From my search it seems to have everything that other comfrey has. Read for your self. Here is a link that might be useful: all comfrey

I personally don't use compost as a mulch. Normally I use another layer of 'mulch material' over that. I wouldn't leave it uncovered, mostly because I would think you would get a lot of weeds sprouting in it. Even if it's just what blows in and lands on it. But since I've never done that, that's just a guess. I wouldn't use municipal compost. I garden organically, so I'm used to avoiding a lot of things that other gardeners might use. I have neighbors who put all kinds of things on their lawns and put their grass clippings out for the city pick up every week and considering how few people garden organically, I think the majority of people are really uninformed and unconcerned about what they are using on their grass. If it were just leaves that were composted with tree branches, I'd use it in a heartbeat. I sympathize with you, because I'm not a fan of that red mulch either. If I had that situation, I would probably be patient and when I could afford to buy more mulch, I would add just a very thin layer of shredded bark mulch or pine bark fines over the red mulch just to make it look better cosmetically. Maybe just do the front foundation beds and as you have finances to buy more, do the rest and that should require a lot less mulch to do that. edit: I like buying mulch in bags and as I use them I get a few more to keep on hand. I have a local nursery who I've bought mulch in bulk from that I was very happy with, after a few deliveries that I wasn't so happy with from other companies. I didn't want to get another large delivery this year, because I needed less and I asked and they actually bag up their own mulch and sell it that way. And they were willing to sell it to me for the bulk price which was a little cheaper. It's very fresh and just the right color and consistency and lasted a long time the last time I got it. Hopefully you can find somewhere like that. This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 13:25

TO: ubro FROM: Eric Koperek = erickoperek@gmail.com SUBJECT: Living Mulches for Orchards DATE: PM 6:15 Thursday 4 February 2016 TEXT: I recommend multiple species cover crops for both orchards and vineyards. Wide biodiversity is necessary to control insect pests. When I was a child, we sowed our apple orchards with buckwheat, turnips, and hairy vetch = winter vetch. This provided many flowers that supported beneficial predators and parasites. Translation: The good bugs ate the bad bugs. Rule: Plant small flowers to encourage beneficial insects. The good bugs have small mouth parts so planting big flowers does not work. Any plant in the Carrot Family = Dill, Fennel, Caraway, Coriander is a good choice. Lacy phacelia, mustard, tansy, feverfew, and clovers also produce abundant pollen and nectar that are easy for beneficial insects to reach. I like to include 1 / 16th part = 6.25% by weight of assorted perennial wildflowers in my cover crop mixtures. Annuals also work if they reseed freely = abundantly. Wildflowers encourage large populations of beneficial insects. As an added benefit, wildflowers also attract customers. Don't forget to include weeds in your orchard. Weeds provide food, shelter, and alternate hosts for beneficial insects. The idea is to keep a resident population of good bugs waiting for the bad bugs to arrive. Growing fruit trees in weeds can nearly eliminate many insect pests. Mow the orchard once yearly or only when trees are ready for harvest. I recommend planting fully dwarf fruit trees. Short trees are much easier to care for and harvest. Note: Do not fertilize dwarf fruit trees. Do not use any soil amendments. Just dig a hole in whatever soil you have and stick the tree in. (Make sure that the graft line is well above the soil surface). Good soil will make dwarf trees grow much taller which is a waste of money. As long as the trees grow 6 to 8 inches yearly, they are getting enough nutrients from the soil. Don't try to help them along or you will be sorry. Over-fertilized trees attract insect pests. Remember to water and mulch your trees. Apply mulch from the trunk to the drip line = the tip of the farthest branch. Use leaves, straw, hay, weeds, wood chips, hedge trimmings, grass clippings, any kind of organic matter will do. Apply mulch not less than 8 inches thick. If you don't have any mulch or if mulch is too expensive, plant mixed cover crops under the trees. Water is more important than fertilizer. As long as you have water, you can grow all the fertilizer you need. (This is why you should include a mixture of legumes in your cover crops). Note: If you space your trees widely, then you can plant row or hay crops between the trees. This will provide income while your trees are growing. We like to plant about 40 different species of trees, shrubs, and vines per acre. Broad genetic diversity greatly reduces insect pests and economic risk of crop failures. Don't plant anything you can't sell. Biodiversity does not pay unless every plant produces a cash crop. We run chickens in our orchards to control insect pests. Chickens are housed in mobile chicken coops on wheels. Move the coops 200 feet every night so chickens have fresh pasture each morning. Chickens on good pasture will get most of their food from bugs, worms, seeds, and leaves. Pasturing chickens greatly reduces feed costs: Portion only 1 to 2 Tablespoons = approximately 1/2 to 1 scale ounce of rolled grain daily per chicken. Keep moving chicken coops all year long. 30-day rotations (1 day grazing followed by 30 days rest) are best. Pastures need about 1 month to re-grow before they are grazed again. Long rotation periods are also necessary to control chicken parasites. Remember: Your best investment is an irrigation system. I would not start any commercial agricultural operation without a reliable water supply. Dwarf fruit trees are expensive. Water is cheap. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Water your trees and cover crops. I hope this information will help get you off to a good start. For more information on old-fashioned biological agriculture, visit: www.agriculturesolutions.wordpress.com -- or -- www.worldagriculturesolutions.wordpress.com -- or -- send your questions to: Agriculture Solutions, 413 Cedar Drive, Moon Township, Pennsylvania, 15108 USA -- or -- send an e-mail to: erickoperek@gmail.com end comment.

carp!!!! i just went down there.. to get the dregs out of the old bag... looked at the new bag.. and didnt think to register the name ... OK i will walk down there right now ... BTW... no recollection of the seedlings.. care to post a pic some time.. and not buried in this post ... i am currently using up a 12 year old bag of: scott's metromix 360 ..... stored dry.. these huge bags have a half life of FOREVER .... buy an extra plastic garbage can.. and make sure it gets and stays dry ... my new 3 cubic foot bag.. unopenned.. from local high end nursery is: Berger BM8 .. the 8 is mixed with compost ... i would have also bought a bag of mini chunks if i were potting trees ... or walked out to one of my woodchip piles ... and just mixed in one pot for ever 2 ... or 1/3 chips .... cost for 3 cu foot bag was around $17 ... what are you guys paying at bigboxstore for what size .... ken