How to Grow Borage

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Borage has quickly become my favorite plant in my garden this year.  Borage is a beautiful herb with coarse green leaves and blue star shaped flowers.

It is extremely easy to grow borage and I recommend it for beginner gardeners.  I grow my borage in a container, but it can be grown anywhere.  It can grow up to three feet tall and two feet wide, so be sure to give the borage plenty of space to grow, where ever you decide to plant it.  

How to grow borage:

1. Sow seeds directly after the last frost.
2. Plant seeds ¼”-½” under the soil.
3. Borage thrives when it is in full sun and the soil is not overwatered.
4. Thin borage plants to 12” so they have room to fully grow.

Borage can be used in tea, lemonade, salad, and other recipes.  Borage has a flavor similar to cucumbers.  The leaves can be picked at any time and used fresh. The flowers also attract honeybees and I have read that this results in a deliciously tasting honey.  I’d love to find some to try since I am absolutely in love with the raw wildflower honey from Dawg Gone Bees.

Borage makes a great companion planter for strawberries and tomatoes.  The plant repels tomato hornworm, which are destructive caterpillars that eat both the fruit and leaves of the tomato.

Borage is a hardy plant that will regrow annually as long as you let some of the flowers go to seed.

I first learned about borage when I was researching natural anti-inflammatories.  Borage does have anti-inflammatory properties and may be beneficial for arthritis and autoimmune symptoms.  However, I am not a doctor and have no medical knowledge so please consult your doctor if you have questions about using borage for alleviating these symptoms.

I purchased my borage seeds from the link below.  They germinated quickly and as you can see from the photos in this article, borage grows very well with minimal effort.

Have you planted borage in your garden?