Don't Destroy Dandelions

[Durgan]

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/n...enefits-keep-dandelions-and-save-bees/101118/ Got dandelions? Here's why you SHOULDN'T get rid of them

So if your lawn is crawling with dandelions, it's OK if you keep them for awhile. The bees will thank you.

 

[TomatoTango]

The greens are edible too.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

The simple alternative would be to plant native species that bloom in spring. Ultimately, there's no real safe way to get rid of dandelions if you have them in your lawn, and when you do, more will come anyway, so you might as well keep them.

 

[MaryMary]

The greens are edible too.

Every part of a dandelion is edible.

Dandelions are a leaf crop. They are highly nutritious, high in vitamins A, B, C, D, and iron, as well as many other vitamins and minerals. They are perhaps one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat..... or drink. (...snip...)

Eating Dandelions:
Every part of the Dandelion is edible.

• Roots- Used as a vegetable or for making tea.
  
  
• Crowns_ This is the whitish bulb like part of the plant just at ground level. It is used in salads or as a vegetable, often in cooking recipes.
  
  
• Leaves- Used in salads and as a cooked vegetable, usually with other vegetables. Pick in the spring as they get bitter later in the year.
  
  
• Flower buds- This is the part of the plant which is used to make Dandelion wine. You guessed it...it takes a lot of flower buds to make a little wine!

A Dandelion a day, keeps the doctor away! Not only are Dandelions nutritious, they have great medicinal value. It has been known to treat a wide variety of ails from acne to heart conditions, liver ailments and night vision blindness, and a wide variety in between.

Did you know? Dandelions are higher in Potassium than Bananas.
http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/dandeli.htm

 

[Durgan]

All edible except most fields are saturated with "cides.

 

[Silentrunning]

I am mowing less this year in order that the wildflowers have a chance to go to seed. When possible I mow around wild flowers to leave them standing. The 6 acres of my property that I mow will be down to 2 by the end of next year. (I hope) the 4 acres will be going to wild flowers and tree cultivation. Long live the bees.

 

[marlingardener]

Bees do love dandelions, squash blossoms, and a variety of other flowers. The green leaves are edible, and the hens love the dandelion flowers. Eating dandelions supposedly makes the egg yolk yellower. I just enjoy hearing the happy clucking as my ladies graze!

 

[Sean Regan]

There's over 27,000 public parks and over 2,500 golf courses in the UK. Then there's roadside verges and roundabouts. So more than enough places for dandelions to flourish.

 

[Durgan]

There's over 27,000 public parks and over 2,500 golf courses in the UK, so more than enough places for dandelions to flourish.

Similar to Canada, but all golf course areas here are treated with some herbicide and not a dandelion in sight. Recently herbicides were prohibited in Parks so dandelions do thrive in those areas.

 

[Sean Regan]

Similar to Canada, but all areas here are treated with some herbicide and not a dandelion in sight on any golf course..

There's a lot of herbicides green keepers aren't allowed to use in this country particularly on courses where the lateral streams run into a river as do ours. We don't get any on the greens of course, but there's always a few in the rough that survive for a while between mowings or in our wooded areas that don't get cut at all. The fairways get mowed a couple of times a week so we rarely see one on any. But there's plenty of other places where they will flourish.

 

[zigs]

Got a few here

 

[Sean Regan]

Got a few here

View attachment 36922

I'd have a hard job getting a ball up out of there, even with a lob wedge.

 

[Durgan]

It is about 14C cloudy today with a cool (cold) wind. I have in blossom peach, quincy,plum,haskap, cherry, among some flowers. I checked carefully and found one bumble bee. There are even a few dandelions left from my slaughter yesterday. Behind my property there is a lawn full of dandelions.

I muse about the claim that bees thrive on dandelions, true or not. Anyway, I am going to give dandelions a try and let them thrive, for better or worse. One thing I know for sure is we have few bees.

 

[Sean Regan]

It is about 14C cloudy today with a cool (cold) wind. I have in blossom peach, quincy,plum,haskap, cherry, among some flowers. I checked carefully and found one bumble bee. There are even a few dandelions left from my slaughter yesterday. Behind my property there is a lawn full of dandelions.

I muse about the claim that bees thrive on dandelions, true or not. Anyway, I am going to give dandelions a try and let them thrive, for better or worse. One thing I know for sure is we have few bees.

Talking of slaughter, I killed five lily beetles today.

 

[headfullofbees]

Bees prefer clover to dandelions.