Hemm żriegħ tal-boraġ it is easy to implement and can give great satisfaction in the garden or in the vegetable garden. It can be done at different times of the year and with different techniques based on cultivation needs. We have already told you about this plant, scientifically called borago officinalis and its beneficial properties in the food and herbal fields.
In this article we see how to sow this precious resource of nature.
Why sow borage?
The sowing of borage can have different purposes. First you can decide to cultivate it as an ornamental plant, for the beauty of its flowering, perhaps creating borders in the garden. The flowers are also very popular with bees and various other pollinators, due to the abundant presence of pollen and nectar. We can therefore decide to introduce it in our soil as a useful resource for these insects.
The leaves are edible, so it can also be grown as a garden plant. Finally, let’s not forget the officinal properties kept in the seeds themselves and from which a precious essential oil is obtained.
When is borage sown?
The period of sowing borage is very varied. In fact, we are talking about an extremely rustic plant, which grows spontaneously in nature. It can be sown in autumn, after the first rains, following the summer drought. In the south, in areas not subject to frost, it is sown even in the middle of winter. Obviously, it can also be sown in spring, from March to May.
We do not recommend summer sowing, unless you then proceed toirrigazzjoni artifiċjali.
In the north, in areas where extensive frosts occur, late-autumn and winter sowing should also be avoided.
Where to find borage seeds?
Borage seeds can be found first of all on spontaneous (or cultivated) plants that have reached full maturity. In nature, the plant grows in all Italian regions, up to 1,000 m asl. It is less frequent in the cold and humid areas of the North.
Flowering usually occurs in spring, so mature seed is harvested from plants in midsummer. However, out of phase flowering periods are frequent (in practice, in all seasons), this, consequently, also delays the ripening of the seed.
Borage seeds can be found on sale in specialized shops and beekeeping material shops in formati differenti. These seeds have appreciable size, hardness, and excellent germination capacity, all aspects that allow us to apply different sowing techniques.
The sowing techniques
The borage plant suits kull tip ta 'terren, even the poorest ones. In nature, it prefers those that are well drained and that do not give rise to water stagnation.
Before proceeding with sowing, you need one tillage of the soileven superficial and coarse, so from prepare the seedbed in the best possible way.
Among the techniques we can use we have micro-sowing, broadcast sowing and pot sowing.
Micro-sowing
The main technique for sowing borage is what we call it microsowing or localized sowing. In practice, the single seed is placed in the ground, 1 cm deep, maintaining a distance of 5-10 cm between one seed and another. Depending on the planting season, we will have a different seedling emergence time. For example, in the fall or spring, we will see sprouts appear within a week.
With localized sowing we can reach the most difficult points or, vice versa, create regular rows in the garden or in the border of a flower bed.
Żrigħ imxandra
If, on the other hand, you want to cover a larger area with borage, you should resort to the classic broadcast sowing technique. To facilitate the dispersion of the seed, we advise you to mix it with fine sand, so that you can assess exactly where you have distributed the seed.
After sowing, just cover with a light layer of earth, perhaps using a rake. The amount of seed used will depend on the extent of the soil. If you want to sow large surfaces it is advisable to carry out a preliminary test, in order to establish the exact quantity of seed required.
This type of sowing is the most suitable when you want to create flowered areas for bees or even for the collection of the seed itself.
Broadcast sowing can also be done by mixing borage seeds with those of other honey plants, for example ai mix for beekeeping floriculture.
Sowing in pots
Even simpler is the sowing of borage in pots, using a mix of universal soil and fine sand. It is advisable to use jars of 10-14 cm in diameter and to place 1-2 seeds about 1 cm deep. Once the sprout has sprung up, allow 20-30 days to pass for transplanting to the final location. Sowing in pots will allow us to place the plants in more inaccessible and difficult to reach places with tools for working the soil. Of course, you can also use large pots and grow the plant directly there.
Grow borage
Borage is a rustic plant that does not need particular cultural care. It does not require irrigation, with the exception of late sowing done in early summer and after long periods of drought. She is very competitive with other wild herbs, so she doesn’t need to tnaqqija. Finally, it has a strong self-seeding capacity, managing to colonize, in the following seasons, a large area around the initial cultivation. So, once sown, you will have borage always present in your soil.
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