Dandelions
Well we are pretty much burried under dandelions here. Tthe fields that surround us are just covered in the things, so I thought, why don’t we do something useful with this little lot! So out came the herb books, the food for free books and the wine- making books!
Since then (which was about a month ago) I have been drying the petals for wine., I have quiet a lot now but it still wont make much wine. My plan is to steadily pick and dry them all throughout the summer this way it doesn’t matter if I can’t pick enough to start the wine off straight away. Having said that, I still hope to make a batch from fresh dandeilion flowers so that we can compare the two wines when they are ready!
I had a few demijohns already (thanks to dad!) and then Barbara has lent us the stuff that Ron (Al’s step- granddad) used to have for wine-making. This basically includes everything we were missing, including a big bucket that is graduated (has measurements on) with a lid, and a corking machine!
I am very excited and can’t wait to get going with this properly!
The leaves have made their way into many a salad we’ve been eating and now I am drying the roots to make a coffee substitute. I will also be drying the leaves as a herb in its own right and making tea from the leaves and roots -– dried again. The main reason for the tea is that it is a diueretic that helps and is prescribed for people with gout, and as poor mum has gout -– not nice, not pleasant and very painful -– I thought it might help her!
So the dandeilion problem is still a problem because they are everywhere, including blocking the doors to the little garage, but I will be making much use of them:
Wine Herb Salad Root vegetable Tea Coffee
Pretty good for one plant that is seen as a weed!