How to Grow Dandelions for Cooking & Home Remedies
Dandelions got labeled as a weed at some point, but in some parts of the world, they are grown in just about every garden bed for their delicious leaves and useful flower heads. If you are interested in growing and harvesting dandelions but are unsure of how to begin, it’s not hard. Dandelions grow easy enough in the yard, but unless you have been able to keep close tabs on any applications of pesticides and other chemicals that have been added, it is a better idea to plant your own crop of these tender and edible plants in a dedicated space.
Here are a few tips to begin growing and harvesting your own dandelions:
Starting Dandelion Plants
Like other greens, dandelions are best started from seed where they can be added directly to the garden or potted containers. If you are worried about the dandelions spreading to your grass or overtaking a garden space, keep them in a container. Add seeds directly to your garden soil, raking into the soil with your fingers to a depth of one to two inches. Once the seedlings appear, thin them out so that they are about 5 inches apart.
Providing For Your Dandelions
So you might think that you can just leave your dandelions to do their thing, after all, they seem to grow just fine everywhere else. The thing is, dandelions grow so well in so many lawns because they are well watered and regularly fed. For dandelions that you want to harvest and use in cooking, it is important that you are able to grow robust, big leaves with large, deep roots. To do this, make sure your dandelion plants are well watered, are able to access full sun for as much of the day as possible and have compost material added to the soil regularly.
Harvesting Dandelion Plants
Once you have leaves show up on your dandelion plants, it is safe to begin pulling the youngest leaves because they are the tastiest. If you don’t get to the leaves early enough and they grow large in size, it is important to note that this is also when the leaves are at their most bitter. Gardeners have found that blocking the sun from reaching the leaves at this point is a great way to reduce the bitter taste they have and still be able to harvest, so throw a blanket or cloth over the dandelions about three to four days before you plan on using them.
Flowers should be harvested when they are at their fullest and used as soon as possible. The roots of the dandelion plant are one of the most coveted parts, and these can be harvested at any point, but once the leaves stop producing is best so that you get to use all the parts of the plant.
How to Use Dandelion Plants
You can add the leaves to a salad, make soup, or add them to a quiche. You can even make tea! Dandelion tea is known for its detoxifying properties. Dandelions can also be used to make beauty product and home remedies. Here are a few books, available on Amazon, that have more uses for dandelions:
What do you think? Will you use dandelions in your cooking or home remedies?
