Well I know it is spring when I see these little nuisances. Ours bloom pretty steady until it just gets too hot, then come back briefly in the fall. I don't spray our lawn with anything, both because I am too cheap and because I have cats and babies that play there. (I wish I could convince my cats to stay home or my neighbors to quit spraying.) I don't think the previous residents of our house sprayed with anything, either, because there were a lot of damndelions when we moved in.
I go around pretty much every day this time of year and pull out the ones that are blooming with the tool you see on the left. I would say I get the whole tap root out for about half of the ones I pull, which means that about half of them come back in a couple weeks. When I started doing this I used to pull two grocery bags per day. After three springs and three falls I think I am winning, though there were so many to start with that I don't think we'll live here long enough to eradicate them.
Someone suggested I try eating them so I wouldn't resent pulling them so much. So I tried it (a leaf). Wow, that was horrible. In fairness, you are supposed to eat them before they bloom, and I don't like normal leaf lettuce, but - wow, that was horrible. Maybe one of you who like lettuce will give one a try and let me know what you think.
I've eaten dandelion greens, and I liked them. But I like bitter greens and I definitely ate them before the plant flowered.
ReplyDeleteI tried posting a response earlier about cooking the greens. I usually do this with greens that are bitter. A quick google search and this is what I found (I think they usually use leaves before the plant flowered):
ReplyDeletehttp://southernfood.about.com/od/collardgreens/r/bl30319f.htm
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sauteed-Dandelion-Greens-242014
I found a recipe that suggests you can fry the blossoms, but then my guess is that it just becomes like a fried food.
Disclaimer: I have to admit, I've never eaten dandelion greens.
I confess that I really like dandelions - they've always struck me as such happy little plants. I get secretly happy that people who don't like them also dislike pulling them out. You can glare at me long and hard next time you see me :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, what did I see at MOM today but dandelion greens, $2.50/bunch. Maybe I should open a pick-your-own with rock-bottom prices.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, dandelions are happy plants. I wish we lived in a world where dandelions were prized as the beautiful edible ornamentals they are. But that would also be a world where you would have to go to Europe to see them, because that is where they belong!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matty, but I can't imagine I will cook them any time soon. 5 years in Florida was enough cooked greens for me!
ReplyDeleteLike you say the dandelions have to be early tender leaves or they are bitter and also you need a bacon /warm cider vinegar &sugar dressing to cut the flavor. Trust me or maybe look into dandelion wine!?
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