I don't remember why, but I was inspired to order seed for borage this year. Seems to me I read something here that made me think it would be a great addition to my garden. Now I've forgotten what I read.

Anyway, I started a bunch of herb seeds, forgot to label them and am just assuming I started basil, fennel and borage. Do borage seedlings have big fuzzy leaves? And how soon can I set them outdoors? They look like they'll be taking over the world in a few weeks!!! And what do I use borage for once I've grown it?

I am trying borage for the first time too. They make tomatoes grow better. Plant them by your maters (I assume this was the feature that interested you too ). I think they are tender but I am not sure so I am planting with my basil and not with colder herbs. They do have fuzzy leaves.

I planted borage with my tomatoes last year and didn't notice any difference in the tomatoes. The borage flowers are pretty and attract lots of bees. I have a hunch I'm going to have a lot of volunteer borage this year. I didn't use it for anything else though.
datgirl

Borage attacts beneficial insects and is good for composting.

quote:

They make tomatoes grow better. Plant them by your maters (I assume this was the feature that interested you too ).

Nope. That wasn't it. This is one gardener who couldn't care less about tomatoes.


Thanks for all the replies. I'm thinking it must have been the bee forage angle that interested me.

How big does it get?

Borage has no effect whatsoever on tomatoes. That's just another "companion planting" old wives' tale.

However, they DO have large fuzzy leaves, get about 3'-4' high, germinate/grow rather quickly, & don't deal particularly well with cold weather/frost,which is why I never start mine indoors but just direct-sow them. (They also reseed themselves quite well in the garden.)

As for uses:

1) They do attract bees & other beneficial insects to the garden.
2) Some folks enjoy the leaves in salads & as a cooked vegetable. I've personally never liked them this way, no matter how young I've picked them. Don't like the fuzziness of the raw leaves; don't like the sliminess of the cooked leaves.
3) The stems do make novel Bloody Mary stirrers.
4) The flowers make lovely additions to salads, drinks (frozen in ice cubes), dinner garnishes, & candied garnishes for desserts.

I couldn't tell you how tall mine were because they kind of fell after a while then grew along the ground and were kind of unruly really. I just grew it because I wanted to try something I didn't already have.
datgirl

I've never noticed one way or the other about how they affect tomatoes. I do know that we haven't had to plant any in about 35 years--they re-seed on their own just fine.

--J--

You know, you hear of Borage Oil as something beneficial, but I'm not exactly sure what.

I planted borage for my butterfly garden. Indeed it is fuzzy, and a great bee attractant. They're pretty big and come back well each year.

Tomatoes have perfect flowers and don't need bees or other pollinators to set fruit howeverwith the extra bees that Borage attracts the tomatoes will set more fruit than if they had no help from the bees at all. That is one benefit of planting Borage with Tomatoes. Second of all Borage also deters the Tomato Hornworm. Young leaves have the taste of cucumber and adds a nice flavor to salads; both leaves and flowers are edible.
It self-sows profusely but like Sunflower it doesn't start germinating until after all danger of frost has passed.

Vera, what zone are you in? Everyone who is saying borage reseeds itself is in a much warmer zone than me.

I've been told that lemon balm reseeds itself prolificly too, and I've never ever had that happen in my garden.

Borage was known as "the herb of gladness" - it was said to give courage to soldiers and often was carried with them for such.

Borage oil is an equilvalent to evening primrose and squalene oils. It can heal sores, including acne, without causing a riot in the skin. Very good for aging skins, too.

It can get up to 30", as an annual. I assume in warmer zones it would be a perennial and may get taller. It is native to Europe. It self sows like nuts, and I am in zone 5 Ontario. The true-blue form is more common, but there are white and pink forms of borage as well.

I would add that honey bees are more attracted to borage than bumbles, and bumbles are more apt to pollinate tomato flowers.

It's never been a perennial for me in Zone 7 (both NY Zone 7 & VA Zone 7), but does self-seed readily. And it definitely does attract bees & other pollinating insects.

Oddly enough - I've never seen a Honeybee or a Bumblebee bother with my tomato plants at all. Or my pepper plants for that matter. Only the eggplants, beans, & squashes.

I had borage planted in one area of our garden last year and it did reseed itself in zone 4. Borage isn't found of root disturbance so transplant it with care or direct seed it instead.

The plants got about 2 ft tall, but they tend to fall over some.

This year I reordered some more seed so that I could start it in different area. Plus I was a little concerned it might not come back and I didn't save any seed from the prior year's plants.

Loamy, how do I make a cream for aging skin. I am really looking my age lately.