Almost 20 years ago, I helped teach a class to my Pathfinders, a Christian group like
the Boy Scouts, on wild edibles.
You know, there are several different approaches to weeds. You could pull the weeds by hand by digging the plants to the root level. You could spray any number of compounds over the weeds to kill them.
You could pour boiling water or vinegar over the dandelions. You could burn the dandelion out with your lawn blowtorch. You could mulch heavily over the plant, not allowing the weeds to come through the mulch.
You could get rid of a portion of your old lawn and begin using wild prairie flower seeds over the lawn that have been prepared for the flowers and not need to worry about weeds or poisons anymore.
Probably the easiest way to get rid of dandelions is not to get them in the first place. Long blades of grass and letting the grass stay on the lawn will help shade the lawn enough to prevent the dandelion from getting any sunshine.
Dandelions and rice plate is shown here as an entry for the Dandelion Recipe Contest in Dover. Credit: Eric Larson
You could preserve the dandelion and eat it. This may be a budget extender and add some interest to your dinner plate, as your family would wonder what you are feeding them.
A few weeks ago, the radio program where I am a guest in Loudonville discussed edible weeds that you might find in your yard and other locations. We talked extensively about dandelions and ways that you can use them.
On May 4, 2025, in Dover, Ohio, the 31st annual Dandelion Festival was celebrated. One of the events is a cook-off on using dandelions in a recipe.
What I find interesting is that the winners of this contest showed beautiful plated meals with a variety of ways that you can cook dandelions.
This question I received in an e-mail several years ago on how to control dandelions in the yard, is a real contrast to how we might harvest dandelions and use them to benefit our families.
A broad-spectrum herbicide will allow you to kill the dandelion but will give you a Swiss cheese look to the lawn. The definition of a weed is any plant that is in a location that is out of place.
In other words, your own opinion goes a long way in defining what a weed truly is. One of the problems with killing the dandelion is that this plant is an early nectar source for our bees.
If you choose to harvest your dandelions, be aware of the time of year because the plant parts involved change. As the dandelion matures, the flavor changes. Before Dandelion’s flowers appear, the leaves taste like spinach, chicory, and endive, with a mild flavor.
Once the flower appears, the leaves get a milky fluid in them. The leaf becomes bitter. If you sauté this bitter leaf with onions and garlic in olive oil, cut up some carrots and parsnips, and continue to sauté until the onions are clear, the bitterness almost disappears, and it becomes a wonderful side dish.
Some bitterness remains, but becomes an interesting back flavor to your creation. If the bitterness is too much, boil the leaves again and get rid of the water, and start over. Then repeat the sauté process.
My brother-in-law, who passed away a few years ago, felt seriously dismayed the last time that I saw him at work. The President of the college where he worked saw a sea of yellow flowers, which caused the president to get upset.
If we were trained to think outside the box and harvest the leaves and flowers, we could harvest dandelion leaves that are considered very nutritious and high in vitamin A, B-1, B-2, B-5, B-6, B-12, C, E, P, D, inositol, biotin, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc.
Why don’t we think about using these highly nutritious plants in all of our diets?
If done properly, I’m certain anyone would appreciate the value of this green in a salad bowl in the spring. The flowers add a bittersweet flavor to the salad and color to the bowl.
As an alternative to getting rid of dandelions, initially have a harvest of your dandelions and see what kind of ways you may cook them. You may find your creation a winning entry at the Dandelion Festival in the future.
I hope that you all have a wonderful stroll through your garden today.
If you have a problem in your garden, contact me at my e-mail at ericlarson546@yahoo.com.
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