Dandelions

[sarraceniac]

I'm pretty sure that my Italian friend on the lottie site uses a particular long thin kind of dandelion to grow and I know he doesn't blanch them he just earths them up a little way up the stem!

I'm reviving this to say I have just found a form of chicory in Italy thus:

Full Name: Chicory Italian Dandelion (ciccoria catalogna)

Description:

Deeply cut, long, wide leaves on quick growing plants which produce an abundance of young shoots in spring. The thick shoots and tender young leaves are eaten in salads or lightly steamed. They have a rich, delicate flavor that many prefer to asparagus.

Sow in spring (March-May) summer or late summer after the peak of the hot season has passed. Thin to 1 foot apart, and allow the plants to develop over winter.

A friend of mine who lives in Florence (and I'm not jealous at all ) is sending me some seed. He swears blind that it is not dandelion but a loose leafed, self blanching chicory.

I'll keep grapes informed when it arrives (especially the 'prefer it to asparagus'.) Wanna bet?

[taff]

It's possible to eat lots of wild plants but why bother when you can have proper food.

There's a big tradition of foraging in italy,and also a liking for bitter vegetables/leaves.
It's not considered weird,or strange, it's something that the majority of italians do, if they don't live in cities.

[Jeanied]

Oh, Taff - just noticed your location. Must make you proud! *Sorry folks - off topic.

[cupcake]

I used to make dandelion wine years ago! The flowers should be picked on St georges day and it will be drinkable by Christmas. (A very light white)

[taff]

Oh, Taff - just noticed your location. Must make you proud! *Sorry folks - off topic.

not really...

[organic]

Something maybe worth a mention...
There's another weed/plant that looks a lot like dandelion but isn't. I've heard it called "false dandelion" (rather unsurprisingly).

I could be very much mistaken here, but I seem to recall the false one doesn't have the hollow flower stems that the true dandelion has.

Also on the "name" front. I've never heard the more colourful names for dandelion applied to anything else. Piss-the-bed, piss-a-bed, piss-bed, piss-en-lit (for the French) and others.


On the weeds-as-food thing - now's the right time to be picking nettles for that too. The younger the better.

[Two_Sheds]

I used to make dandelion wine years ago! The flowers should be picked on St georges day and it will be drinkable by Christmas. (A very light white)

Nice to see you back
I've pencilled in the right date for dandy picking, as I'm keen to add it to my wine repertoire (parsnip, carrot, celery & beetroot already tried)

[falkon]

dandelions are pain in the ------- . Its a rapidly growing weed and roots are very hardy and stubborn... even a small piece of root left in the ground will restart growing... very difficult to get rid of this...

[Flummery]

Since I started picking the leaves off dandelions in the garden (yes, I DO have that sort of garden!) to give to the chickens, who absolutely adore them, I find they aren't growing back so well at all. I was nearly out of them by autumn. They must be severely weakened by constant leaf picking. Can't see a sign of them yet this year.

[organic]

It's possible to eat lots of wild plants but why bother when you can have proper food.

I just saw this and thought I'd chip in...
Define "proper food". Quite often the "wild" food is far more appropriate for a particular thing than the nearest "proper" equivalent.

Also, where do you draw the line?

About 90% of all blackberries I consume are wild.
100% of the sloes, elderflowers and elderberries I use (both for food and drink purposes) are wild... and I'm not aware of a "proper" equivalent for any of them.

What about Jack-by-the-Hedge? What's the "proper food" version of that? Normal garlic, maybe, but that's far more pungent.

If you ask me I'd re-word it like this...
There's plenty of proper food outside that's there for the taking... why bother limiting yourself to what's on sale in the shops?



Flummery - that's an interesting development - one I'll be sure to keep in mind.
I'm almost tempted to keep a few similarly sized dandelions and see which one dies the quickest.
1> Leaves picked regularly.
2> All leaves pulled at once.
3> Pulled up leaving some root behind.

It'd be interesting to see which one fared the wrost.

[Two_Sheds]

even a small piece of root left in the ground will restart growing... very difficult to get rid of this...

I dug out over 100 of them last year with a daisy grubber: no sign of regrowth yet

[falkon]

I dug out over 100 of them last year with a daisy grubber: no sign of regrowth yet

sounds interesting .. I will try this year... .lets hope the snow will wipe away some time soon

[tamsin]

I can't get my dandelions to germinate. I was going to grow some in pots for the rabbits as we've cleared most out of the garden.