Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
Latest editorial
The secrets of comfrey revealed
Want to grow awesome potatoes and tomatoes? MAT COWARD has a suggestion
PERFECT COMBINATION: (L to R) Comfrey Bocking 14 and Bumble Bee on comfrey flowers
[(L to R) Finchj/CC and Anne Burgess/CC]
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
Born on this day in 1931, the heroic revolutionary faces a dangerous new wave of White House aggression. We must treat his birthday as a rallying cry to resist the illegal siege of Cuba, writes ROGER McKENZIE
RAMZY BAROUD decries the rats of Gaza, the rodent and human type. Both abound as profiteering from tragedy reaches obscene levels
I DON’T think you can get a better bumblebee plant for the garden than Russian comfrey (Symphytum × uplandicum). Bumbles of various species work its plentiful, pendulous, blue-purple flowers all day long, from early spring until autumn.
Of course, the usual reason for growing comfrey is that the leaves are used to make a valuable fertiliser, green manure, or mulch. They are a rich source of nitrogen, phosphorous and especially potassium, and particularly useful when applied to tomatoes and potatoes.
If you know someone who’s already got a mature comfrey patch it’s very easy to take cuttings. Using a spade, slice down through the centre of a plant, splitting it in two. Dig out one half, and that’s your new plant.
Similar stories
MAT COWARD takes a look at some of the options for keen gardeners as we enter 2026
Commiserations if you failed this year, MAT COWARD offers six points which, if followed religiously, will ensure you succeed next year
MAT COWARD sings the praises of the Giant Winter’s full-depth, earthy and ferrous flavour perfect for rich meals in the dark months
MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down