IMG_4627

I mentioned a while back that I was determined to get the most out of my marigolds–a huge mound of them occupying space I coveted for cold weather goodies like cabbage and broccoli.

I wasn’t kidding and have been giving that plant a workout. Here’s the current list of marigold uses:

1.  Marigold Insect Spray for leaf-cutters–I heard from my best friend in Pennsylvania that she has used a commercial version as a fly spray for horses, too.

IMG_4587

2. Marigold Pound Cake–I stirred the petals and a few chopped leaves into cake batter. More of a novelty than a flavoring, but sort of fun.

IMG_4631

3.  Salad–I add several sprigs of the leaves and the flower petals from a couple of blooms to liven up mixed green salads. Delicious.

IMG_4642

4. Marigold Tea–Ivory covered this one way back when. I’m drying some of the flowers to save for the dark days of winter. Sunshine in a cup!

5. Deep-Fried Marigolds–Oh yeah I DID! I made a loose batter of flour, water, salt and pepper, dipped and fried those puppies up! Yum!

6. Baked in a Pie–I’m tossing petals into savory pies (spinach, zucchini). A dainty dish to set before anybody.

7.  Chicken Snack–I read that feeding a moderate amount of flowers and leaves of marigold to your hens makes their egg yolks an even brighter, deeper orange. And they love it.

IMG_4685

How do you marigold?