This Plant Does EVERYTHING | Borage Growing Guide
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Borage is an essential and easy plant to add to any garden. It self-sows readily, it's fully edible, and the flowers are both beautiful and bee-attractants. Learn exactly how to grow it and a few key planting techniques from Kevin in this video.
00:00 - Intro
00:27 - Borage History
01:00 - Benefits
01:59 - Varieties
03:54 - Companion Planting
06:09 - Propagation
IN THIS VIDEO
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Who sees the easter egg in this video?
The curbscape is cleared out!!! Nativescape coming?
0:38 a wild garden hermit appears
Jacques popped out from behind the corner...? LOL
New Tesla?
I've grown borage for years and it self seeds in random spots every year. I always leave a few to grow here and there. Last summer, 3 of them I let grow didn't have a chance to flower before the heavy frost hit in September. I thought "well, they've had the biscuit". They were about a foot tall. Anyhow, when the snow melted in April those 3 borage plants looked ....not dead. I was intrigued, they should have been mush. I'm in zone 4 🇨🇦! I put a little compost around them and let them be. Now I have 3 huge, lush borage plants! The foliage is 3 feet tall and they are just starting to develop flowers. I didn't know this was possible.
We live in Germany and we have to weed it out in the spring because it just spreads everywhere (of course we leave a few). I dont even think my parents ever sowed it, it came over from a neighbours garden :D But they definitely thrive in less than mediterranean climates.
Same for me in Hesse. I live out in the country and i think it just hopped over from the neighboring wildflower field at some point, and now it's just there whether i want it or not.
I always laugh when i see the seeds at bauhaus because i can't imagine anyone in Germany needing to actually plant it.
Interesting that you say that borage is a Mediterranean plant and likes warmth and sun. We here in Northern Estonia are in zones 5/6 and borage grows in the garden almost like a weed. I think we sowed the seed once and now every year I have to constantly weed borage out, because it's a big plant and covers others. Funny fact about Estonian language. Our language is practical. You said that borage flowers taste like cucumbers. Well, we call borage "cucumber grass/cucumber weed" :D
Thank you for this information. It lets me know that this plant is very adaptable and resilient. I live in a 5 / 6 zone as well and look forward to growing this and not having to wait till June.
You forgot to mention that once is seeded on its own in your garden, it will never go away🤣I have it popping up everywhere no matter how many I have taken out.😂
Same!! 😂
True!
That's a bonus isn't it 😁
@@T_B1 I think it would take up too much space used for other plants… :)
My dog GSD loves to catch the bees that hang out in all the borage 😭 😂I can’t have to many in my yard, but agree reseeds like crazzzzzy!!!!!
I have blue and white borage and it’s invasive if you grow it in the ground. I only grow in containers. Bees and butterflies love it.
Not really invasive like mint, it just drops a lot of its seeds! You can easily remove the growing seedlings in early spring and best to transplant some while they're small to greenify dull garden spaces! 😁
I use the organza treat bags to cover the fertilized flowers and catch the seeds as they release.
That must look so pretty!
The key to increasing fruit pollination in terms of planting pollinator flowers is to get one that has blooms at the same time as your fruit. So borage can be a good pick since it's continually flowering.
I’m so glad you mentioned this. In my Seattle garden, borage flowers about 2-3 months after my fruit trees, so they would be pretty useless as pollinator companion plants. But still pretty.
As an annual borage is not going to be blooming as early as fruit trees…
Kevin how do you manage to pop out of nowhere every video and surprise us even though we (should) know it’s coming?
My blue borage has an occasional pink blossom on it. Beautiful flowers!
When I plant big seeds in germination trays or propagation pots I transplant them into the ground as soon as they germinate. This allows me to have a successful germination rate and it avoids the taproot being damaged.
Borage is my absolute favourite! It's so beautiful and I can watch it change colours all day. The leaves can be soft or prickly depending on which direction you're rubbing against. I just have to remember to pick the flowers before they die off. I grow it every year because they make me happy, haha. Super easy to grow too!
