Borage: Flowers For Food

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Borago, borage or cucumber herb are not only very cute, but also extremely useful plant. The greens of this herb are one of the first to enrich our spring diet with vitamins. And for those who prefer to use the recipes of traditional medicine, borago will come in handy as a raw material for the preparation of a drug against arthritis, eczema, as an antipyretic and diaphoretic, expectorant and diuretic

Borage both in the garden and in the garden

The native land of borage is the Mediterranean coast and Asia Minor. Also found in Europe and North America. In the Old World, it was customary to add it to salad recipes for therapeutic purposes - to combat melancholy and bad mood. This is not surprising, because borago is extremely rich in substances valuable to the human body. Its greenery contains potassium salts, tannins, carotene, saponin, essential and resinous acids. Besides, borago greens taste like fresh cucumbers and have a pleasant aroma. It is also used as a spice in fish and meat dishes. Such a seasoning in okroshka, green borscht, vinaigrette would be appropriate. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to set aside a small piece of land in your garden for sowing this unusual annual.

Borago beds are made not only in the garden. Cucumber grass is able to very decorate gardens and flower beds with its decorative look. Lilac pubescent buds dissolve blue and blue petals with a barely noticeable pink tint. Like leaves, flowers are also used in culinary delights, and not only as a decorative element. They are added to tonic drinks, served in a candied form for dessert. Borago has a long flowering period - from the end of May to strong autumn frosts. And this quality, coupled with the fact that the annual belongs to the excellent melliferous plants, should make the apiary owners take a closer look at them.

Conditions for growing borage

Borage is unpretentious to the composition of the soil, but it will still grow better on soils with a neutral reaction. Dry conditions adversely affect the palatability of greens. For the leaves to be tender, the plant needs regular watering. In addition, cucumber grass is responsive to mineral supplements.

If you plan to grow borage during the entire warm season, it is worth setting aside a plot for sowing in partial shade. Despite the fact that this is an annual, you do not have to bother with it in order to carry out new crops every year. Plants reproduce well by self-sowing. But for this, of course, you need to leave a few flowering plants in the garden and let them inseminate.

When the spice is to your taste, and you do not want to part with it during the year, you can arrange a garden bed with a plant in indoor conditions. To do this, you need a shallow box and a nutritious soil mixture. A container with crops is watered and wrapped in foil for a week. Seedlings appear after 7-10 days. Cucumber herb will reach its nutritious maturity and original taste at 3-4 weeks of age.

Cucumber Recipes

Borago is used as a spice, as an ingredient for salads, as a filling for baked goods. But you can cook borage and almost a separate dish. With the cucumber herb harvested before flowering, a delicious omelet is obtained. To do this, take 3 eggs and 50 g of cheese for 300 g of leaves. Salt, garlic, anise are added to the mixture to taste. Fried in vegetable oil.

A cocktail of fresh borago juice with water is recommended for those who suffer from depressive conditions. Such a solution is also suitable for external use if irritation and neurodermatitis are disturbed.

Dried raw materials are used to prepare a healing infusion. This requires 1 table. l. borage and 1 glass of boiling water. It is accepted for 1 table. l. per day for arthritis, eczema, as an antipyretic, expectorant, diuretic.