Dandelions--Okay to Compost?

For the last several weeks, I've been on dandelion patrol each morning. On some days, I "harvest" up to 150 of them.

As long as they haven't yet gone to seed, is it okay to compost them?

I let my dandelions bloom and then they usually go to seed by the time of the first lawn mowing. It all goes into the compost.

They can make seeds if the flowerhead has been pollinated & it is able to dry out .

With pernicious plants like dandilions ,docks , nettles & thistles etc . If you put them in a big bucket full of water with a weight on them to keep them submerged and then cover the bucket with a lid to keep out oxygen for about five weeks they will rot to a non viable state.
The water goes an oily black and stinks to high heaven , pour the contents into a hole and cover up with soil , don't get any of the " soup on your skin or clothes ...it's really a vile sickening smell and hangs around for days .
This soup is a good fertilizer and can also be poured into a hole in the compost heap & covered over PDQ .

plantoid wrote:They can make seeds if the flowerhead has been pollinated & it is able to dry out .

With pernicious plants like dandilions ,docks , nettles & thistles etc . If you put them in a big bucket full of water with a weight on them to keep them submerged and then cover the bucket with a lid to keep out oxygen for about five weeks they will rot to a non viable state.
The water goes an oily black and stinks to high heaven , pour the contents into a hole and cover up with soil , don't get any of the " soup on your skin or clothes ...it's really a vile sickening smell and hangs around for days .
This soup is a good fertilizer and can also be poured into a hole in the compost heap & covered over PDQ .

You do all that... and then seeds blow in from the neighbor's place anyway.

camprn wrote:You do all that... and then seeds blow in from the neighbor's place anyway.

Now that was just too funny camp!

Camp,

You're right! Although most of my immediate neighbors take good care of their lawns, one of the meadows in the back hosts a dandelion farm, and not all of the homeowners seem to care.

I make the effort, though, in the belief that if I don't pick these pests, even more will sprout in the future!

camprn wrote:

plantoid wrote:They can make seeds if the flowerhead has been pollinated & it is able to dry out .

With pernicious plants like dandilions ,docks , nettles & thistles etc . If you put them in a big bucket full of water with a weight on them to keep them submerged and then cover the bucket with a lid to keep out oxygen for about five weeks they will rot to a non viable state.
The water goes an oily black and stinks to high heaven , pour the contents into a hole and cover up with soil , don't get any of the " soup on your skin or clothes ...it's really a vile sickening smell and hangs around for days .
This soup is a good fertilizer and can also be poured into a hole in the compost heap & covered over PDQ .

You do all that... and then seeds blow in from the neighbor's place anyway.

Arr ye be rite, but Eee as a fertilizer to play wi .

donnainzone10 wrote:For the last several weeks, I've been on dandelion patrol each morning. On some days, I "harvest" up to 150 of them.

As long as they haven't yet gone to seed, is it okay to compost them?

Well, from Hard-experience, let me say that composting Dandelion-seed is a sure recipe for disaster, as those suckers survive in seed-stage for many years, if not centuries And refusing an even greater evil aka RoundUP , I too am out there 3+ times daily aborting/beheading every last one of them, preferably BEFORE they have a chance to open. - Then I spent over an hour daily, uprooting dandelions, along with (another Unidentified but similar-looking) weed that when gang-busters the last 2 years. BUT I will get them gone. Hopefully before the Rapture

LG .... shouldn't that last line read " Hopefully before the Rupture " ?

donnainzone10 wrote:For the last several weeks, I've been on dandelion patrol each morning. On some days, I "harvest" up to 150 of them.

As long as they haven't yet gone to seed, is it okay to compost them?

I eat them...and all their little body parts, too.

CC

plantoid wrote:LG .... shouldn't that last line read " Hopefully before the Rupture " ?

No, the 1st. rupture was caused by medical malpractice, &
the Rapture is in the NT repeatedly.
But back to the discussion, I noticed you posted re "sickeningly-vile black soup" making good fertilizer; so I assumed that stuff (mine has no dandelions in the barrel) would be good to water plants with, making them very productive, yes? - Anyway, I started applying it last week to see what happens...
It hadn't occurred to me to pour it unto the Composted-earth: this would keep it wet before I use it for soil. I need that barrel to store compost in, while I make yet a 4th pile.

I've tried the leaves in a salad, the unopened flower buds sautéed, and the leaves boiled in two changes of water. All were just too bitter for my taste. So, CapeCoddess, how do you fix them for eating? Nonna

I pick them young and small. I boil the roots for tea if I can get all the dirt off, and I use the rest raw in my salads. I don't have refined taste buds so I don't notice the bitterness like my mother does and you do. My Chinese coworker sautes them up like one does with chard or kale. They are delicious!

