"Dandelions" - The Weed We Need!

Dandelions have been used for many centuries as a healing herb and a delicious food. They are prolific growers as any gardener will tell you, but do not seem to grow as well in the southern hemisphere.

The young green leaves are extremely nutritious and the roots are a good substitute for coffee. The flowers can be made into jam. All in all the dandelion stands as a regal plant amongst herbs and healing medicines, and has done for many years.

Choosing your plants:

The ones best grown in your area will undoubtedly come up all on their own. Let them seed and you will have a bountiful crop for many years. However, they are considered a weed by many gardeners and are stubborn to remove from the vegetable patch once they get a hold, so if you can contain the seed, it would be better for your vegetable garden. The best way to obtain your seed is to collect it yourself. Look out for the seed heads in fields or woodland in early to late summer, or offer to weed your neighbour's vegetable patch and keep the 'weeds'!

Prepare the site:

If you are preparing a specific site for your dandelions, dig over the patch and remove any weeds and large stones. Rake over to a fine tilth. The ground should be well drained. Dandelions are very hardy plants and will usually be able to extract the nutrients they need from the soil with their long tap roots, no matter what the condition of the soil. However, if you want to produce a good crop, a little feeding wouldn't go amiss. Dig in some well-rotted manure or compost early in the year before planting the seed.

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There are many edible flowers available... There are pages and pages of edible flower seeds at Thompson and Morgan. Here's the UK link From dandelions to Edible Flowers UK

And this is the link for US deliveries. Edible Flowers in US

Thompson and Morgan are a worldwide seed supplier and deliver to many countries outside UK and US ! Go to their homepage to see if your country is listed.. Thompson & Morgan Homepage

Calendula Dianthus Nasturtium

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Position:

Normally a sunny position is best for most yellow flowering plants, but dandelions have been known to grow inside dark sheds! A bright airy patch is best, but not necessarily in full sun. They often come up of their own accord in the middle of your lawn or the vegetable patch. If you can, leave them to mature and clip off the flower just before the plant starts producing seed. If you leave them to seed, it's highly likely you'll have a dandelion lawn next year!

Planting:

Once you have bought or collected your seed, and prepared your site, scatter the seed over the fertile earth and they will grow! Otherwise, as mentioned above, you could just leave them to come up where they choose. Or, you could go round collecting the wild plants from other gardens and parkland. Check first with the owner though! Not every gardener will think they are a weed!

Caring:

Apart from cutting them down with the lawnmower I can't honestly imagine how you could fail at growing dandelions! They are one of the most hardiest plants on the planet. In times of extreme drought they may suffer, but even then they are likely to survive longer than other plants because of their long tap root. Trampling over them doesn't help and large pets can be a problem but otherwise, they will just get on with what they have to do, and you can be there to harvest the rewards.

Indoor growing:

There doesn't seem to be much point really. Even if you live in a flat and don't have access to a garden, they grow just about everywhere. Don't pick them from the side of the road as they will have absorbed some pollution, and the same next to a field where a farmer may have sprayed the crop, but everywhere else is good!

You can find more about great stuff to grow in the garden, and even a few recipe ideas in my book recently published with Findhorn Press. Grow Your Own Pharmacy You really can grow enough fruit and veg to keep your family glowing with good health!

Happy Gardening!

More "Wild flower" Reading

www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/dandelions.html