How to Grow Calendula

Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment I am going to talk about how to grow Calendula. Now Calendulas have a long history and most Americans consider the marigold or they call it a Calendula but the marigold is actually a Tagetes and that's a plant from Mexico. The European Calendula is actually a different plant and it's also really beautiful and it grows just as easily. So Calendulas are still called marigolds a lot of times and they were given the name marigold because St. Hildegard of Bingen in the 11th Century dedicated the Calendula Officinalis to the Virgin Mary and gave the flowers the name Mary's Gold. So there is many different types of marigolds and many different plants that are nicknamed that but they're all beautiful so the easiest way to start them. They are an annual in most places is by seed in the Spring or early Summer. Now the bulb or the seeds are really small and they just look like little boomerangs and so they're very easy to start. You can put them right into the soil in your garden or you can start them in seed trays and that's also an easy way to start them and then transplant them. So I just put one or two of them in each tray. You can always put, fill the trays about two thirds full first and then once you have got them in the tray so then you just barely cover them up about a half an inch and then when you water them in mist them. Don't use heavy pressure because it will just force the seeds back out. You can put a little cloth or piece of sheet on top as well and then you just, that way the water will just drip down or mist it. Eventually they'll come up in the Summer time very quickly within two weeks you'll have a nice plant and then they'll bloom through the Fall and you can save the seeds in the Fall and then restart them again in the Spring or you can just let them go and a lot of times they'll reseed themselves in warmer climates especially and in colder climates a lot of times they'll freeze right out. So you have to start them from seed each year but the Calendula has many many medicinal values as well and it's a beautiful addition to your garden.