more you try to dig it up, the more root pieces you plant.

Hi There,

I'm SO sorry that the posts have sounded harsh and that it seemed you were being picked on. It's definitely not how any of them, on this thread, have been intended. Please stay around and let us try to make a better impression as we go forward. okay?

The spelling thing has been sort of a running joke around here. The 's' on the end of names especially. And if Chicken Rustler is involved we tease kinda rough. The Ameraucana thing runs a bit deeper because SO many trusting people, newbies or not, get taken advantage of by breeders, feed stores, and hatcheries when they sell Easter Eggers and call them Ameraucana, Americana, and even Araucana. There's a fine line between the true breed and the Easter Eggers. AND I had to tease Chicken Rustler because he misspelled his "correction" any way!

Many of the posts, like the ones about the comfrey aren't necessarily aimed at just the person writing the first post on the topic, but for everyone reading it. Especially if there is some sort of warning they feel needs to be shared. I know Laughing Feather personally, and can vouch for her nature. She wasn't trying to be a know-it-all, just trying to let ALL of us know that there is a danger.

Again... I'm sorry your feelings were hurt.

And thank you for sharing the information you have on organic alternatives!

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Well, I was having an excellent day- new calf (not from the perpetually pregnant cow, from the one who calves in JUNE lasty year!){pictures later}. It's hired hand day, so I got out of the house and had a nice chat with the folks at Del's.

Then BOOM (literally): when I was at HD a person decided that the fact that 2X2s are... basically the same unwonderful wood they've been for the past twenty years or so... meant he could slam them down on the ground hard enough to pop my left eardrum. It's been an hour or so, and I've got some hearing back, along with really dandy tinnitus and a feeling as if somebody's stuck a knitting needle in my ear.

And then his companion was kind enough to tell me to "get over it."

Too bad that eardrum already has a hole in it, or we could have had a trickle of blood to emphasize just how ridiculous they were being.

Why would anyone do anything even a little bit like that- any of it, starting with the raging about 2X2? He was abusing the people in the orange aprons while I was checking out, as if they had personally milled bad Hemlock 2X2 to offend him. I've seen my Dad drag people out of lumberyards by their collars for making that kind of noise and abusing merchandise they had no intention of paying for, and there are times I wish I could be just that emphatic when people are acting as if they're beyond the rules of good public behavior.

I mean, short of buying cabinet/furniture grade stock (which they don't carry at HD) I haven't seen a decent piece of 2X2 anywhere, ever. It's what gets made from the scrap from 2X4 mills- stuff like tops and slabs which used to be sold for fuel.

Well, I need to go back to having my GOOD day now. I've been right on track for being ready to get one new rooster Friday and another Saturday, and even an ear-ache will not derail my schedule, right?

 

[Hinotori]

You should not take Comfrey internally.  It will hurt your liver.  Use it all other ways but do not eat it.  The FDA has banned it for internal use.

Like I said, I do not ingest it myself but some people do. From my understanding they only use it on occasion for digestive upset, not for any length of time that would cause liver damage. I understand being reprimanded by several people for my incorrect spelling of chicken names and my using hatchery names for chickens that have show names but it does become difficult to want to share any information at all when people find it necessary to to correct me for what other people do.

I have also heard that some people rub the leaves against their skin but I only use the root topically (it makes an excellent poultice in the dried ground up form I mainly use) and cut the leaves for fertilizer. The plants can take being cut to the ground and they come right back. The leaves are fuzzy but in a scratchy way so some people chop them up to try to extract the moisture. I just cut a piece of root and use that myself. It can be scraped or put in water as it dries and it makes a sort of gel like aloe. The roots can also be fermented but the leaves ferment faster, especially if they are chopped up first and put in the sun in a covered 5 gallon bucket. Nettles can be made into fertilizer this way also and they are great to use on potatoes.

To propigate Comfrey you can take a large piece of root and cut it into pieces that fit in ice cube trays. Put water in the trays while leaving the top of the root above the waterline and then put the tray on a windowsill. You will have new plants starting in a few days. You can bury pieces of root to grow plants but they start faster in water and then they can be planted in the soil. Comfrey has to be contained unless you want it to take over your entire garden. The more you try to dig it up, the more root pieces you plant.

I have those plants all along the fenceline with the neighbor. At least 100 feet long and 10 to 20 feet wide. Well not as wide as it was when we first moved here. I've mowed the edge back with each mowing to where I want the limit. The bees love the flowers. It is very pretty and gets to 5 foot tall some years.

The nettles only came up last year. I don't mind nettles even with their sting. They are just like spinach when cooked. Nice easy food plant I don't have to tend. No composting the whole plant for me.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: I prefer to use a mulching mower. The grass self fertilizes, and I don't have to haul clippings around. You might try overseeding with clover. I have heard people say that clover is bad for lawns, but the opposite is true. Clover is a nitrogen fixer. It takes nitrogen out of the air, then, when you mow, it enters the soil. People don't have bad lawns because they have clover. They have bad lawns and clover because they have poor soil. They are both symptoms of poor soil. If the soil improves enough, the clover dies out. BTW, chickens love clover.

