Teach Soap

Now that the holidays are over and the snow is so deep that I can't go anywhere I have been reading through my gardening catalogs. I have never grown calendula but I think I will try it this year. Is it as easy to grow as regular marigolds? There are several varieties available. Do you have a favorite? Some look red and some more gold or yellow. Has anyone tried regular marigolds in soap? Oh Spring where are you?

MaryLou

I grow some each year. We have Steins and a local garden store that I get my bedding plants from and they usually carry them. As for the care it is just as easy as a marigold. Mine seem to like sun or at least partial sun. I do snip the plant heads just before they are spent and will separate the petals onto a paper plate to let them dry. The ones I have purchased are mostly yellow to a light orange. I did try the regular marigolds once in soap, before I knew there was an actual calendula. It was a yellow\gold one and it held up its coloring just fine. But now that I know I can find the calendula I use that one. I did try to grow from seed one year... but this is not my area of expertise. Maybe when I retire I will try to improve this. I have read that there is a very special type of light bulb that is best to use so the plants do not get too lanky.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

I start a lot of plants from seed. I sprinkle the seed on a paper towel, fold it up and wet it with warm water. then I squeeze out the excess water and put it in a sandwich baggie and put it in a warm spot. Each morning I unwrap the towel and remove any seed that are showing the beginning of a sprout. I put those in prepared starter trays. I have a large deck with a southern exposure and every morning I carry my trays out to the deck and every evening I bring them back in. I have had great success doing this and I am able to grow a lot plants only found in seed catalogs. I have never seen calendula plants for sale in any of the garden centers in this area.

MaryLou

Is Steins not in your area? I thought they were everywhere. I can get the seeds to start but once placed in a starting soil they tend to get lanky on me. I would not be able to take them outside with the weather here until April at the soonest, maybe even May. That is why I buy bedding plants. At this time I do not have room for a greenhouse with plant starter lights. It sounds like you would do well to start these from seed. Once you got your first batch you would be able to save some seed each year to reproduce. I did that with the loofa I grew. I have had the calendula grow in my vegie garden, the flower garden and in pots on the deck, so it is very versatile.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

I have never heard of a Steins, but I grew my calendula from seed, and I let some go to seed last year so that I could grow some from mine. Before I moved, I kept a few rows outside in the garden, and a few pots inside growing all the time. They reseeded themselves, so I was good. But, at this place, I have had to give up my beds, so I collected the seeds and saved them for this year. Now I will just grow them in a pot and keep them inside. They are easy to grow. Just remember to keep dead heading so that you get the full benefit of the growing season!
Calendula has therapeutic value, whereas regular marigolds do not. So if you are looking for those properties in your soap or other products, do not confuse the two.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

yes, what Tammy said. They grow very well in pots. Mine do not reseed as we have a shorter growing season and little room in my home. But when the spring comes I tuck them in everywhere. Sorry about not having a "Steins", they actually are a very nice garden center.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

No Steins in this area either. I will start some from seed. I'm going to put some in the ground and some in pots on my deck. I always have several rows of flowers in my veggie garden because I love all the butterflies that the flowers attract. I have never used calendula in soap so I am wondering, is it soft or scratchy? The only exfoliating soap I have ever used was a gardeners soap that I think had oatmeal in it. It was so rough on my skin that I couldn't use it. Are the calendula petals exfoliating? I really just want to use them because they look so pretty.

MaryLou

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

calendula is not for exfoliating, you use it for color,decoration, and/or its properties. I infuse calendula into almost every baby balm, many lotions/creams, and almost all my salves. It is quite easy to grow and dries easily too. You will not have any problems, I am sure.

Sounds like we need a Steins! Lol Good garden centers are nice to have close by and we do have plenty of those, plus the garden of friends who are willing to share is always a fun place to "shop" too!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Does infusing calendula petals in oil add color to the oil and does it color your soap? What color? I am definitely growing some calendula this year. I am wondering why I have never seen plants at any of the garden centers if it is so easy to grow. I'm going to ask around this spring.

MaryLou

Yes you can infuse the calendula into your oil or you can use the powder in your batch or infused into oil. Either way, you will get a yellow color. You can also use the petals for decoration. It is one of the few things that won't change color with saponification, so you can put it into your soap or on top.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I know that in my area you can't grow calendula. It is one of the growing list of plants that are banned. It annoys me because calendula are part of a genus of plants that help kill parasitic nematodes (microscopic worms). The root hairs of these plants have tiny little hoops that constrict around the bodies of the nematodes and effectively strangle them. The plant then digests the body and uses it for nutrients. Awesome plants to have as a border around root veggies! Unfortunately some of these plants are also a little more, shall we say, spreading. They can quite literally take over entire yards if not properly contained. From what I understand this is why they've been banned in a lot of rural farm areas. They can take over fields of crops and decimate nematode populations. Some crops require high populations of nematodes to help remove waste material and supply the soil with other, needed, nutrients.

This may be why some folks have never seen it for sale. Possibly it is banned where they live too! Something to look into I guess.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Hesty, thanks for the heads up. I have grown other plants in the past that wanted to take over And I had to fight them for a few years to get rid of them. I will make sure I dead head them before they can drop seed. There are enough weeds trying to take over my garden every year. I try to keep a mulch on the ground but it is a lot of work to spread and I don't get any younger. I do love to dig in the dirt and I have been known to get my nose right down close and give it a good whiff. This month instead of ordering more soaping supplies I will be ordering lots of plants and seeds. Love those seed catalogs.

MaryLou

Marigolds do the same thing to nematodes! I always tell folks to plant a border of them around veggies, especially root veggies! The focus of my degree is in botany (and marine biology!) BTW, so <3 to all gardeners hehe

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I have never had the calendula spread anywhere but where I planted it. ?? Maybe because of our shorter growing period. If asking for it also try to ask for "pot marigolds". Any garden store here will have a trade name but also the biological name on the plant tag. Maybe because they do tend to spread in some areas growing them in a pot will contain them. I have that problem with mint and now only place it where I can contain it!

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!