dandelion gardening
This may sound like a weird request but does anyone have any experience growing dandelions? I know they grow everywhere but I was wondering about growing them in containers in my patio so I can harvest them for the greens. I hear the young tender leaves are the best so I was wondering if I keep clipping the leaves will it continually produce leaves for my salad? I'm guessing they will since you can mow them over a million times in the lawn and they keep coming back. I'm also interested in growing them for their roots. Dandelions are a great detox herb by the way... just in case somebody didn't know.
I've grown them, but not for my own consumption and not in containers. I just fenced a part of my yard where they were growing prolifically. I gathered the flowers and greens for my New Zealand hare, Theophilus, because he loved them so much. (My son named him, after some musician, I think. 
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I think they would be very easy to grow. Will you also make dandelion wine?
)I think they would be very easy to grow. Will you also make dandelion wine?
I've heard a little about the wine. Isn't it made from the flowers. I've also seen many other recipes online for dandelions like deep fried flowers and creamy dandelion soup. I may try a few things but they say dandelions are one of the most nutrient dense plant you can get. I wonder why such a nutritious plant is treated like an bad thing by so many people.
I guess as far as harvesting the roots I can just walk around town and pull them up since you can harvest the roots any time unlike harvesting the leaves when they are young. I'm sure nobody would be opposed to me pulling dandelions from a lawn here and there.
I guess as far as harvesting the roots I can just walk around town and pull them up since you can harvest the roots any time unlike harvesting the leaves when they are young. I'm sure nobody would be opposed to me pulling dandelions from a lawn here and there.
IMO, I wouldn't trust dandelions out of any yard other than my own. You never know what chemicals the property owner may have dumped on the poor things, trying to create that "ideal perfect lawn."
If I recall correctly, the young tender leaves emerge from the center of the rosette. I was always careful to allow the older, outer leaves to remain, so the plant would stay alive. Maybe it doesn't really matter, since they're such tough plants, but it seemed important to me at the time.
Good luck with your experiment!
If I recall correctly, the young tender leaves emerge from the center of the rosette. I was always careful to allow the older, outer leaves to remain, so the plant would stay alive. Maybe it doesn't really matter, since they're such tough plants, but it seemed important to me at the time.
Good luck with your experiment!
My Dee used to make a lot of 'hedgerow ' wines many years ago. Dandelion was one of them. A lovely light wine too.
The one thing she recalls when she made it was the huge quantity of insects that found the flower heads an ideal home. Dispite a very good washing we think a lot of the flavour may have come from the hidden 'guests '.gg
The one thing she recalls when she made it was the huge quantity of insects that found the flower heads an ideal home. Dispite a very good washing we think a lot of the flavour may have come from the hidden 'guests '.gg
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applestar
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Funny that I can post knowledgeably about "growing" dandelions. 
I don't grow them intentionally, but I don't remove them either so my garden IS full of dandelions and we DO make dandelion flower syrup, which my kids call Dandelion Juice. Someday, when I add wine-making to my list of projects, the kids and I will have to divvy up the "juice"
In compacted soil under the hot sun, they hug the ground and have leathery tough leaves.
They seem to grow biggest in rich loose soil. With their deep taproot, I think you would do well to grow them in 5 gal buckets or equivalent containers. They grow HUGE tender greens when well watered and kept in semi-shade, or when growing among really tall grass. I never knew ordinary dandelions grew that huge, though the dandelion greens sold in stores are usually 10~12" long. Well I get that too.
The older roots are, of course thicker.
So far, I haven't tried harvesting the roots. I don't really know what to do with them. Also, in my clay-y/compost soil, they come out SO muddy/mucky. I'm not sure how to clean them properly....
I don't grow them intentionally, but I don't remove them either so my garden IS full of dandelions and we DO make dandelion flower syrup, which my kids call Dandelion Juice. Someday, when I add wine-making to my list of projects, the kids and I will have to divvy up the "juice"
In compacted soil under the hot sun, they hug the ground and have leathery tough leaves.
They seem to grow biggest in rich loose soil. With their deep taproot, I think you would do well to grow them in 5 gal buckets or equivalent containers. They grow HUGE tender greens when well watered and kept in semi-shade, or when growing among really tall grass. I never knew ordinary dandelions grew that huge, though the dandelion greens sold in stores are usually 10~12" long. Well I get that too.
The older roots are, of course thicker.So far, I haven't tried harvesting the roots. I don't really know what to do with them. Also, in my clay-y/compost soil, they come out SO muddy/mucky. I'm not sure how to clean them properly....
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rainbowgardener
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My son named him, after some musician, I think. )
That musician would be Mozart? Wolfgang Amadeus Theophilis Mozart, where Amadeus is Latin for love of god (or god's love) and Theophilis is Greek for the same thing.
There was a great jazz pianist but his name was Thelonius Monk.
My Space shows a folk/rock group called Theophilius Monk, that is two music grad students who I think are trying to indicate that they have both classical and jazz roots.... But I doubt anyone has ever heard of them.
That musician would be Mozart? Wolfgang Amadeus Theophilis Mozart, where Amadeus is Latin for love of god (or god's love) and Theophilis is Greek for the same thing.
There was a great jazz pianist but his name was Thelonius Monk.
My Space shows a folk/rock group called Theophilius Monk, that is two music grad students who I think are trying to indicate that they have both classical and jazz roots.... But I doubt anyone has ever heard of them.
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gixxerific
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I have.rainbowgardener wrote:
My Space shows a folk/rock group called Theophilius Monk, that is two music grad students who I think are trying to indicate that they have both classical and jazz roots.... But I doubt anyone has ever heard of them.
By the way my Italian uncle will stop on the side of the highway in Ohio and pick dandelions for salads. He makes the best food.