To clear up some misconceptions: First, comfrey does not have proven efficacy against tooth decay, either as a preventative or to reverse decay that's already underway. Safety as a mouth rinse is probably not a major concern apart from possible local irritation, if one is careful not to swallow any. Many responsible herbalists recommend against any internal use of comfrey because of the risk of pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity, implicated in some cases of acute liver failure and a concern for possible carcinogenicity. Oral formulations are banned in most countries for this reason. Young children are especially susceptible to toxicity from comfrey (even a few days of taking comfrey internally can be fatal). Contrary to what's been stated, acute liver failure is not a significant consideration when it comes to use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Tylenol (acetominophen, which can be hepatotoxic) is not an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like aspirin or Motrin. Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory agent - it works by a different mechanism than NSAIDS to reduce pain and fever. Used in proper dosage and not combined with other things that can damage the liver (i.e alcohol) it is a generally safe as well as effective drug. The real problem is when people take too much, which may happen when they combine or otherwise overdose on over-the-counter cold meds. The big difference between Tylenol and comfrey is that Tylenol is a proven effective drug. Comfrey may have limited value in topical pain control (when applied for limited periods on unbroken skin), but in general the claims made for it have not been backed by quality studies (something to consider when weighing a decision whether to ingest it). You cannot count on drying to significantly reduce the harmful alkaloids. Unfortunately, you also can't count on comfrey sellers to be knowledgeable and upfront about the composition of their products in our current, largely unregulated supplement market. I rarely take acetominophen, but feel a lot more confident about its safety than I do comfrey. And based on what we've seen already, if Americans began to ingest comfrey as commonly as they do acetominophen, it's extremely likely that comfrey would quickly pass acetominophen as the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S.

Been a few days since I checked the forums... "In the ground they remain moist so I wondered if you'd tried keeping them in pots if damp medium in a cold but not freezing spot?" No, I packed the roots in freezer bags filled with hamster bedding & added just enough water to moisten the medium. That method has worked well to over-winter other bulbs. I had considered transplanting the roots into pots, but the roots spread so much that damage is unavoidable during lifting, so I doubt the results would be any better. Had Annette not sent me fresh seed, and had Big_gee stopped offering, I might have tried it. "Runners are usually eaten as green beans here and all the photos show beans which I would consider past the point where I'd harvest them for that purpose." The purple color develops late, at its darkest when the pods have swollen. The mature pods are nearly black now. When the pods reached snap stage in my garden, they were green, or just lightly blushed with purple. Floral_uk, those are really beautiful beans. If I could get pods like that, I would probably eat more runner beans as snaps... but in my climate, the "French" beans are much more productive. I still eat a few runner bean snaps late in the season. For the most part, though, I eat runner beans as shellies. Some are better for that purpose than others, Gigandes & Insuk's Wang Kong are my favorites. I'll be testing some APS that way when frost approaches... which apparently will be later than usual this year.

Good morning! I too try to visualize people and it rarely, if ever, works out. it is nice to put faces to names. Shirley, still thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers. i know that's your daughter, brittney and dawson -- who are the others (inquiring nosey minds want to know) and as for your mom, you never know what the next roommate may be, perhaps you can hold off on the move until you see what comes in LOL, however, I think I'd want to be with my own and her secrets kept!!!! annie your dogs are beautiful, as are you. my aunt and uncle, for as long as i can remember, were the first home for service dogs until they were ready to go into training. they had several different dogs from what i recall. sorry about your lizzie...i know how hard it is to lose a beloved pet. my next dog is going to be a shepherd, but it's been decided that we will only have one dog at a time now, so I have to wait my turn. (we'll see) i made an anniversary cake for a group i belong to, it was our 7 year anniversary so i made this massive cake. i filled it with alternating layers of buttercream and lemon curd, and dang, if it was not tasty. I was able to take a slice home for the family to taste and seriously wish there had been more leftover, would have made a nice breakfast!!!! a real nice combination, even though it started out that i was going to use raspberry as well...i just couldn't get enough to cook them down to make a nice sauce/filling. it's still so cold and seems to be staying that way until at least next week, when it's supposed to go to the high 40's, with rain. by then, i'll think it's summer. this cold is bone chilling and of course, they are calling for more snow. we haven't got much of it, but.....this year it is bothering me like mad! i shouldn't complain, there are parts of the country that are in the negatives, so i'll just keep my mouth shut on this subject any further! so whose left to post their pic? come out. come out whereever you are! speaking of which, jeanne, how are those triplets of late? is mary ellen still a part of this group? i feel like i haven't seen her in a long time...maybe since she became a grandmom, or right before that? hae a nice thursday! maryanne

wantanamara, its just common blue grama, probably from seeds you sent me or else seeds I got at the History Museum. I keep trying to get new plants started, I love it. I visited the Museum today. They killed out all that mixed prairie grass growing on that hill of big rocks that I had admired so much, looks like they sprayed everything except the Muhly riverchonii. All the others were just dried up cut back dead grasses. I couldn't believe it! I plan to go back later on to see if they replace it with some other plants. No way its winter kill, that grass is too tough. In another area, they have large drifts of Little Bluestem and I don't know what kind it is but its extremely tall for a bluestem, the old seed heads from last year easily came up to my chest and the stalks are more than twice the height of the leaves, very blue, anywhere from powder blue to steel blue and has thinner leaves than other types. I found a few strays I saved from the weed whacker. You guys, thanks for the nice comments but except for the flame flowers all those plants are from seeds that came from Texas, its stuff grows wild in abundance on the roadsides. Roadsides are great for getting seeds, its a matter of "organization and selection" Wantanamara has great weeds on her property and its the common stuff I collect mostly, nursery's don't carry it because its considered common weeds. My eyeballs are constantly on the lookout for any interesting possibilities and they are everywhere. There is a large white prairie clover plant I just marked out last weekend for later seed gathering here. The thing looks like one of those perfect big white fireworks displays on the 4th of July. Btw, Oklahoma is third in its #'s of varieties native plants, just after Texas and California in the US. I read that this week online. I just ran across a teeny tiny form of stiff wiry grass, actually I think its a carex of some kind, cuter than a button with itty bitty brown seeds on top of those impossibly thin stems that stand up perfectly forming little upside down cone shaped plants that are about 4" tall. I have a little cluster started. This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Thu, Jun 26, 14 at 3:40