Borago officinalis - Blue Borage

Borage is an excellent plant to have in the vegetable garden. It’s starry cobalt blue or white flowers are loved by bees and are great used as a garnish or tossed in summer salads. Grown as a companion plant to lettuce or potato plants, it will keep slugs and beetles from nibbling away at the young shoots. Both flowers and leaves are edible and are rich in vitamin C. Once borage reaches the end of its life cycle, it can be used as green manure. It is also known for its many medicinal properties.

Borage has been consumed for hundreds as years. The young, tender leaves bring flavour to salads. They can also be cooked and eaten like chard. Both leaves and flowers, fresh or dried, can be brewed to make cucumber-flavoured herbal tea. Borage has softening, diuretic properties as well as being rich in vitamin C, magnesium and potassium.

Good to know: Borage benefits from a supply of manure or well-rotted compost (3 kg/m²) in late autumn or early spring.

Harvesting and storage: for immediate use, harvest the leaves and flowers as and when required. Otherwise, wait until the plant starts to flower, then leave to dry in a well-ventilated room. The leaves are tastiest picked young, about 30-45 days after sowing.