It’s that time of year on the farm when we really need bees.

The beans are already in flower and the borage will also soon be in blossom, so that the odd field of blue starflowers on the Wolds start to break up the true summer greens and yellows of the rest of the fields.

We have a number of local beekeepers who kindly bring their bees each year. Co-ordination is key – so that each little “cluster” of beehives from each beekeeper can be located together and on their own “patch”.

On evenings and weekends, Dad meets with various beekeepers and draws maps and diagrams showing where the beehives can be parked up and unloaded and which farm tracks to use. A borage crop can be a sought-after location by beekeepers: the honey from a borage crop is quite unique – it is a clear runny honey with a delicate flavour.

During the growing season, bees are critical as they pollinate the starflowers and without pollination, no seeds are produced.

Borage is a crop that is grown for its seeds: these are used to make starflower oil, generally used as a dietary supplement as it contains a number of “good” fatty acids.   The seeds are then harvested to be cleaned and crushed so that the oil is released.

For a number of years we couldn’t get a contract to grow borage, so we were delighted to be able to start growing it again last year. We love the colour of the flowers and the fact that it is just a little bit different.

It can be a tricky crop to grow – the seeds are tiny and the borage sheds so many seeds during the growing season that these emerge season after season as a rogue crop that can be difficult to get rid of in subsequent crops.

Also, the borage crop requires unique harvesting equipment that can be difficult to source, but with the help of our farming neighbours, we managed well last year.

Despite all this, we continue to grow borage. As with all crops, it does depend on the growing season as to whether it is worthwhile financially, but farming is not just a business, it is also a way of life and borage just adds that little bit of something to our farm.

Zoe