>>1266227Not at all, I have an entire ziploc bag of dandelion seeds in my seedbank. I'll give you some tips.
•Loose soil allows easy removal of roots.
•Shady area produces taller flower stems.
•Well-cultivated dandelions are massive, but there seems to be different cultivars that are larger than others. (here ones with more rounded-edge leaves are more massive normally).
•New leaves are less bitter than older leaves.
•Lighter color leaves are less bitter than darker leaves.
•Chickens eat dandelion seed tops.
•Roots are okay for roasting until dry, grinding into a powder, and using to adulterate coffee or add flavor to chocolate drinks (sieve it or use tea bags.) Also for beer recipes.
•Leaves are good for salads as well as pot herbs. Also used dried in beers.
•When using the flowers for wine, make damn sure to remove all green parts. You only want the yellow petals. It is hard work. Green parts make the wine bitter.
•You can make latex rubber from dandelions, but it requires a massive amount of them.
•They normally bloom in cool weather of spring and fall.
Some beer recipes only use 1 part of the plant while others use the entire plant.
>Ingredients (two-gallon batch)>2 oz. dried dandelion>2 oz. dried nettle>1 oz. dried yellow dock root>1 gal. water (plus 1 gallon preboiled and cooled for topping off)>2 lbs. sugar>2 tbsp. dried ginger>Beer Yeast>Directions:>Boil the dandelion, nettle, and yellow dock root in water for 15 minutes. Place the sugar and ginger in your glass fermenter, then strain the “tea” over the sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then add enough preboiled, cooled water to bring the total volume to two gallons. Rehydrate your yeast (if using dried) and stir into the wort. Ferment til complete, then bottle.>>1266233Some places can be pretty lacking in dandelions. Even if you have lots, growing them through the year in a controlled plot is more rewarding.
