Borage

[bluelacedredhead]

Sammy and I were discussing Borage. Seems she has some that her family has grown for many years as an ornamental, but she's not familiar with other uses.

I told her that I had it in an herb garden 15 or 20 years ago, but I'm almost as guilty as her family. I only used it occasionally in cool summer drinks.

Anyone have other uses for this lovely little flower?

I understand it doesn't dry well.

But here's a few uses:

Candied flowers for cake decorations.

Flowers frozen in ice cubes to decorate drinks.

Chop the leaves and flowers in salads; they impart a cucumber flavour to the salad (without the 'back talk' of the cucumber)

Grown as a companion plant with strawberries, it may improve the growth of the fruit by shading them from the sun.

Ornamental companion as a border for Monarda (Bee balm).

[bluelacedredhead]

Oh and I just read that it is an excellent forage plant for bees as it has a long season for blooming.

[bluelacedredhead]

Got the borage in the mail today Sam!! TY

I will wait to start it.
I can wait'
I can wait
I can wait

I know I can wait

Do I have to wait? LOL

[Alan]

Leaves can be used in salads apparently as well as flowers in vinegrette dressings, though I have yet to do so, I was told by a member of the local co-op that people in that area use it for such!

I use it a lot in squash fields and melon fields, Interplanted throughout to attract more bees in facilitating my Mass Cross experiments. It really works very well and sometimes the plants just get loaded down with bees. It readily self reseeds for us here, sometimes in places where we don't want it even!

[biorag]

We love really this plant. The flowers are very beautiful in salads mixed with calendula, "capucine = nasturnium ". The taste seems like oister ! And as you ever said : very attratives for bees.

[biorag]

admin said:

I use it a lot in squash fields and melon fields, Interplanted throughout to attract more bees in facilitating my Mass Cross experiments. It really works very well and sometimes the plants just get loaded down with bees.

I'll try to do the same thing this year !

[Alan]

Yeah, plant it all over the field sporadically and watch as the bees come to visit, save the seed from you plants and watch the diversity and crosses that happen. I have found that when Borage is interplanted that I get a lot more mass cross success than I do when it's just a field of melons or squash, or at least it makes me feel better anyhow

[gardenhappy]

Borage has a lot of potassium,calcium,and other natural minerals in it we juice it into herbal drinks for this reason, if you blanch the leaves real quick(dehairs them)taste just like cucumber,grows really well with fruits and really benifits strawberry beds.Bee keepers sell borage honey.