Borage and Squishy Kitty

[Countryladiesgardens]

Our Borage flowered over the last few days and wow is it ever gorgeous! It tastes and looks so good! Squishy is in the photo also..

[rainbowgardener]

I have borage blooming also. I have never been able to bring myself to eat the stuff. The leaves are very fuzzy and don't seem like something you would want to put in your mouth. I do put flower petals in salads sometimes.

[Countryladiesgardens]

I know what you mean, at first it was a weird sensation for me also to eat the leaves but after I tried it we decided we will be using them in a fresh Tatziki dip next time we make one for burgers or what not! The leaves taste like the flowers but have a more pronounced cucumber taste!

[Countryladiesgardens]

It's good to know that the bees like the Borage. We have quite a big colony of bees this year. We inherited a swarm from a nearby fallen tree we think! Squishy seems un bothered by the bees for the most part. They do their thing and he does his!

[rainbowgardener]

a folk name for borage was "bee's bread" because the bees love it.

Still not convinced about eating those fuzzy leaves, but I have read of people blending it up into smoothies or whatever. That might be acceptable.

[Countryladiesgardens]

Nice about the bees! If you put it into yogurt it would taste good for a dip! Or as you say in smoothies! Yum

[grwrn]

Borage is one of the herbs my "next to grow" list. Thanks for the pic.

[lily51]

a folk name for borage was "bee's bread" because the bees love it.

Still not convinced about eating those fuzzy leaves, but I have read of people blending it up into smoothies or whatever. That might be acceptable.

I'm with you. Love growing boragee for its looks, attractiveness to bees, but only use it as garnish in iced tea at this point.

[Countryladiesgardens]

Last night we had home made potato chips and made a fresh Borage and Cucumber Tatziki dip. It was great! The Borage blended in with the cucumber so you couldn't even tell it was in there. So delicious. Here you can see the sliced Borage on top of the dip

[Admajora]

Interesting ideas for putting this strange plant to use. Do you stake your borage, or let it flop?

I staked mine the first year, and it ended up sort of scraggly and leggy looking between the leaves. This year when it surprised me by popping up again I let it flop over and I like the look of it much better, and I think I got more flower stalks out of it. Like most of you, I can't bring myself to deal with the leaves either. I don't even like touching them!

[Lindsaylew82]

It tastes like cucumber?

[imafan26]

If you chop the leaves up fine, it isn't so fuzzy. Remember the flowers also taste like cucumber.

[Countryladiesgardens]

Yes it tastes just like cucumber, it is best to eat the smaller leaves as they taste the best, and the leaves are a stronger taste than the flowers. Very nice flavour in dips and cold drinks! Enjoy folks! We will have seeds of Borage if anyone wants to do a seed exchange this fall! Just let me know!

[JodiInVA-USA]

I'd never heard of borage until I was recently reading about growing strawberries and someone said it's an excellent companion plant for them. Does anyone know if this is true, or have details that would help me (new gardener)? I'm thinking about ordering some borage seeds to start this winter and put in with my few strawberry plants in the spring (if they're still alive). I am trying to take baby steps with gardening, though -- I have limited space, limited budget, and limited mind-space to keep track of too many new plants/techniques at once, so I don't know if borage should be one of my top priorities for 2015. Thanks!

[imafan26]

Borage is an annual and it helps many plants because it contains nectar and attracts other beneficial insects like parasitic wasps. People don't realize that beneficial insects' larvae stages do most of the pest control in the garden and the adults need nectar too. Borage has fuzzy gray green leaves that don't like to get or stay wet, they will rot and turn black, so I usually plant borage in the late Spring or early summer. Actually, most of the time it reseeds itself and comes up around that time. It usually only lasts a couple of months and dies again.

I don't know if borage planted now will still be around when the strawberries are planted next year.

[applestar]

Borage after a severe frost this fall:

[Countryladiesgardens]

Applestar! Wow what a nice looking Borage!

[Susan W]

I may add Borage to my mix this year. I had stayed a polite distance as it is said to like itself and spread. In our Mid-south climate that can be a red flag!

[Countryladiesgardens]

Maybe put it in a container like we did last year. It didn't spread and did really well!

[Countryladiesgardens]

Susan I know we just starting chatting but a friend of mine sent me another package of perennials today and a lot of them are doubles of what I have already. Would you be interested in having some of the seeds?

[imafan26]

Borage does reseed, but it has never been a problem. Epazote and dandelion, they really are weeds.

[shadylane]

It has more of a peppery cucumber taste. It is an annual herb, performs best in dry sunny places. It also self seeds as stated from the previous gardeners statement, expect the unexpected growing habits of here there and anywhere. Ooppps didn't see the other pages...with this information

[rainbowgardener]

JodalinVA - as noted borage can be good for your garden generally because attractive to pollinators and beneficial insects. However if the space in your strawberry bed is limited, I wouldn't put it there. Borage gets pretty big and bushy/weedy. It is likely to shade your strawberries and perhaps out-compete them for nutrients. Put it somewhere else in your garden!