CC

What?! Dandelions aren't pests! They're beautiful. Plus they're the first (I think) nectar source for bees in spring, and they're edible. What's not to love?

Oh, and they add nutrients to the soil when they decompose, I believe it's calcium.

From wikipedia: "The dandelion plant is a beneficial weed, with a wide range of uses, and is even a good companion plant for gardening. Its taproot will bring up nutrients for shallower-rooting plants, and add minerals and nitrogen to soil. It is also known to attract pollinating insects and release ethylene gas which helps fruit to ripen.[28] Taraxacum seeds are an important food source for certain birds.[29]"

Wiki also says to blanch to remove bitterness.

AND lookie here: "Dandelion leaves contain abundant vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C and K, and are good sources of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese.[34]"

I know that dandelion leaves are edible, but I won't sample any for another two years, since I don't know what chemicals were used on my lawn prior to my move-in last July.

Also: I don't want to contribute to proliferating dandelions, because it encourages my neighbors to use.... the dreaded Round-Up!

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:I've tried the leaves in a salad, the unopened flower buds sautéed, and the leaves boiled in two changes of water.

The operative phrase is "pick them young & small", iow BEFORE they ever flower, the 1st. shoots in the Spring. Then supposedly they are not yet bitter.
Too remember, the hype re the minerals they contain? Only true, when said minerals remain in the soil, which for the past 100 years has become increasingly depleted. And why so many of us Supplement our diet with Calcium, & the other 11 essential minerals.

LG ,
I'd be wary of using " the soup neat " on the ground by plants for watering plants I've not done that yet so I don't know the likley results .

Whatever you do don't get it on salad stuff or soft fruit that won't be sterilized by boiling , just incase it causes you tum problems etc.

Will you keep us up to speed on the results please ?

donnainzone10 wrote:
Also: I don't want to contribute to proliferating dandelions, because it encourages my neighbors to use.... the dreaded Round-Up!

All (but 1) of our neighbors keep their grass & weeds mowed before they can flower, so once I get them all gone, everything will be cool. Plus they don't complain, for they see me out there DAILY weeding. They smile & wave

plantoid wrote:LG ,
I'd be wary of using " the soup " on the ground by plants for watering plants I've not done that yet so I don't know the likley results .

Whatever you do don't get it on salad stuff or soft fruit that won't be sterilized by boiling , just in case it causes you tum problems etc.

Will you keep us up to speed on the resuts please ..

Sure thing. So far I've only used it on well-established ornamentals, like Hydrangeas, & they really LIKE "the soup", they are leafing like crazy.

Dandelions are considered 'Dynamic Accumulators' Their roots pull certain minerals from the ground.The following is a list for dandelions: sodium, silica, magnesium,calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, copper.
I'm not that fond of the taste, but, as a fertilizer, we'll see.
I was told to stuff into a bottle with a lid, drill a small hole in lid, and turn upside down. Supposed to dilute with water before feeding plants.
I have a whole list of plants/weeds, but will have to locate where I found it.
Jo

Actually I have been able to make good use of these little suckers. I go around and gather them for chicken treats. My girls fight over them when tossed in the coop. I benefit from the long range compost.

camprn wrote:
You do all that... and then seeds blow in from the neighbor's place anyway.

Heh heh, I sneak around your places and scatter the dandelion and clover seeds in the night, because they feed our pollinators. Y'know, if you keep the pollinators strong and happy, they'll do your garden for you too.

Meadows, not lawns, I always say.

Pollinator,

I welcome the clover, because I know it attracts bees. So do dandelions. A couple of weeks ago, I even got stung.

I dug up my English thyme because it's so invasive, but am saving as much as possible in planters to contain it. I think the bees will be grateful.

Today, while visiting a neighbor, I saw two gigantic bumblebees. No, I wasn't hallucinating, since my neighbor saw them, too. Instead of the usual lemon-yellow markings, they had a golden-yellow fuzz on their backs and were about 3/4" or so long.

My DH says he calls them carpenter bees. That is what I have here.They drill holes in wood for their homes. They are good pollinators for my garden. I will say I have lots of white clover this yr and 'I saw a honey bee' in the clover!
Jo

Pollinator wrote:

camprn wrote:
You do all that... and then seeds blow in from the neighbor's place anyway.

Heh heh, I sneak around your places and scatter the dandelion and clover seeds in the night, because they feed our pollinators. Y'know, if you keep the pollinators strong and happy, they'll do your garden for you too.

Meadows, not lawns, I always say.

I drive my Proper Yankee lady neighbor near to fits the way I keep my lawn, er meadow.... for the pollinators. But when I mow, all those seeds do go into the compost heap. I don't usually have trouble with dandelions growing up from the compost I put into the garden.