Dandelions

Started by sakorick, May 02, 2018, 11:08:17 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

sakorick

When I was a little boy growing up on Steele Street in East Denver, my dad would work for hours digging Dandelions out of the yard. He used a Dandelion digger. So when I grew up I killed Dandelions with the best of them. But now that I've really grown up I welcome dandelions as they are essentially the first food in the Spring for our pollinators. And this year lo and behold, I have a large group of Honey Bees and Carpenter Bees feeding on my Dandelions! It's good to have them back. I tolerate the Wasps also as they just don't bother me anymore. In order the Honey Bee(European/Western Honey Bee) the Carpenter( watch out for them!) and the Paper Wasp.


Talk to yourself. There are times you need expert advice.

gitano

I have long argued that for those that would like to see the dandelion "go away" as a pest, the only thing required would be to have someone develop a 'cultivated' variety of dandelion. As soon as "everyone wanted one", they would be impossible to find.

I have a "cure" for a mosquito problem too. There is no example in written history where humans commercially exploited a natural resource and did not drive it into extinction. NO EXAMPLE. For the things we "liked" like chickens, cows, goats, pigs, horses, sheep, etc. we simply domesticated them. But if we relied simply on "wild stocks" AND we MADE MONEY off of them, we took them until there were no more. NO EXCEPTIONS. All we have to do to get rid of every mosquito on the planet (only slight hyperbole there), is to "pay" for them. I PROMISE that once there is money to be made from killing mosquitoes, within 5 years they will be on the "endangered" species list. There is simply no doubt.

If you look at the PLANT "dandelion" - Taraxacum officinale - it's actually quite extraordinary.
1) It produces a VERY pretty flower.
2) It's EXTREMELY hardy. It both tolerates the "Great White North" and vigorous efforts by mankind to kill it off.
3) Early greens can be eaten. (However, I don't care for them.)
4) Lots of folks used to make dandelion wine, and even today, a few still do.
And as Rick has pointed out,
5) It 'feeds' lots of pollen and nectar-eating insects. Not the least of which is the "honey" bee.

All in all, I kinda like dandelions. I kill them in my LAWN, but I don't get too serious about it. I don't think much of "lawns" to start with, and I'm sure as the dickens not going to 'break my back' to have a "pretty" lawn.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

sakorick

And the flowers aren't there forever! In a few week they will set seeds and presto they go away until next Spring.:biggthumpup:
Talk to yourself. There are times you need expert advice.

gitano

Not in my yard. The plant is clearly visible as "not grass" throughout the summer. I don't mind a few here and there, but when they get too densely populated, I poison 'em.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

Paul Hoskins

I used to declare war on dandelions but it was a losing battle & I quit. Dandelions are still there after they bloom. They're just not so obvious without blooms. I've always thought if one could find a commercial use for them , they would disappear. It seems the seeds blow into low places & cover the ground in some areas just like falling leaves in the fall. ......Paul H

Jamie.270

Even if they were commercialized they wouldn't disappear.


Before long however, Monsanto or Bayer would be stopping by and charging you a fee for every one of them that sprouted in your yard.


:Banghead:


My money's on Monsanto getting there first.


:cens:
Be careful what you wish for my friends.
QuoteRestrictive gun laws that leave good people helpless, don\'t have the power to render bad people harmless.

To believe otherwise is folly. --  Me

Tags: