Dilution ratio for Home Made Comphrey Tea/Juice

NewBoy2

I was told it was 20 to 1 but I was hoping for advice from experts.

I realise there are many variables , the length of time its been fermenting , strength of the leaves etc.

Any advice for me and a Newbie on the plot would be appreciated

Obelixx

I've always worked on 10 to 1 but mix some up and see.  If it looks very strong, add more water.  If it looks very weak, add more comfrey juice.

Fairygirl

I thought it was 1 : 10, but happy to be proved wrong. 
I don't do the comfrey or nettle tea, but I think it's roughly the same for both. 

BobTheGardener

I've always worked with "Dilute it so that the water looks like weak tea."  Probably something Geoff Hamilton said.  I've made comfrey liquid which was almost like treacle and probably needed 30:1, but other batches have been much weaker and needed less than 10:1.  Easy and seems to work.

NewBoy2

Thank you friends for your contributions.

I suppose the clue is in the name...tea... so I will aim for a " weak builders brew "

Fairygirl

Just don't add any milk @NewBoy2

That certainly makes sense @BobTheGardener - it's always going to vary  

thevictorian

I always found advice on this quite confusing. I've read 10:1 but it depends on how many leaves you have put in and then it ends up pretty pointless anyway because you could pour the whole lot on your plant or just use a tiny amount, so dilution rate doesn't really matter.

Fairygirl

Yes - but dilution and quantity aren't the same  thing  

thevictorian

I know but because it's an unknown concentration, someone could actually add the same amount of nutrients to their plants by using very different volumes. If you make it strong but dont water your plants with that much, you maybe dosing the same as if you make it weak but pour gallons on. So its always just guess work.

Obelixx

Osmosis, which is the process by which plants take up moisture from the soil and up to their leaves, works differently depending on the concentration of the liquids they're absorbing.   Clearly, the amount of leaves a nd the quantity of water in which they are steeped will affect the resulting concentration.  Some people do it by weight of leaves and a fixed a mount of water, following a recipe while others just fill a random container with leaves and cover with water while some do it by using weights to crush the leaves in a perforated container over a collector which is why the weak tea analogy is very practical.