How Do I Harvest Borage Oil From My Plant?

Borage is a large plant with blue, star-shaped flowers that is commonly found throughout North Africa, North America and Europe. Borage oil is processed from the seeds of the borage plant and used for medicinal purposes. The most common method for extracting volatile plant oils is steam distillation. Due to the large amount of seeds needed to produce a usable amount of oil, processing your own is not necessarily practical but it is a fun and simple process and with the right equipment it can be done.

Understanding Steam Distillation

• Purchase a steam distillation system and familiarize yourself with its usage. A steam distillation system consists of three main parts: the steam generator which includes a retort (the container for plant material to be steamed), a condenser and a separator. Plant material is placed in the retort and pressurized steam is forced through the retort by the steam generator. The steam releases the volatile oils in the plant material and moves it through the condenser where the steam becomes water again. The water, now referred to as hydrolat, and volatile oils are then collected in the separator.

Processing Your Borage Seeds

• Fill the retort with borage seeds and start the steam generator according to the manufacturer instructions. The pressurized steam will pass through the retort and vaporize the volatile oils in the borage seeds, then the steam will be condensed and collected in the separator. Your borage oil is now ready to collect. Use an eyedropper to carefully remove the oil that will be sitting on top of the hydrolat. Store your borage oil in a clean glass container with a tight fitting lid and keep it out of direct sunlight. Pure essentail oils that are properly stored remain potent indefinitely.

Other Uses

• Use your distiller to process other plants from your garden. Now that you've mastered the technique you can make perfume oils from lavender, rose petals or any other sweet-smelling items from your garden as well as medicinal oils from other plants you may be growing.