Before the end of the second world war, ALL lawn seed mixes contained clover. Then, Madison Ave and the chemical companies convinced people that lawns should be grass and only grass, so that people would buy the herbicides the chemical companies had invented for the war, but the DoD was no longer buying after the war. Your husband that he doesn't want to be a dupe of Madison Ave and the chemical companies, does he?

 

[melissaG]

Well, I was having an excellent day- new calf (not from the perpetually pregnant cow, from the one who calves in JUNE lasty year!){pictures later}. It's hired hand day, so I got out of the house and had a nice chat with the folks at Del's.

Then BOOM (literally): when I was at HD a person decided that the fact that 2X2s are... basically the same unwonderful wood they've been for the past twenty years or so... meant he could slam them down on the ground hard enough to pop my left eardrum. It's been an hour or so, and I've got some hearing back, along with really dandy tinnitus and a feeling as if somebody's stuck a knitting needle in my ear.

And then his companion was kind enough to tell me to "get over it."

Too bad that eardrum already has a hole in it, or we could have had a trickle of blood to emphasize just how ridiculous they were being.

Why would anyone do anything even a little bit like that- any of it, starting with the raging about 2X2? He was abusing the people in the orange aprons while I was checking out, as if they had personally milled bad Hemlock 2X2 to offend him. I've seen my Dad drag people out of lumberyards by their collars for making that kind of noise and abusing merchandise they had no intention of paying for, and there are times I wish I could be just that emphatic when people are acting as if they're beyond the rules of good public behavior.

I mean, short of buying cabinet/furniture grade stock (which they don't carry at HD) I haven't seen a decent piece of 2X2 anywhere, ever. It's what gets made from the scrap from 2X4 mills- stuff like tops and slabs which used to be sold for fuel.

Well, I need to go back to having my GOOD day now. I've been right on track for being ready to get one new rooster Friday and another Saturday, and even an ear-ache will not derail my schedule, right?

Indeed it will not!!

Now on with the wonder calf pictures!!

 

[Stumpfarmer]

You should not take Comfrey internally.  It will hurt your liver.  Use it all other ways but do not eat it.  The FDA has banned it for internal use.

Like I said, I do not ingest it myself but some people do. From my understanding they only use it on occasion for digestive upset, not for any length of time that would cause liver damage. I understand being reprimanded by several people for my incorrect spelling of chicken names and my using hatchery names for chickens that have show names but it does become difficult to want to share any information at all when people find it necessary to to correct me for what other people do.

I have also heard that some people rub the leaves against their skin but I only use the root topically (it makes an excellent poultice in the dried ground up form I mainly use) and cut the leaves for fertilizer. The plants can take being cut to the ground and they come right back. The leaves are fuzzy but in a scratchy way so some people chop them up to try to extract the moisture. I just cut a piece of root and use that myself. It can be scraped or put in water as it dries and it makes a sort of gel like aloe. The roots can also be fermented but the leaves ferment faster, especially if they are chopped up first and put in the sun in a covered 5 gallon bucket. Nettles can be made into fertilizer this way also and they are great to use on potatoes.

To propigate Comfrey you can take a large piece of root and cut it into pieces that fit in ice cube trays. Put water in the trays while leaving the top of the root above the waterline and then put the tray on a windowsill. You will have new plants starting in a few days. You can bury pieces of root to grow plants but they start faster in water and then they can be planted in the soil. Comfrey has to be contained unless you want it to take over your entire garden. The more you try to dig it up, the more root pieces you plant.

Two things: when something is important, like not taking Comfrey internally (which is actually pretty new information, and there's a lot of old books out there which talk about internal use- the weirdest being a mystery called Banker by Dick Francis) there are going to be several people, of whom I will dependably be one, pointing out that fact. This site is one of the most heavily viewed on the web, is first or second in google results for many poultry related questions. Leaving bad information uncorrected in such places is just a bad idea.

Then: look at the date under the poster's avatar, and the number of posts. If the date is measured in years, and the posts in thousands, what you think is mean is almost certainly an inside joke.

 

[Imp]

Quote: OK so if iron does it there's a simple answer.

Ya all need to start buying LOTS of my "garden / yard stakes" put them all over yer yard problem solved. What it's not going away well ya just need more iron from Iron Imagery

If only it was so easy; I'd buy 100.

 

[LaughingFeather]

Like I said, I do not ingest it myself but some people do. From my understanding they only use it on occasion for digestive upset, not for any length of time that would cause liver damage. I understand being reprimanded by several people for my incorrect spelling of chicken names and my using hatchery names for chickens that have show names but it does become difficult to want to share any information at all when people find it necessary to to correct me for what other people do.

