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Leda's Dandy Ramble
There are dandelions here, of course. In fact, I consider the dandelion growing through the cracks in the sidewalk to be something of a personal emblem for this city-dwelling forager. But I wouldn't harvest that close to traffic, so...into the community garden. There are dandelions here, too, but never quite as many as I'd like, despite my attempts to increase them (I'm always sure to leave a bit of the root to regenerate a new plant when I dig, and I regularly scatter the seeds). There are more than there used to be, though! And there are a few prize plants that I know deliver up the biggest, longest, tenderest leaves in spring which I never dig up.
Thanks to Melana, I've got a supply of the roots on hand. I love these mixed with regular coffee. Not only is the brew less caffeinated than straight coffee, but it does possess some of the health benefits of dandelion (although not as much as the unroasted root). If I'm starting with the fresh roots that I've dug, I scrub them clean, chop them, and then spread them in a baking pan. I put them in a 300F oven, stirring ocasionally, until they are dark brown but not burnt, and smelling like molasses. These I grind in a coffee grinder and mix 50/50 with coffee for morning brews.
The leaves are best harvested before the plants flower--after that they are incredibly bitter. However, it is worth noting that the bitterness is a sign of high alkaloid content, and that midsummer is the most medicinally potent time to harvest the leaves. For food, though, we're talking early spring. I do blanch and freeze some of the leaves and crowns for off-season use, but nothing beats a fresh dandy leaf salad in late March or in April.
By May, the dandelions are in flower and the greens season is over. No worries. Time to make dandelion wine. Since I don't have access to enough dandelions to collect as many flowers as are needed for winemaking all at one go, I stockpile them in the freezer until I have enough. You can also use frozen dandelion petals for making fritters.
After that, dandelion season continues. The plant turns bitter, but that makes it useful for beer brewing and medicine.
Right now, there are dandelion rosettes hugging the bare ground in the garden, and I could be out there harvesting them. But why not wait until they start to put out their lusher, more tender growth in another month? There is a difference between survival foraging and good food!
Leda Meredith