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How to move Dandelions 3000 miles

 
Rae Alan
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posted 8 years ago
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In a couple weeks my wife and I will be flying from Az to new England for a vacation. I would like to be able to dig up some dandelions and bring them back to Az to transplant them. Does anyone know how I could do that? The reason I wont get them from here is that I can only find them in the parks which are sprayed with God knows what. At my brothers house he is too lazy to even think about spraying in a field he no longer even mows  
Any ideas would be appreciated
Thanks
 
Marco Banks
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Seeds are much easier to transplant.  A thimble-full of seeds would be enough to sew a football field full of dandelions.  

I suppose you could dig a few small plants up and pot them.  They have a long tap root, which might make them difficult to fully dig up, and they'll not grow very long in a small pot.  But for a short cross-country tip, I suppose that that would work.

You can't find dandelions growing in Arizona?

"The rule of no realm is mine.  But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care.  And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything that passes through this night can still grow fairer or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.  For I too am a steward.  Did you not know?"    Gandolf

 
Casie Becker
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I think dandelions adapted to New England would have a hard time adapting to Arizona. I think you'd have a better chance of success by gathering as many dandelion seeds as you can and then planting those. You could do that with the seeds from the park that are already adapted. Even if you gather them from New England, there will be a greater chance that you will have some sprout that have the necessary traits to survive in your location.

Of course, dandelions have such a reputation for being survivors, maybe it doesn't matter where they come from.
 
Rae Alan
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Unfortunately the only ones I find here are in local parks and I don't know what is sprayed on the "weeds". As far as seeds they most likely wont have seed heads yet and when they do trying to get my brother to package and mail them would be like pulling teeth. To him it would be a waste of time and not worth anything hence the reason I will have to carry them with me home.
Thanks for the idea, not sure how a potted plant will go with TSA
 
Rae Alan
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Casie Becker wrote:

Of course, dandelions have such a reputation for being survivors, maybe it doesn't matter where they come from.

I'm hoping this is the case!
 
Joseph Lofthouse
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Dandelions have a huge root with lots of stored food. If I wanted to transport some, I'd dig them up. Cut off the leaves, and stick the roots in a plastic bag with a bit of dryish soil to absorb any sweating. Then keep them in the dark, and cold if possible. I'd expect them to survive for weeks like that. In other words, I'd treat them just like they were a common root-crop like beets or carrots. Now the whimsical side of me wants to start digging dandelions looking for manroots.

dandilion-root.jpg
[Thumbnail for dandilion-root.jpg]
Dandelion root
dandilion-flower.jpg
[Thumbnail for dandilion-flower.jpg]
Dandelion flowers

Landrace Gardening, author
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Adaptation Agriculture: Video Course, Community, and Seed Share

 
Rae Alan
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Joseph Lofthouse wrote: If I wanted to transport some, I'd dig them up. Cut off the leaves, and stick the roots in a plastic bag with a bit of dryish soil to absorb any sweating. Then keep them in the dark, and cold if possible.



This sounds like what will work for me. Not sure if they will be brought back in luggage or shipped. Hopefully this will do it

Thank you
 
Erwin Decoene
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How on earth can you have so much trouble propagating dandylions ?

As a kid i had to cut them out of my parents lawn for days on end. There is no end to them. I can confirm that they regrouw from leafless roots or pieces of roots. I would just collects seeds locally.

Erwin


 
Marco Banks
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Rae Alan wrote:Unfortunately the only ones I find here are in local parks and I don't know what is sprayed on the "weeds".



If it's weed-killer sprays that concern you, don't worry about picking the plants themselves -- just collect the seeds.  Sprayed dandelions will most likely not set seed heads, so if it's got a seed head, it probably was never sprayed. But even if it was, whatever fractional amount of residual spray that might possibly remain wouldn't effect you if you're just collecting the lolly-pop tops of the dandelions.  Plant them and grow them.  Obviously, the ones that you grow won't have any spray on them.

Isn't there some sort of abandoned field or neglected area somewhere with dandelions sprouting up?  I'm shocked that you don't have some coming up in your own yard or garden.