I have also heard that some people rub the leaves against their skin but I only use the root topically (it makes an excellent poultice in the dried ground up form I mainly use) and cut the leaves for fertilizer. The plants can take being cut to the ground and they come right back. The leaves are fuzzy but in a scratchy way so some people chop them up to try to extract the moisture. I just cut a piece of root and use that myself. It can be scraped or put in water as it dries and it makes a sort of gel like aloe. The roots can also be fermented but the leaves ferment faster, especially if they are chopped up first and put in the sun in a covered 5 gallon bucket. Nettles can be made into fertilizer this way also and they are great to use on potatoes.

To propigate Comfrey you can take a large piece of root and cut it into pieces that fit in ice cube trays. Put water in the trays while leaving the top of the root above the waterline and then put the tray on a windowsill. You will have new plants starting in a few days. You can bury pieces of root to grow plants but they start faster in water and then they can be planted in the soil. Comfrey has to be contained unless you want it to take over your entire garden. The more you try to dig it up, the more root pieces you plant.

I think you have misunderstood our intent. We are not criticizing you or your input. All your input is welcome. What I was trying to do was keep you from hurting yourself is all. I used to use Comfrey also many years ago when we heard the original negatives on it. This was meant in a good way, a warning, not a put down. They are finding new things out all the time and we tend to share what we have learned because we are friends. Join the coffee clutch.

Thanks for all the good ways to use the plant and how to grow and propagate it.

 

[hallerlake]

Well, I was having an excellent day- new calf (not from the perpetually pregnant cow, from the one who calves in JUNE lasty year!){pictures later}. It's hired hand day, so I got out of the house and had a nice chat with the folks at Del's.

Then BOOM (literally): when I was at HD a person decided that the fact that 2X2s are... basically the same unwonderful wood they've been for the past twenty years or so... meant he could slam them down on the ground hard enough to pop my left eardrum. It's been an hour or so, and I've got some hearing back, along with really dandy tinnitus and a feeling as if somebody's stuck a knitting needle in my ear.

And then his companion was kind enough to tell me to "get over it."

Too bad that eardrum already has a hole in it, or we could have had a trickle of blood to emphasize just how ridiculous they were being.

Why would anyone do anything even a little bit like that- any of it, starting with the raging about 2X2? He was abusing the people in the orange aprons while I was checking out, as if they had personally milled bad Hemlock 2X2 to offend him. I've seen my Dad drag people out of lumberyards by their collars for making that kind of noise and abusing merchandise they had no intention of paying for, and there are times I wish I could be just that emphatic when people are acting as if they're beyond the rules of good public behavior.

I mean, short of buying cabinet/furniture grade stock (which they don't carry at HD) I haven't seen a decent piece of 2X2 anywhere, ever. It's what gets made from the scrap from 2X4 mills- stuff like tops and slabs which used to be sold for fuel.

Well, I need to go back to having my GOOD day now. I've been right on track for being ready to get one new rooster Friday and another Saturday, and even an ear-ache will not derail my schedule, right?

People like that are their own punishment. I pity them having to live with an angry, unpleasant person 24/7. It can't be fun to be like that.

 

[Hinotori]

Here's a link to a document specifically about dealing with moss in W. Washington provided by Washington Toxics Coalition.  It has a lot of good information and ideas.  Maybe you'll find something that helps.

Thanks!  I forwarded it to my husband.  Although - the document recommends using fertilizer on the grass - something my husband is going to love to read.  Do you guys use that around your chickens?  I'm very anti-fertilizer... maybe I'm over-the-top.  I guess I don't know enough about the chemicals that are in fertilizer.

ETA:  I garden - but I always use compost as my fertilizer.  Things usually grow well, as long as we get enough sunshine and I remember to water during dry spells.

I prefer to use a mulching mower. The grass self fertilizes, and I don't have to haul clippings around. You might try overseeding with clover. I have heard people say that clover is bad for lawns, but the opposite is true. Clover is a nitrogen fixer. It takes nitrogen out of the air, then, when you mow, it enters the soil. People don't have bad lawns because they have clover. They have bad lawns and clover because they have poor soil. They are both symptoms of poor soil. If the soil improves enough, the clover dies out. BTW, chickens love clover.

Before the end of the second world war, ALL lawn seed mixes contained clover. Then, Madison Ave and the chemical companies convinced people that lawns should be grass and only grass, so that people would buy the herbicides the chemical companies had invented for the war, but the DoD was no longer buying after the war. Your husband that he doesn't want to be a dupe of Madison Ave and the chemical companies, does he?

I have an old late '40s lawn and gardening book that talks about that. They were complaining about the push toward grass only lawns because the herbicides killed the clover. Clover free lawn used to be concidered inferior.

I love the feel of clover (and moss) on my feet. I just let whatever will grow grow. We have moss growing in our driveway. The chickens have been nice and scratched out all the moss right long the north side of the house. I need to get out there and put down mulch.