Reply To: Herbal First Aid
Hi Kim,
From what I have experienced you can certainly make oil from infused oil of leaf and root combined together. As for whether it is redundant, I think there is a beautiful synergy of whole plant medicine included there. While the root and leaf have very similar constituents and actions there are some differences that add to the overall blend of both. Saying this however, I have yet to make a blended oil myself. Often I just work with the leaves, since there is lower risk of spreading the plant growth on harvesting and processing and leaves have that multiple growth times through the season. They dry more easily and make a very useful oil as well. Overall though if you wish to use both plant parts then working with the plant part that is best for harvesting at the given time of year is best practice. So, as you say, roots are best when the plant is dormant and then with comfrey those fresh leaves that crop up (some of which do come after flowering!)
For composting, yes, you certainly can put them as mulch over other medicinal plants. I suppose if you are worried about PA contamination then I would just make sure the leaves aren’t touching the part of the other medicinal plant that would be harvested. Even then though, I don’t think there would be a strong enough contamination to be worried about. Once the leaves are removed from the plant the components (including PA’s) would begin to degrade and breakdown through exposure to water, microbes and sunlight.
I hope this helps answer some of your questions!
Happy comfrey season!
Benna