"The rule of no realm is mine.  But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care.  And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything that passes through this night can still grow fairer or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.  For I too am a steward.  Did you not know?"    Gandolf

 
Rae Alan
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Erwin Decoene wrote:How on earth can you have so much trouble propagating dandylions ?

As a kid i had to cut them out of my parents lawn for days on end. There is no end to them. I can confirm that they regrouw from leafless roots or pieces of roots. I would just collects seeds locally.

Erwin



LOL. Yes I remember as a kid being told to go dig them out of the yard. It was a pain. If your not familiar with Southern Az the only place they grow here is parks and golf courses, both of which are heavily watered and doused with weed killer and carbon monoxide. Not something I want to use as a starter. I want to try them in an aquaponics system and in a shaded watered area
 
Rae Alan
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Marco Banks wrote:

Rae Alan wrote:

Isn't there some sort of abandoned field or neglected area somewhere with dandelions sprouting up?  I'm shocked that you don't have some coming up in your own yard or garden.


I'm in Southern Az, we don't have abandoned fields we have desert. Lots and lots of desert. Creosote I have plenty, mesquite, I will never need to buy smoking chips for my grill. Dandelions none.  Probably the 115 deg heat in summer, which for us this year looks like it will be April to November

 
Erwin Decoene
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Sadly I cannot legally send you seeds - they are everywhere around here. I cut about a bucket full of them out of the lawn every week. I let them dry a bit before i dig the dryer dandylions in with twiggy cuttings, dog waste, etc.... The resulting turned over ground is seeded with bee friendly annuals and transplanted semi wild plants from elsewhere needing a tempory spot.
 
Marco Banks
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Rae Alan wrote: If your not familiar with Southern Az the only place they grow here is parks and golf courses, both of which are heavily watered and doused with weed killer and carbon monoxide. Not something I want to use as a starter.



You wouldn't even use seeds from such dandelions?  

How much weed killer could possibly pass through into your system on a dandelion seed?  A fraction of a fragment of a trace of a iota?  Dandelion seeds are tiny.  Very very tiny.  My hunch is that you are getting thousands of times more of those feared chemicals just blowing in the wind and landing on your yard than you would ever get from what ever Infinitesimal trace that might be on the seed of a dandelion.

I'm all about purity and being careful with what I bring into my orchard, but at some point, any traces of bad stuff are so Infinitesimally small, it just doesn't matter.  At least not to me.

"The rule of no realm is mine.  But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care.  And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything that passes through this night can still grow fairer or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.  For I too am a steward.  Did you not know?"    Gandolf

 
Erwin Decoene
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Marco Banks wrote:

Rae Alan wrote: If your not familiar with Southern Az the only place they grow here is parks and golf courses, both of which are heavily watered and doused with weed killer and carbon monoxide. Not something I want to use as a starter.



You wouldn't even use seeds from such dandelions?  

How much weed killer could possibly pass through into your system on a dandelion seed?  A fraction of a fragment of a trace of a iota?  Dandelion seeds are tiny.  Very very tiny.  My hunch is that you are getting thousands of times more of those feared chemicals just blowing in the wind and landing on your yard than you would ever get from what ever Infinitesimal trace that might be on the seed of a dandelion.

I'm all about purity and being careful with what I bring into my orchard, but at some point, any traces of bad stuff are so Infinitesimally small, it just doesn't matter.  At least not to me.




Marco is correct on this one in my view. Any pollution carried over with the seed is diluted. In a permies garden there is usually lots of organic matter that helps neutralize pollutants, most gardens have elavated pH-levels that helps immobilize most pollutants, etc.... The added risk is not mathematically zero but you are more likely to die from the effects of your chimney exhaust.
The biological danger of a pollutant is not only determined by its concentration but also by its biological availability. F.e. a heavy metal such as lead is potentially dangerous but if it is incorporated into a stable cristal lattice of some mineral it is effectively 'not' there. However most soil analyses is done on total volume and not on bio-availability.
Good soil management can help reduce the bio-availability of pollutants.


Even if the seeds are contaminated sufficiently to have genetic damage, damaged seeds are less fertile and not likely to dominate the gene pool.


I never cease to be amazed by people going on about extremely small risks while driving cars in heavy traffic, frequenting smoky bars, drinking to excess, .....











 
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