Many frequently grown plants by permaculture followers or homesteaders, like comfrey, borage, often are plants that readily self sow and can take over if not harvested/culled regularly, so it's prudent to check out various resources when deciding whether or not it's right for you and your garden. I've been holding out to plant my borage seeds and what's helped me finalize where/how I want to seed this week is all the super helpful comments to this video.
Borage, please take over in my yard. 🙏😉
Hi Kevin I'm a huge fan of Borage. I grow it fabric grow bags that way I can move it around my garden, to help my plants that need help with pollination. I also put the bags under my avocado and lemon trees to encourage the bees to pollinate my trees. I have had the best year of avocados I've ever. The Borage drops its seed into the bag and just keeps going again. Love this plant. Also love your channel.
@DiGil well I know what’s going on one of my grow bags 😊
Comfrey actually will keep growing if the root is disturbed and you will get multiple plants. It's amazing for trees and planting around them, great medicinal plant for wound care.
Borage is so beautiful with the red stem and blue flowers. I’d heard of it, but never grown it before, and didn’t know it was this beautiful and unique.
The thumbnail alone won me over. Anything that's even more beneficial to bees is the best!
I’ve got a photo exactly like this, and I swore he stole my photo haha! Yeah, the blues, greens, and orange from the bee is beautiful.
2021 - Started Borage from 2 seed indoors via hydroponics, transplanted into outdoor deck pots and had fun photographing bees hoarding the two plants. Destroyed the plants in fall and thoroughly cleaned all containers of dirt.
2022- Started more Borage plants indoors, transplanted and before they even flowered, I found Borage starting to grow in brand new containers, in new potting mix which weren't near the young plants and found it in my backyard too.
I have NO idea how it got into brand new potting soil on brand new plants the next year.
Oh well, I let em grow a bit, transplanted and now I have MORE borage than I really need.
Should be fun this summer. 😁
You can also use the leaves as an eco natural fertiliser. As with Comfrey ☺️
Borage quickly becomes very invasive, but it does make great compost!
Not sure if I'm calling borage invasive quite yet since I planted for the first time last year. But to say it is a prolific self seeder could be a slight understatement based on what I planted last year and what came up this spring. Right now I'm loving it. Next year I may have different opinion 😂!
how do you make compost out of it
and what makes it so good for that purpose
@@swift7169 Just cut off the leaves and throw them on the compost pile or in the compost tumbler. They are high in nitrogen and jump start the compost.
Borage definitely reseeds itself prolifically, and I'm glad of it! Aside from it's beauty, the bees in my garden go absolutely gaga over it. I always leave at one or more borage plants in each of my raised veggie beds. I also sprinkle the spent flower heads around my flower beds. The volunteers there are a wonderful unexpected splash of blue.
I have grown this plant thanks to you and My. GOODNESS. This plant is huge! I also rewatched because I needed to know how to get and save the seeds. Thanks!
I plant borage too, I’ve tried the flower in salads, it’s pretty awesome! Now I mainly use it as a catch crop, aphids go nuts for it, I plant in a pot and move where I need it. This way a can cut back on self seeding
I planted seeds early this year, forgot about it, just went out and saw 2’ tall getting ready to bloom! Thanks!!!
I have borage in my back yard. The dogs next door pull it through the fence to eat as medicine. Thankfully the fence regulates how much they eat.
Neighborhood pharmacy
Hah😁
Another comment says it is toxic for dogs, though I don't know if it's true or not.
Darren Tarbard Yeah “they” say that about a lot of stuff and it’s often not true. The dogs next door are totally fine and they’ve been munching on it for years. Garlic is also fine in small doses and aids a parasite flush.
On the other hand my local vet was making my dog really sick (just like the human doctor was making me sick) but I’ve switched her onto herbs and she’s all good again. Me and my neighbor are trying to grow a basic apothecary between us. The dogs are fine but thanks for worrying. ♥️
It’s all about the dosage my friend. (Okay that’s glib but mainly true.)
