Borago officinalis
Young leaves for salads and lemonade.
With its blue, star-shaped flowers, borage makes a lovely ornamental. Its young leaves have a refreshing, mild cucumber-like fragrance. The flowers are a tiny bit spicy and very pretty in salads, iced lemonade, or stir-fry (add at the very end). The flowers can also be candied!
Plant With: Cabbage, Squash, Strawerries, Tomatoes
Life Cycle: Annual
Sun: Part - Full Sun
Thin: 12 - 24" Apart
Spread:12 - 24" Wide
Height: 18 - 36" Tall
Days to Maturity: 50 - 80 Days
Transplant: April 15 - May 13
How to Grow
Requires a dedicated space in the home garden. Grow borage in an herb or flower garden. Should be included in the butterfly garden and brings pollinators to your veggies. Improves the flavor of tomatoes. Planting borage with strawberries attracts bees and increases the yield of fruit. Prepare a garden bed that is well tilled with average organic matter. Ensure that the soil is well-drained and in a medium pH range. Grows quickly as an annual but will colonize a corner of the garden by self-seeding and reappearing year after year.
Harvest and Preserving Tips
Harvest leaves and flowers in the morning after the dew has dried before the heat of the day. Pick flowers before they are fully open. Both flowers and young leaves are edible.
Flowers may also be frozen. Add the flowers to wine, use them to decorate cakes, or try crystalizing them.
Leaves may be dried in an area with good air circulation out of the direct sun for 1 - 2 weeks. Store or use when dry but still green, discard any black leaves. To store, put them in glass or plastic containers with lids. They will lose their flavor over time but can last for 1 year if properly stored.
Borage leaves and flowers are also able to be preserved in vinegar.
Borage Fertilizer Recipe
Strip leaves and place them in enough water to cover them. Put a lid on the container and let it ferment for 2 weeks. After the 2-week period, drain out the solids, and you now have a fantastic fertilizer. Use borage as fertilizer weekly, diluted with water at 1 part to 10 parts water. The solution can keep for several months.
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