Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => Miscellany => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Pancho on 04 May, 2016, 07:44:58 am
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I had a revelation yesterday as I toiled and weeded a patch of garden that nature had made a good start at reclaiming from the family. Dandelions are great.
There's not much in flower early in the year and the ones I was attacking were attracting the affections of bumblebees and other insects. The bees probably need them as they wake from their winter oblivion. And, you know, they look good - a splash of colour in the early garden. What's more, you can eat them - pick young leaves and use as rocket in salads. If a plant breeding company suddenly invented them today, every gardening hipster in town would be clicking their orders through.
As I pondered on dandelions, my mind wandered a bit (isn't being unemployed great?) and I remembered reading Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion_Wine) which I'll put on my "to (re) read" list.
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What a coincidence !! I was discussing same thing in local garden shop yesterday and getting told off for removing our dandelions because of the early season nectar source ! So far I have dug out 4 bucketful from the lawn of them and there are still plenty more. There`s lots and lots in roadside verges and there`s plenty nectar source now in our garden with apple, greengage and pear trees coming into blossom .
So whilst I understand the point I`m still going to defend the garden against weeds and pests !! (I used to think moles were cute until they dug molehills all over the lawn, and veg plot ; they now get trapped, all seven to date)
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Remember the old name for them: Pissabed.
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Even the Flems have a similar name for them...
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Still pissenlits here, poor things. I think they're great.
(http://www.pbase.com/johnewing/image/112015542.jpg)
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Dandelions are a beautiful and useful native flowering plant, a manicured lawn is not natural and serves no purpose apart from satisfying mans desire to control nature.
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Given their ubiquity and relentless invasion of everywhere capacity - do we *really* need to be worried about 'deforestation' of these things? I guess so, given the nature of this conversation so far.
Fortunately for your collective sensitivity I long ago lost the will-to-live in getting rid of the bloody things ;) Aren't things like French Marigolds also nice and yellow and far more attractive...? The slug love 'em too...<runs away>
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now up to 15 buckets full having removed them also from verge in front of house. As for the impact on local population the entire verge along road for a long way either side is bright glorious yellow with them so I expect they`ll be reseeding in shortly. And lawn is scarcely manicured either rather a slightly roughly cut high area of grass (and moss)
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They are in important early nectar and pollen source for both bumbles and honey bees.
PH
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My lawn at the weekend.
I'm not lazy... I was ...err....errr.....thinking of the Bees..yes, that's right, the Bees.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ei4e1VZKnIg/VzMLYPCXPRI/AAAAAAAAHcU/yM89TC0OW8AvXQL1mOxzyo2EPPXmckprgCCo/s640/a%2BDandylion%2BClock%2Ba.jpg)
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I can say the same about my vegetable patch. It's not overgrown - I'm experimenting with permaculture and forest gardening!
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Dandelion tea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion_coffee)
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They are in important early nectar and pollen source for both bumbles and honey bees.
PH
cycled past two fields today of beekeeper heaven near Church Stretton, several acres of bright bright yellow dandelions :thumbsup: with a few bluebells in verges to add colour ;D
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Known as dogmilk (kutyaté) in Hungarian. Possibly summat to do with the white sap?
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I've been treating my paddock with Headland Relay P which I've found to be pretty good on nettles, thistles, dock, ribwort plantain, celandine and even Japanese knotweed. I treated the lawn with it last year and again a couple of weeks ago and the dandelions and celandine on the lawn are much-reduced. Unfortunately it seems that it's been withdrawn from sale...
I really don't think that my bees are going to get upset if I eradicate a couple of hundred of my dandelions...
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I really don't think that my bees are going to get upset if I eradicate a couple of hundred of my dandelions...
sorry beekeepers but I agree ! There are thousands dandelions around verges, fields here and all I`m doing is trying to reduce their invasion my lawn. As nectar sources we have apple, pear, greengage, blackcurrant, gooseberry, daffodils, grape hyacinths, comfrey (bees visiting it now), pulmonaria, primroses, cowslip, eyebrights, forget me nots, welsh poppy, winter flowering heathers all of which are currently in flower or have been in last month. A few dandelions isn`t going impact a lot on total nectar source here
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And you can make a delicious Tea with Dandelion too. Leave the plant to dry including the roots for a cup of tea !!