Herb Dandelion 500 Non-GMO, Heirloom Seeds
Herb Dandelion is a hardy, open-pollinated perennial valued for bright yellow flowers, deeply toothed leaves and a substantial taproot. This packet contains 500 non-GMO, heirloom seeds. Grow it in a dedicated herb bed or suitable container for young greens, traditional culinary projects and flowers for visiting pollinators.
Bring a familiar plant into a purposeful kitchen garden. Dandelion forms a low rosette of leaves rather than upright, woody herb sprigs, giving you leafy growth to harvest close to the ground. Its cheerful yellow flowers add color to the patch, while the roots offer a different culinary project once plants have had time to establish. A managed planting makes it easier to know where your ingredients were grown and how they were cared for.
Young leaves offer a pleasantly bitter flavor that pairs well with tangy dressings or mellow cooked dishes. Start with a small amount mixed into milder greens, then adjust to your taste. Mature foliage can taste stronger, so select tender growth when you want a gentler kitchen ingredient. Wash harvested leaves thoroughly and remove damaged portions before preparing them.
Dandelion offers more than a single harvest experience. Enjoy fresh greens in the kitchen, watch the yellow flowers brighten your herb bed, and explore traditional roasted-root preparations with mature plants. Harvesting roots removes those plants, so keep part of your patch for continued leaf production if that is your priority. Manage the planting deliberately: dandelion can self-sow freely, and removing seed heads before they disperse helps keep it where you want it.
Germination Rate: 79%. Test Date: 8/26. JSS.
Culinary Uses
- Fresh young greens: Add washed, tender leaves to salads or sandwiches in small amounts. Their bitter edge provides contrast to milder lettuce, a tangy dressing or a rich accompaniment.
- Sautéed greens: Chop washed leaves and cook with a little oil and your preferred seasonings. Taste as you prepare them so you can balance the bitterness with other ingredients.
- Blanched greens: Blanch and drain leaves before finishing in a pan when you want to moderate their strong flavor. Tender young leaves and older foliage may need different cooking times.
- Soups and mixed dishes: Use chopped greens as one ingredient in cooked vegetable dishes rather than assuming they will taste like spinach or other mild greens.
- Flowers: Use properly identified, clean flowers from plants grown without products unsuitable for edible crops in traditional culinary preparations. Inspect blossoms and remove insects or debris before use.
- Roasted roots: Clean mature roots thoroughly before drying and roasting for a traditional coffee-style beverage. Follow a reliable preparation method. This is a culinary use, not a health treatment.
- Safe harvest: Use produce from your own appropriately grown plants, not unidentified roadside plants. The seed packet is for planting, not eating.
Medicinal Uses
Dandelion has a history of traditional use in teas and other herbal preparations made from its leaves and roots. That history is separate from evidence that a preparation treats or prevents disease. This listing provides educational information only, not medical advice, and these seeds are not sold as medicine.
Home-grown leaves, roots, teas and concentrated supplements are not interchangeable preparations. Do not assume that information about one applies to another. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before medicinal use, particularly if pregnant, nursing, taking medication or managing a health condition. People with allergies to related plants should use caution.
Growing Directions
- Choose your space: Use a dedicated herb bed or a suitable deep container where you can monitor plants and remove developing seed heads. Keep the planting accessible for frequent leaf picking.
- Sunlight: Choose full sun to partial shade, adjusting for local heat and soil moisture.
- Soil preparation: Use well-drained soil and remove competing weeds before sowing. Loose soil and a deep container, if growing in pots, allow room for taproot development.
- Sowing: Press seeds gently onto a prepared seedbed and cover only lightly. Water gently so the small seeds are not washed into piles.
- Establishment: Keep the seedbed evenly moist without saturating it. Check the surface regularly, especially during warm or windy weather.
- Germination: Sprouts may appear in approximately 14 to 21 days under favorable conditions; timing varies with temperature and moisture.
- Spacing: Thin plants to approximately 6 to 12 inches apart, allowing room for the leaf rosette and roots. Avoid leaving seedlings crowded together.
- Watering: Maintain moisture while plants establish. Check container soil regularly and avoid standing water.
- Fertilizing: Add compost as needed and follow soil-test or fertilizer-label guidance rather than feeding heavily.
- Support: No trellis or staking is normally required.
- Leaf harvesting: Pick a few young outer leaves while leaving the crown and sufficient foliage for regrowth. Rotate your harvest among plants instead of stripping one plant bare.
- Root harvesting: Allow plants to establish before digging roots, often after a longer growing period of about a year. Loosen the soil carefully and clean harvested roots thoroughly.
- Containment: Remove spent flowers before fluffy seed heads disperse if you do not want seedlings elsewhere in the garden. Check nearby beds for volunteers.
Doomsday Garden Uses
- Multiple harvest options: Leaves, flowers and roots offer different culinary uses when grown and harvested appropriately, letting you explore more than one part of the plant.
- Perennial growth: Established plants may return in suitable climates, although survival and productivity depend on local conditions.
- Practical harvesting: Keep some plants for repeated leaf picking and designate others for root harvest so your garden plan matches your intended use.
- Seed saving: Collect mature seed deliberately for future planting, controlling unwanted spread. Keep saved seed dry and clearly labeled.
- Diversify your garden: Use dandelion alongside other edible crops rather than treating it as a complete food supply. A varied garden provides more choices for meals and seasonal harvests.
Why Choose David's Garden Seeds®?
- Veteran-Owned: Supplying premium seeds since 2009.
- GO TEXAN Certified: Supporting local agriculture and communities.
- Integrity Pledge: David's Garden Seeds has taken the Seed Integrity Pledge.
- Great Customer Service: David answers all customer service questions, usually within a few minutes.
Order Dandelion Herb Seeds Today
Plant 500 heirloom seeds and grow a versatile herb for young greens, bright flowers and traditional culinary root preparations.
Important Disclaimer
- Planting seed: These seeds are for planting. Culinary references apply to harvested plant parts, not direct consumption of packet contents.
- Herbal information: Traditional-use information is educational and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
- Growing results: Leaf flavor, growth, harvest timing and winter survival vary with climate, soil and care. Germination test results do not guarantee identical performance in every garden.
- Seed storage: Store seeds cool, dry and dark, protected from heat and moisture. Keep the packet labeled so the variety and test information remain available.
- Local guidance: Follow local seasonal planting advice and manage self-sowing to prevent unwanted spread.
Grow something beautiful. Grow something delicious. Grow with David's Garden Seeds®.