Dandelions are suddenly bursting into bloom in our garden!! A sure sign of spring, the dandelions follow their new green growth with bright yellow blossoms.

As a perennial medicinal and edible the Dandelion is a true permaculture plant! It is also a perpetual bloomer, putting out flower after flower all through the season!

We've been enjoying the spring Dandelion greens in a big way in our meals recently. They are much less bitter than the greens that grow later in the season and so they can easily be a star of the meal. Just yesterday I had dandelion with beans and sun dried tomato curry. Before that we had dandelion greens and roots in our chili. Before that we were enjoying spring dandelion greens in our eggs.

Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale

Life cycle: Perennial / Ease of propagation: Easy / Hardiness zone: 5-9

A favorite garden weed, Dandelion provides beauty, nectar, medicine, food, fodder and more! Let’s bring back an old tradition of cultivating dandelion as a regular food staple. Her strength does well in any garden conditions, even on garden edges right alongside your perennials or annuals. Dandelion is a wonderful companion plant. In good soil the Dandelion root can reach a foot or more and grow ½ inch to 1 inch around.

As a highly nutritive food Dandelion offers many minerals and nutrients to your diet. Medicinally it has many uses but Dandelion is best known for being a gentle and effective liver tonic and aiding in the liver’s function of cleansing blood. Dandelion roots are known to nourish women’s breasts, uterus and ovaries. Dandelion roots and leaves are digestive bitters. The leaves can help with circulation and moving of lymph nodes. Dandelion flowers can be used in skin care. The list of medicinal uses of Dandelion goes on and on! Too much to list here. Dandelion can be prepared as tea, dried herb, tincture and infusion.

As a food we regard Dandelion very highly. The bitterness of dandelion roots and leaves is easily lost in stews, curries, chilis, casseroles and beans. In small amounts, such as in eggs or pastas, or as side dishes the bitterness is a welcome flavor to more adventurous palates. Try dandelion greens cooked southern style like collard greens with vinegar and a little brown sugar or honey (and bacon if so inclined). Young Dandelion greens are less bitter and can be added to salads or sandwiches. Dandelion flowers make a delicious wine! Roasted Dandelion root can also be used as a coffee substitute (sometimes in combination with other herbs) and can make a delicious tea as well. In these cases roots harvested in the Autumn will be less bitter.

“The young leaves may also be boiled as a vegetable, spinach fashion, thoroughly drained, sprinkled with pepper and salt, moistened with soup or butter and served very hot. If considered a little too bitter, use half spinach, but the Dandelion must be partly cooked first in this case, as it takes longer than spinach. As a variation, some grated nutmeg or garlic, a teaspoon of chopped onion or grated lemon peel can be added to the greens when they are cooked.”
– Maud Grieve, A Modern Herbal

Sowing Instructions

Direct sow seeds ¼ inch deep, any time of year in well prepared soil, tamp soil and keep moist until germination. Or sow in place anytime between early fall and late spring and let nature do its work after the rains come.

References

• Healing Wise, Susun Weed
• The Wild Wisdom of Weeds, Katrina Blair
• A Modern Herbal, Maud Grieve
• https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Taraxacum+officinale
• https://steempeak.com/naturalmedicine/@sagescrub/i-choose-dandelion-for-breakfast-today
• https://steempeak.com/homesteading/@sagescrub/wild-food-dandelion-quiche-with-farm-fresh-goat-cheese-caramelized-onions-and-dried-plums
• https://steempeak.com/ecotrain/@sagescrub/wild-food-load-up-my-omellete-with-dandelions-please

Dandelion Seeds are available for STEEM, SBD and USD

View our entire Seeds of Abundance seed catalog at Homesteaders Co-op

---

Website | @homesteaderscoop | Discord Community

#naturalmedicine | Introducing @naturalmedicine | Discord Community

#tribesteemup | @tribesteemup | The 8 Pillars of TribeSteemUp