By Lauren Arcuri
Small Farms Expert
Growing calendula is easy and fun, and the flowers have multiple medicinal uses or can be sold as cut flowers, making this annual flower a great choice for the small farm.
Overview:
Calendula officinalis, also called pot marigold, is a flowering annual plant that is different from common marigold (genus Tagetes). Tagetes marigolds are great for looking at and to ward off pesky garden bugs, but Calendula officinalis is also a medicinal plant with many uses for the home and plenty of value-added product potential for your small farm.
Calendula self-seeds readily and grows from 1 to 3 feet tall. Flowers are orange or yellow.
The
whole flower or just the petals are used, fresh or dried, for herbal
medicine. Salve, lotion, tincture, soaps and oil are all popular uses
for calendula. It's great for the skin, so you'll find it in this
application most frequently. It is also used as a dye for food and
fabric and its petals are edible and look great sprinkled atop a fresh
salad.
Finally, it soothes gastrointestinal problems and can be used fresh or dried in a tea for this.
Planting Time:
Calendula
can be started indoors three to four weeks before the last frost or
sown directly in the garden after the last frost. It matures in roughly
80 days so can be planted from early spring into summer.
Spacing:
Sow calendula's gnarled, large seeds 1/4 inch deep and pat down the row. Keep weeded. Thin to six inches to one foot apart.
Growing Notes:
Calendula
is very tolerant of poor soil and will grow in partial shade or full
sun. It does require regular watering. Calendula is very adaptable to
container gardening. If left to go to seed at the end of the season,
calendula will readily re-seed itself, leaving you with another crop
ready to go next year.
Pests and Problems:
Calendula
actually deters many insect pests, making it a good border flower for
the garden. It doesn't have any known issues with pests or diseases!
This is one wonderfully hardy flower.
Maintenance:
Water,
cultivate, and side dress with compost throughout the season. Deadhead
calendula blossoms to encourage continuous production of flowers.
Harvesting:
Harvest
calendula regularly by snipping off the flower heads when they are half
open. It's best to harvest in the morning, after the dew has dried on
the plants. You may want to trim the remaining flower stalk back to the
first set of leaves to discourage rot.
Storage and Preservation:
Calendula flowers are usually preserved by drying. An electric dehydrator
is a handy tool for this and almost essential for farm-level production
of calendula. But on a smaller scale, you can simply spread the flower
heads on screens to dry in the shade. Turn the flowers daily. Once the
flower heads are fully dry (even the dense, green part of the head), you
can store them in glass jars or plastic bags. For making calendula oil,
you may wish to use only the flower petals, not the heads - it's up to
you. If so, after drying the petals can be plucked from the heads all at
once.
source: about.com
