Dandy Dandelions

I guess I don't really understand the hatred for dandelions--they are the first flower of spring and bring some much needed color after winter. Especially this past winter!  Bees love dandelions, and so do ants and ladybugs.  Granted, they aren't quite so pretty when they form their white seed heads and they're even less pretty as a naked stalk. Still, besides the fact that dandelions have the ability to take over the yard, much like the much-maligned clover (another favorite bee food), dandelions are one of the most beneficial plants out there.

Did you know that you can eat the entire plant--flower, stem, leaves, root?  Just last week the kids and I ate dandelion flower fritters with our supper. All pronounced them tasty.  Of course, anything dipped in batter and fried is going to taste good, right? Still, it's definitely a dish we'll have again.

The leaves are tasty sautéed in coconut oil with onions and broccoli. Alas, the family wasn't too keen on partaking of the greens, so they were all mine.

Another thing I've done with the leaves is an infusion.  Place desired amount of leaves in a jar and cover with boiling water. Cap and let sit overnight. In the morning, strain out leaves and drink hot or cold, adding honey (lots!) to taste. I just now remembered that I've not strained mine from last night; it might be undrinkable. Darn it.

Finally, the flower heads can be used to make dandelion oil. I use this oil to make a pain-relieving salve. The ingredients are only the oil and beeswax, with the addition of essential oil if desired. Dandelion has mild analgesic properties, believe it or not. When rubbed on a sore neck, the salve can ease the pain in a few minutes. I know, it sounds crazy, but it really works! It's at least worth a try.

Right now I have dandelion soda in the works. I will add photos and more information later.

Remember, don't spray those dandelions! No Roundup!  Embrace the weeds!

If you simply must have a perfect (-ly boring) lawn, there are a few ways to kill the yellow flowers. Smother them, pour boiling water on the plants, or pour vinegar on, boiling works best.

Yay dandelions!

August?? Already?

School looms on the horizon, much to every child's consternation. The main complaint I've been hearing is that summer just isn't long enough. No doubt!

The garden is bustling along. So far I"ve gotten two (bitter) stunted cucumbers and about six small yellow summer squash. Not bad for the wet and cold spring we had. There are two pretty large tomatoes on the plant, still green, though. One with a bite from a tomato hornworm, I think. I haven't found him yet,but I dont' really want to. Yuck. I have a couple of butternut squash growing as well, one large enough that it needed a sling as it's growing on the outside of our fence.

I'm already making plans for next year's expanded garden. There are one or two raised beds in the works, and the Sleep Number bed panels are killing some grass for me. That's the best use I've found for that crappy bed. The kids are enjoying the plastic bedframe, though, very much. At least it's not sitting in a landfill somewhere. I keep telling myself that whenever I open the storage room door and see all that gray foam. But I have used some of it, so that's all good.

Online school registration starts today. So glad I don't have to stand in line at the high school for hours! Yay for technology, right?

Buggy

The weather has been great here in NW Indiana, and I"ve been outside working on my garden, which is getting pretty crazy, as I knew it would. And look what I've found crawling around:

Apparently Japanese beetles are Indiana's main pest, next to mosquitos, that is. At first I was just tossing them into the plastic jar and slamming the lid on real quick. Then I started throwing the bugs into a mixture of water, dish soap and oil and that really did the trick. So far I've taken off a ton of Japanese beetles, some cabbage worms and a few cucumber beetles, which are so small they're hard to catch. I usually go out to the garden a few times a day to pick off pests. It's fun!

Yep, I'm weird.

Spring--for real this time

I think I got a little ahead of myself last time I posted. But the long winter is finally over, and Spring has arrived. Things are green, green, green! The grass (weeds) needs mowed today--it's on DynoDad's list. On my list today: not housework! Cleaning inside is a rainy day thing. So if you want to visit and would like a nice house, then visit when it's raining, okay? ;) 

Here's what's been keeping me busy lately:

Just a little flower/herb garden; of course I didn't buy enough scallops at Lowe's.

The garden site. Not very big, but a good start for this year anyway.

Romaine lettuce finally growing. i'm not sure what the two holes are....did a rabbit jump in?

Kale and Swiss chard. Notice the professional, straight rows.

Valkyrie wondering what the heck I'm doing.

Azaleas along the front of the house. They appear to be doing okay, considering I had to add soil when I planted since the whole flower bed is nothing but sand under those river rocks. Very strange.

Planting is up next, and finding more space for all the seeds I have. (yes, I got a little crazy with the seed catalogue!)

I love this time of year!

Getting back in the groove

So here we are in Indiana. Right now it's snowing (yuck) and yes, we did experience the huge snowstorm in the beginning of February and while that snow has all melted, the ground is still extremely saturated. It will take weeks of dry, warm weather before the ground is anywhere near ready to plant. Yes, I have my seeds and as soon as the weather gets a little better I'll be outside planning the garden's location.

It's been an interesting month. We are somewhat rural, but not at the same time. Behind our house is the neighbor's pond (filled with Canadian Geese at the moment and the occasional coyote) and trees and field. Pretty cool after eight years of houses blocking any view of anything! Across the street is a housing development, I'd say it's only been there five years or so. It's a pretty busy road at any rate. I want to take walks in there, but we're right inbetween both entrances, so I'd have to walk along the side of the road. Not sure if that will be a good idea pushing a stroller.

I hope to have some new photos on the blog soon. It's a little difficult getting a photo of the kitchen when everyone wants to eat all the time!