@@ThePinkBinks I'm in total agreement.
I planted borage in my small garden for the first time this year I had no idea how big they are. Struggling to keep it down now haha
with it being shades of blue and purple I definitely be interested in looking at it with a UV camera because there's probably some new things there that only bees can see. like how lots of seemingly plain flowers have stripes in UV light
Yes! Lupine is like that Too. Bright white landing site for bees that turns magenta, to alert new pollinators that there's no more nectar available. You can see them with the naked eye, but with your UV, it will be electric!
It actually has some very faint stripes that you can see if the colour on the flower begins to fade. As you say it's probably always there, but only visible in UV most of the time
I first discovered the beautiful and bee-loved borage when I lived next to an elderly German lady who loved to garden -- she had planted it in my yard when she used to look after one of the previous owners. I've grown it in every garden I had since then.
I got a lot of borage in my native seed mixes and bee/pollinator seed mixes. First time ever seeing it and growing it, and learning that what I have in my containers is borage, and I have absolutely fallen in love with this beautiful plant!
I had one Borage plant last year (Ontario, 🇨🇦), only one, and this year, 12 from the self seeding it did 💖 and the bees do like it.
i’m growing bill archer variegated borage and it’s such a pretty plant! my first time growing borage and im super excited. i had no idea that it was better to direct sow them, mine are currently in nursery pots still
I bought a packet of 'beefriendly flowers' for 30c and the first one to come up was this one! Very cute!
I didn't research how big it gets, I thought it would be a small plant so I spread seeds amongst my strawberries and it completely took over and is 3 feet tall!
My bee's do love it
good thing strawberries aren't picky over shady conditions lol
I sowed borage seeds in our garden 8 years ago. 6 yrs ago we moved house and took most of our plants and soil with us. I've never sowed borage yet every year borage pops up all over the garden.
I grew this last year and it grew itself this year. And I still love it😘
I didn't see the easter egg lol! I love borage and you're right, it self-seeds like crazy. I actually have had it growing out of cracks in the patio pavement. Same with nasturtiums and black-eyed Susans.
I love borage! Absolute must have! Annual but I have been told that even in my zone , Zone 4a with our frigid cold, this plant have come back after the winter 🥶 crazy! I'll find out for sure this season
I'm in 5b, we get crazy weather of the lakes so I always pick plants that grow 3b-6. Thanks for sharing how hardy borage is.
If it does come up, be sure and save those precious seeds!
Mine reseeded itself in zone 6
I also believed it was an annual
I sowed some borage in April and they are budding now I can't wait to see the blooms!
In Oregon mine was at least 3' by late April and late June heavy rain took much down. Grows fast and amazing bee attractor.
Borage is so easy to care for. It just come back year after year by itself. I love low care plants like that.
i love my borage.. its at 5 feet tall and reseed it self.. easy to remove if u dont want it... polinators love it
not sure what that means lol let me know lol
I planted borage in with my strawberries this year and their both are growing like crazy.
@@Core_Justin mine almost did that last year.
Borage. Beautiful plant. Bees absolutely love it. But it reseeds like crazy! I’ve pulled no less than 200+ seedlings this spring. The cucumber smell is amazing as you pull them up. Still I left some 10 little plants grow in and around my tomatoes. I may regret it! 😂
This sounds like just what I need….I have an area that I want something to fill in and reseed like crazy.
Thanks for this Kevin growing the blue and white borage for the first time this year 😊
Man, as soon as I get one plant going you recommend, you come out with a new amazing plant to put in the garden! 😂Keep it up! Love these lesser known 100% useful plants!
I just discovered borage this year, and I think it’s safe to say it will continue to be a part of my garden for years to come!
It definitely will, wether you want it or not🤣🤣
Mine have never self seeded so i plant new plants every year.
Another one that I have to buy every year is African blue basil. It's a sterile comfer cross so it's exclusively propagated by cuttings. Bees love it and pests hate it. Edible in small amounts.
