Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

vegetable

The dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) needs no introduction as a lawn weed, but grown on purpose it is a genuinely useful, entirely edible perennial: the toothed leaves are a vitamin-packed bitter green, the golden flowers are battered, made into wine, and loved by early bees, and the long taproot is roasted as a coffee substitute. Cultivated strains and good conditions give larger, milder, more tender leaves than the lawn weed. Tough, hardy, and nearly impossible to kill, it offers something to harvest in every season - greens in spring, flowers in early summer, root in fall.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Calendula — A cheerful edible flower that shares the easy conditions in a productive-weed bed
• Chives — An easygoing perennial herb that pairs in a mixed edible patch
• Yarrow — A deep-rooted herb that, like dandelion, draws beneficial insects and mines nutrients

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  Hose colonies from the leaves; predators usually keep them down outdoors

• Downy mildew →

  Give airflow and avoid overhead watering in cool, wet spells

🌾 Harvest & storage

Pick the young leaves in spring before the plant flowers, when they are mildest; older and post-bloom leaves grow more bitter, though still usable cooked. Blanching the crown first gives pale, tender, sweeter leaves. Gather the flowers fully open on a sunny morning for wine, fritters, or jelly. Dig the taproot in fall of the second year, when it is largest and richest, to roast or dry. Cut-and-come-again works well for a steady leaf supply.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Dandelion is one of the most nutritious greens you can grow - the leaves are extremely high in vitamins A, K, and C plus calcium and iron, eaten raw when young or cooked when older, with a pleasant bitterness. The flowers make wine, jelly, and fritters, and the roasted root is a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Every part is edible and useful.