Planting Borage

Borage grows best in full sun but will still perform well in lightly shaded areas. It will grow fine in most soil types as long as they are mulched and kept moist.

Borage grows best in full sun but will still perform well in lightly shaded areas. It will grow fine in most soil types as long as they are mulched and kept moist.

Borage is best planted outdoors sown directly in soil after all danger of the last frost have passed.

Borage is best planted outdoors sown directly in soil after all danger of the last frost have passed. Borage grows best in full sun but will still perform well in lightly shaded areas. It will grow fine in most soil types as long as they are mulched and kept moist.

Borage is best planted outdoors sown directly in soil after all danger of the last frost have passed. Borage grows best in full sun but will still perform well in lightly shaded areas. It will grow fine in most soil types as long as they are mulched and kept moist. Choose a site that is well protected from wind, and work in plenty of organic matter such a well aged chicken manure prior to planting.

Plant the seeds at a depth of around ¼-inch in groups of 3 to 4, and spaced 15 inches "38cm" apart.

Barely cover the seeds with soil and water, take care not to over water.

The seedlings should appear in approximately 5 to 10 days.

When they reach a height of 2 inches tall, thin back to 1 seedling every 15 inches as borage occupies a lot of room once it matures.

Borage seedlings will survive light frosts.

Borage seedlings are edible only when very young.

Caring for Borage Plants

Borage plant can be pinched or pruned, to encourage branching and to keep them shorter.

Borage will bloom for many weeks if the older flowers are trimmed off.

Benefits of Borage

In the garden, the benefits of borage are so many from repelling pests such as hornworms, attracting pollinators, until aiding any plants it is interplanted with, by increasing resistance to pests and disease. Not only borage is beneficial to bees, but can improve the quality of other plants, as cucumber, beans, strawberry, squash and peas. If it's grown in conjunction with them.

Harvesting Borage When the plant starts flowering, you can harvest frequently to encourage more bloom-production. The leaves and the flowers of borage are edible with a flavor like a cucumber. As the stalks and leaves are covered with fine, silvery hairs that tend to get pricklier as they mature . It’s wise to handle the plant with gloves while picking borage leaves. When picking borage leaves, select the young ones, which will have less of the little hairs. Just take a scissor and snip right below a cluster of blossoms. Your borage plant will continue to produce side-shoots with more buds and flowers. Continual harvesting and deadheading will allow for a longer period of use.

Collecting Borage seeds Borage have seeds are easy to find, but they need to be picked at the right time when they are ripe. Collecting these seeds is a little tricky. When the plant has yellowed and matured, whereas the cluster still has flowers on it. You have to collect the seeds as soon as the flowers fade, because borage seeds drop soon after. Storing Borage Seeds When you have collected your seeds, place them on a kitchen paper to dry. After they are dry, the seeds should be stored in a glass jar in a dry, cool and dark place.



Borage, also known as starflower, This medicinal herb with edible leaves and flowers is a beautiful plant to have around the garden.



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