Dandelions: Friend or Foe?

It happens every year. We go to bed to a lush green yard and wake up to a sea of golden faces shining up at the sky. Tiny little rays of sunshine captured in one tiny flower.

Taraxacum officinale.

The dandelion.

So many Americans spend many hours and many dollars battling this tiny plant. It has been labeled a weed by our society and is the bane of many a gardener’s summer day. Lawn management is usually done by an herbicide while organic gardening tends to lean towards hand pulling.

Oye. The hand pulling! Dandelioins have deep, strong tap roots that are susceptible to breaking when hand weeding. The left over root pieces will readily regrow overtime. And the cycle repeats everyday until winter forces it into dormancy.

Shame on you, tiny little flower for growing out of our control!

But what if the dandelion is actually a beneficial plant to have around?

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Lets take a look at this magnificent plant from a permaculture perspective.

Looking at challenges through our permaculture glasses calls us to not look woefully at the “problem” but instead to see what it’s telling us the area is lacking.

From, “I have a slug problem” to, “I am currently lacking ducks to eat the slugs that will then add manure and nutrients to our soil AND provide us with fresh eggs and meat.”

From, “I have terribly hard, nutrient-lacking soil” to, “I need to add organic material and ground covering to provide nutrients and biodynamic diversity.”

From, “I have a dandelion issue,” to, “I see the land is telling me there is hard, compact soil in need of nutrients. I’m going to let them grow freely and take a lot of work off my own hands as the plants will help amend the soil on their own while providing a first food for the bees and great nutritional and medicinal benefits to my family.”

Dandelion Benefits

For the Bees

The dandelion is one of the Spring’s very first flowers, and it flowers abundantly. Why do you think you see such a heavy blanket of yellow flowers in spring, while only spotted yellow blooms nearing fall? As bees emerge from their hives over winter their honey and pollen stores have been depleted. They need nectar and pollen quickly, and the dandelion jumps to the call.

For Humans and Livestock

The entire dandelion plant is edible. From the beautiful yellow top down deep to the tips of its roots, this plant packs a punch of nutrition. If you sit back and watch a field of dandelions, you will be amazed at what you see. Birds enjoying the seed heads, deer and rabbit munching on leafy greens, and pigs, goats, rabbits enjoying the roots.

High in calcium, protein, Vitamin A and many other nutrients the dandelion makes a great addition to our diet. Leaves and flower heads can be added into salads, the flower heads battered and fried, the roots diced and dried for tea.

The boys have been very entertained recently by helping me pick dandelion flowers. We take them back inside to wash and they spend a good amount of time sorting them between containers. For this batch we washed, dehydrated, and placed in avocado oil to steep for 6 weeks. This oil infusion will be used as a soothing skin salve.

To make the infused oil we used:

• 2 cups washed then dried dandelion flowers
• About 1 cup avocado oil (It has a longer shelf life than olive oil)
• Pint mason jar for storing
• Plastic mason jar lids (I find the metal lids tend to rust when doing any infusions.)
• Pans for dehydrating your flowers (I usually use glassware or stoneware, I’m not sure why I grabbed the aluminum pans this day!)

Directions:

• Set your oven to it’s lowest setting, ours is 170 F (77 C).
• Spread your rinsed flowers evenly over baking pans and place in the oven.
• Allow flowers to dry thoroughly, storing gently every hour or so. This took roughly 4 or 5 hours for us but time will vary depending on how much moisture is in your flowers and the temperature you’re using. It’s very important to make sure there is no moisture left in your flowers, as any leftover moisture can cause your infusion to spoil.
• Once completely dried, place all your flowers into your pint mason jar. Cover with avocado oil and use a butter knife to remove any extra air pockets. Add more oil, if necessary to fully cover your flowers.
• Close your lid tightly, date and label, and store in a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks. Gently swirl your infusion every few days.
• Strain and use in salves, or directly apply to dry, irritated skin.

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For the Soil

Dandelions are a bioaccumulator. Their long taproots allow them to bring up nutrients from deeper in the soil that other plants are unable to access. They usually grow in soil that is hard, compacted, and nutrient depleted.

So for all you lawn rollers out there, you’re only making a better habitat for the dandelions!

Their taproots also help aerate the soil and provide avenues for water to flow downward. When the soil is hard and compacted, water rushes too quickly to absorb into the soil and be used by surrounding plants.

If the dandelions need to be removed (if they’re stunting the growth of your garden plants, let’s say) I would recommend a hand weeder for precision in removing the taproot. This will allow you to remove the dandelion with little to no damage to surrounding plants or the soil. Removing as much as the taproot as you are able will lessen the likelihood of regrowth AND allows you to utilize the roots for making tea! Anytime I go out to weed the garden, I always bring a harvest basket just incase I need to remove a plant that can be used for something else!

You can use the uprooted plants for yourself, a special treat for your live stock, let them soak in water for compost tea, or drop them at the base of your other plants as mulch. They will break down overtime and add extra nutrients to your soil.

(The link to the harvest basket will take you to a Ghana Bolga African Market Basket. There are definitely less expensive options, and you could really use anything you have on hand! I simply love the look, how sturdy they are, and that they are Fair Trade.)

I don’t want to tell you what to do with your own property. I do; however, want to encourage you to not fall into the monotonous monoculture lawn that has been engrained upon us. That a perfectly manicured and sterile lawn is something to strive for when you could be enjoying a beautiful flower that is simply trying to repair some of the damage that we (humans) have done to the land.

If you’re dealing with crazy HOA regulations, I do feel for you! Perhaps pursuing changing the regulations with education, demonstrations, or turning your property into a Certified Wildlife Habitat may allow you to use your property as you see fit.