Borage seed saving

[Peggy Sue]

Someone very kindly gave me some Borage seeds this year, I planted them not really knowing what Borage was and they grew beautifully.

I asked on one of the threads here what I could use Borage for- MMM kindly directed me towards Pimms and Lemonade. Now thats gone down quite well so now I'm considering seed saving.

Does Borage cross with anything- I've no idea what family it is?

[contadina]

Bees love it, which can only be a good thing. You can also dip the stalks and leaves in batter and fry them tempura style. I don't know if it crosses with anything but it self seeds fairly easily.

[snapdragon]

I first grew Borage in this garden some 15 years ago and didn't save seed, it does self seed well.
We haven't seen it for the last few years until this year when they just popped up again where I had cleared grass and topped up the soil with what was in a planter. no idea where the seeds were hiding
herb of gladness indeed it certainly made me smile and the bees love it.

[snapdragon]

hmm 'Borago officianalis' seems like a one off so no crosses seem likely unless you also have 'Borago Alba' nearby which is white flowered I guess.
quick search turned up the following "Traditionally used to ward off melancholy, borage is a beautiful and useful herb to grow in the garden. The herb originates in the Mediterranean and central Europe. It is a sturdy annual plant, covered with stiff, prickly white hairs. It grows to around 30cm tall and produces large, dark green leaves with pointed tips.

The hairy leaves have a refreshing, mild cucumber flavour and can be eaten in salads and soups and they make a good substitute for spinach. They can be brewed to make a refreshing tea, and can even be cut up and eaten with cream cheese. The deep blue star-shaped flowers can be added to ice cubes to make attractive additions to drinks. They also make pretty (and edible) additions to salads.

Borage is a fantastic source of nectar for bees and other insects. It makes a good companion plant to have in the vegetable garden as the insects it attracts make good pollinators for crops such as tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes. It is also good as a green manure. Its long taproot brings up nutrients from the subsoil that remain in the leaves. Before the plant flowers the plants can be dug back into the ground to release the nutrients back into the topsoil. "

[Peggy Sue]

Thankyou- self seeding it is then.
The bees have enjoyed it no end, thats their corner with comfrey and rosemary and prince of wales feathers they are in heaven!

[Cheezy]

I "gerrilla style" threw some borrage seeds down at work a couple of years ago.
They used to empoly a company which came round with weed killer to destroy anything geen, so the sides of the paths are always bare compacted earth. Which I thought was mank.

With the cost cutting the said destroyer hasn't come round this year so a borrage plant has made it!

In August I got a load of poppy seeds and have now spread these around can't wait for next year!.

Anyway don't worry about borrage.

I have an recipe for it in lentils (River Cafe I think)

[Peggy Sue]

Shall relax and look forward to borage in my pimms next year then

[Millymollymandy]

I think it's one of those plants that you can't eradicate once you've grown it like Feverfew and Verbena Bonariensis.

Oh, and dill.

[Peggy Sue]

Um I think I'm looking forward to that including the dill

[Cheezy]

Oh it makes a great addition to compost as well, and you can make a tea feed from it like comfry.

[Endie]

I grew borage this year in my new herb patch, along with a few other things like lovage, feverfew, and the usual cooking herbs, but the borage was pretty much just for the bees' sake. Glad to hear the big monster has some uses!