Highly recommended
Same! I had never heard of Borage until this year, but I am 100% sold! I know they say it self sows, but it's been so much of a benefit to me that I am harvesting seeds too as a standby option. And worse case, I feed the bees with a beautiful plant. No losses.
@@emmaashcraft8515 I planted about a dozen borage plants last year, for the first time. This year I have dozens and dozens and dozens. And they keep germinating to the point that I have to start culling. I love free plants 😆
We have an allotment garden and also a lot of borage. In Germany, the plant is used for a famous "green sauce". The recipe should now be adjusted because borage contains a high concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are toxic to humans. nowadays it is sometimes discouraged from eating the seats. The square is of course still very interesting for the garden.
Awww love it! I just planted my seedling plant. I just found borage this year. I love the history you spoke about. It’s so pretty
I have previously tried to lay cardboard under borage plants to collect seeds. I would see only a few as the day wore on but they would all disappear. I watched for a while and saw ants were carrying them off ‘A Bug’s Life’ style!
Try tying organza bags around flower heads when they’re getting ready to fall. That should help! 😌
Been growing Borage since I first started gardening in 2020 such an awesome plant and a wonderful pollinator. I also grow comfrey for home brew fertilizers. I love your channel Kev!!!
Kevin your braver than me wearing short near borage. Beautiful plant that does wonders in the garden, I never had such a great strawberry harvest when I interplanted borage with them. Deadhead Regular otherwise you will be overrun with it. Borage is rough, make sure your wear gloves as it will cut your skin.
Great tips - well done! I'm obsessed with this plant (obviously)
i love borage so much! i'm planting a bunch of them this year
Just sowed some borage into my seed starter trays here in La Jolla, thanks for the direct sow tip!
I had it last year and the flowers really taste like a cucumber. I love the blue color too! It doesn't look like it seeded itself but I dig it!
Appreciated the information, enjoyed the video.
Can't wait to add to my garden! Thanks for the info!
I have it that comes with the hummingbird plant mix. It's very pretty and draws a lot of bees and hummingbirds. It's good to know it's edible. Thanks for the caring tips.
Great transplant taproot advice! Thank You!
I’m so glad you did a borage video
Always looking for ways to help the bees. Thanks
It really does attract alot of bees 🐝 🙌
I need to look into adding some more my garden this year.
One of my all time fav’s!
Happy to learn something new about this flower. I planted it because I wanted everything in my garden to be edible. It definitely great for pollinators.
Fantastic for pollinators.... Love it...
Thanks for reminder
Please make sure you remove the flower from the spiny base before putting it in your drink or your salad or anything else. The borage plants in your video have already dropped most of their seed and you will have hundreds of them growing everywhere in thick patches so you will end up transplanting some. Put a mesh net under the plants to catch falling seeds, or even just chop off those stalks into a bag and shake out the seeds and new flower stalks will grow from where they are cut. You should get enough seed to re-plant and use in cooking. You can crush up the seeds and mix them with any baking mix or put them in your pancake mix to get the healthy oils from them without actually pressing your own oil. I use the flowers to garnish sushi and sashimi, imagine a piece of sashimi with a pretty blue flower in the center.
And don't forget that the flowers come out pink and turn blue! So cool.
It's one of my favorites. I've grow the blue borage. I sprouted white borage seeds a friend gave me. Next year I'll sow some blue borage too.
I've got it all over from the borage I planted last year. I also have a bunch of marigold and zinnia plants that volunteered.
I grow Borage in my garden, and I live in the north of Norway - 4 hours by car abowe the Arctic circle. And they grow well :)
I'm already growing nasturtiums because of you Kevin, I'm running out of room here! (Literally tryna get a proposal tho . . .)
I love nasturtiums too but so do the deer...any advice?
@@mochamommyATX I've had the most success with Bobbex if you're not planning to eat them. Sure is stinky though (I suppose that's why it works).
