It's the season when the dandelion (dent de lion - lion's tooth, evidently from the shape of the leaf edges, but it ought to be from the long central root of the plant) bursts out on the lawn. I like to watch the dandelions curl up and die before going to seed but Lynn says the chemicals that accomplish that hurt bees and other important life forms. So, I have spent quite a bit of time using a dandelion puller. It works pretty well and it is fun to hear that main root snap when I twist the whole plant in a spin and pull.
Like many other things in life, it can be tricky predicting which plants produce the most seeds to send out over the lawn. Some, of course, are giant and full and have many seed-loaded stems. But often there are as many stems with as full loads of seeds from a little splindly plant that is so skinny and lightweight as to be nearly invisible beneath the blades of grass.
The plants try to trick me by sending the stem for a bright blossom off to the side of the plant. With a little work, you can find the plant itself but it may be several inches away from the spot marked in yellow. My puller has teeth that close in a circular grip around the plant and I twist the puller to snap the whole plant free of the ground. A large knob is struck to release the plant from the puller and I drop it into a plastic tub. I emptied a couple of tubs into our compost bin, where, given enough time, the whole plant and all of its parts will deteriorate into rich black gobs of nutrients for our gardens.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
