Harvest Dandelion Roots in Winter! 🌼❄️

Harvest Dandelion Roots in Winter! 🌼❄️

Dandelion is likely one of the most undervalued flowering plants and they pop up everywhere and take no effort to grow, so here’s why I let them grow in my vegetable garden…😊🌱

All parts of the plant are edible, I mainly eat the leaves as a nutrient packed leafy green, use the flowers to make syrup, and dry the roots to make a tea or decaf coffee alternatives. ☕️

And they have been traditionally used to support immunity and detoxify the body as they are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. 🌱🌼

But while the young greens and flowers are best harvested in spring, the roots are best harvested in late autumn or early winter, after the first frost when they are slightly sweeter and have a higher concentration of the prebiotic carbohydrate inulin, a type of soluble fibre that supports the growth and maintenance of healthy gut bacteria. 🌱❄️

They are also easier to pull up and less prone to breaking at this point in the year too. 👍🏻🌱

Once harvested I just dry and then store mine to make tea, or the fresh root can be used just like a root vegetable, so forget the parsnips on your Christmas dinner and pull up some dandelions instead! 🎄🌼

Just remember to leave some in the ground as they are an important early food source for pollinators. 🌼🐝

If not digging them up from your own garden, please remember to forage for them consciously, be sure of identification and only take small amounts and leave plenty behind to preserve the habitat.

And unfortunately here in the UK we cannot uproot a plant without the permission of the landowner. So just offer to do some free ‘weeding’ for someone who still treats them as a weed and I’m sure you’ll get permission 🌱😂

So have you tried dandelion tea or coffee yet?

#gardeningtips #dandelion #herbaltea #foraging