Things I did not know about dandelions 2

 Dandelions are among the most expensive items in the grocery store. Shops sell dried roots as a no-caffeine coffee substitute – for $31.75 a pound. Dandelions out-price prime rib, swordfish and lobster. They also appear in produce and other sections, and even at the liquor store. You can enjoy a complete meal, from salad greens to dandelion quiche, followed by dandelion ice cream, washed down with dandelion wine. If you over-indulge, a cup of dandelion tea is the perfect remedy since dandelions help the liver flush hangover-inducing toxins from the body.

Herbicides used on lawns to kill dandelions take a terrible toll on wildlife. More than seven million wild birds are estimated to die annually due to the use of lawn pesticides. Lawns make up thirty million acres of the United States, and Americans use an estimated 80 million pounds of pesticides on them annually. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that “homeowners use up to ten times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers use on crops.”

But there’s a safer way to have a dandelion-free lawn! Let the grass grow 3 or 4 inches tall to shade out the sun-loving dandelions, or use specialized tools like the Weed Hound to have a thriving, healthy yard that is safe for kids, pets and wildlife.

And at the end of the day, dandelions are just plain fun. The dandelion seems to be the flower earmarked for children: In a park or garden, it’s the only flower a kid can pick without getting into trouble. A child in a field full of dandelions can practically never run out of things to do: Blowing on dandelion puffballs can tell you if it’s time to go home, how many years until you get married, or how many children you’ll have – and of course, if you catch a flying dandelion seed, you can make a wish.

Dandelions require sun and disturbed soil to thrive. That’s why they seem to “look for” human activities: roadsides, construction sites, parking lots – and lawns. Having escaped the herb gardens a few decades ago, they now seem to be on a quest to get back into the yards they once abandoned.