"Lattes" wrote:
Hey all, ok I know this sounds a bit insane to some of you but dandelion is
VERY tasty and I was wondering if anyone here had ever tried growing it?

I've never PURPOSEFULLY grown dandelions, but I have used both the leaves
and flowers in various meals, so I do know what you are talking about.
(one of these days, I'll dig one or two up and roast or pan-fry the roots)
The early dandelion leaves are very good and typically, dandelions
are the first "green" things that I see growing after the snow melts in
the spring...even earlier than spring lettuce...so dandelions could be
considered a significant part of the yearly cycle of food from "mother
earth"

Several things to consider:
- In your locale, it may actually be against the law to grow
dandelions on purpose. Some cities and towns have lists of
"noxious" weeds and sometimes the dandelion might be on these lists.

- if it is legal, then make sure you harvest the dandelions BEFORE
they go to seed. The fluffy seeds are so light that they will probably
float into your neighbour's yard if you are growing outside and if you
are growing dandelions inside, the seeds will probably end up on your
favorite sweater in your closet and will be a real pain in the butt to
remove. (Your neighbour may not be as fond of dandelions as you are!)

- I think dandelions are supposed to be biennial (I'm not 100% sure
on this), so you may only get two years worth of food out of one
planting. (Unless you let them go to seed, but in my previous point I
suggested that was a BAD idea :-)
You may be able to get more by chopping the roots into several pieces
after the year's harvest and replanting the pieces.

- I find that by mid-June (in Canada), the leaves are getting too bitter
to eat...but of course, by that time spinach & sorrel are available in
the garden for salad greens anyway, so after mid-June, I just switch
plants for my salad source. So the only really good harvest month might
be May.

Thomas Dz.