Planted Alaskan nasturtium and the black aphids swarmed in on it, but spared my cucumber melon and zucchini. So I'll plant nasturtium again next year, but will put it at the edge of my garden so I can easily pull it out if it gets attacked again. I'll look for my borage seeds that was given to me by San Diego Seed Company as a free by for my order, and plant those now. Love the seeds I got from them, 100 percent germination rate!! 🤗🌱🤗 God bless!
*freebie. Did not noticed it got auto corrected 😕.
Good tip, thanks!
Love borage ❣
I saw.this in my neighbor's flower pot and thought it was so pretty! Kind of translucent flower. I got seeds.
Yeah I put borage in a couple years ago and the next season I had to be super aggressive with it coz it grew like crazy all through my grаss.
I couldn’t use that much of it and it was in the walkways between my beds so I sadly had to pull a bunch of it out.
But it’s such a beautiful plant
This is important information for future generations 💎
I love borage plants…when aphids show up they go for the borage instead of my others veggie plants and after about three days, the aphids just leave and the borage plant is completely unaffected and no aphids anywhere else to be seen!
I have borage in my garden. It's a lovely plant.
In early spring, I get dozens of borage seedlings popping up from where it grew last season. I tested if carefully removing and transplanting the young 1-2 inches seedlings grow as good as the ones undisturbed and yes, no problem!
It's a good way to fill empty spaces in one's garden. Next year, I will try to transplant one to grow in a self-wicking bucket! 🤞
Your videos are amazing, thanks for the recommendation.
I need to finally get borage down on our garden :D
I have both had cooked young Borage leaves like spinach and I feed borage to my daughter’s chickens and geese, along with Comfrey and oregano. I use borage and comfrey leaves, stems layering in compost bin and as mulch for my trees and plants in pots. I don’t eat Borage continuously, I just eat a variety of veggies throughout the week.
Sauté it, use it in stews and soups in the winter, the flowers are edible etc. etc.
Just planted borage in the ground yesterday. And, it’s close to tomatoes and cucumbers.
Thank you for the informative video.
Borage in the longer southbafrican growing season does absolutely amazign
It also seems to be somewhat effective at pest deterrence
You can get Borage seeds in the UK in Wilko, I got mine in February of this year, 75p for a pack of 100 seeds.
I grew Borage when I lived in North Park , late 1990's..Thanks for the reminder.
Plant it once. It will reseed every year. Borage, cilantro, marigold, calendula, dill all happily reseed.
good to know
My borage was growing amazingly and just recently all died. I had been growing them in pots not realizing it had a long tap root. I use it for its herbal qualities.
I want to grow it for the herbal properties. Hopefully you saved some of the seeds from your harvest.
I had some planted in ground, and it gave up early June, started dying off. Not sure if it was just old, or if it didn't like the heat.
I grew it years ago planted in the corner of one of my raised beds and it took over! Since then I have not planted it. After this video I think I will plant it again but I will only do it in a solo pot so that I can control it so that it doesn’t seed where I don’t want it to seed.
Thanks, great info!!
Wow i love plants too thank u for sharing
Dude. Missed such an opportunity for coolness there! “So, if you’re waiting for a proposal? ……Don’t put this in his drink. Drugging someone without their knowledge isn’t okay. Just propose yourself!”
Wonderful tutorial, thank you!
My favorite herb and flower in the garden. It attracts so many pollinators and I use the flowers to pretty up my pics for my instagram page.
Can you make tea out of the flower?
Yes it is a perfect plant but it will never ever go away. It will seed everywhere, and will stay with you till you die 😅. It is perfect for in your compost, best compost improver ever.
how so
Thanks Kevin! Will be planting borage in the garden. Thanks for the info.
Question, where did you get your comfrey? Went to Anderson's and Hunters nursery, but they don't have comfrey. 😕
God bless you! 🙏🌱🤗
I love borage. I do not do anything to cultivate it because it self seeds. I like using the flowers as garnishes for just about anything because their flavor is mild and plays nice with any food.
The flowers make a nice salad garnish as well.