$900 for dandelions - sell your weeds!

http://www.permies.com

Michael "Skeeter" Pilarski, famous permaculture instructor and wildcrafter, talks about the street value of dandelions and polyculture.

He calls this 0.85 acre plot "edible acres" or "Okanagan Biodiversity Farm". He grows about a hundred different crops on this plot as a market garden including raspberries, elecampane, and ... weeds like dandelions!

So he let the dandelions go all season, and then he harvests them in the fall and sells them! During the growing season, the dandelions feed the surrounding plants.

Skeeter explains that plants like dandelions are solar collectors and pump half of their collected energy into the soil to feed the web of life which then fertilizes other plants. Weeds also help to keep the soil from getting compacted. Taprooted weeds (dandelions have a wonderful tap root) can also bring nutrients up from deep soils.

Skeeter did pull a few weeds to get rid of: wild lettuce, wild verbena, wild grasses and wild potentilla.

Skeeter says there are four kinds of weeds in the garden:

1) real weeds that he doesn't like
2) weeds he makes money on
3) crops that have spread
4) native plants

Other weeds he likes to encourage includes lambs quarters, red root and malva neglecta.

Skeeter explains how he likes taprooted weeds, like dandelion, that don't spread with rhizomes. He points out that he does not like quack grass.

this episode is dedicated to reddit users "chances" and "puredemo" who siad some nice things which got me motivated to make a new video

all errors are by paul wheaton

music by Jimmy Pardo

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• dandelions
• farm
• income
• weeds
• market
• garden
• organic
• permaculture
• green
• eco
• environment
• plants
• raw
• wild
• edibles
• food
• health
• greens
• flower
• foraging
• herbs

[denali525]

Great video. I had always been told that weeds compete for nutrients, thus taking the valuable ones away from what you want to grow.

[paulwheaton12]

@denali525 some weeds do compete. Most don't.

[elmadas]

if you think here in italy arugula is worth 3 to 4 euros for a bag of 250gr and dandelion, cicory and poppies (the green leaves) and other wild edibles are worth more or less the same, ou can undersand how much vaue ou hae in your lawn ;) the pity I have dandeio for me only because I like it very much!

[paulwheaton12]

@elmadas another odd thing is that people will pay for it at the market, but they won't pluck their own in their own yard!

[ahnamay]

Love this video! Frankly, I'm rooting for a paradigm shift to where most folks -- not just the enlightened few -- actually want dandelions in their gardens! (Pun unintended but welcome!)

[paulwheaton12]

@ahnamay it's a bonus crop that also helps the surrounding plants

[punyhuman81]

Stop eating the crop

[CHEEZYCAB]

I dont grow Dandelion in my Garden but I do pick it out of my yard and eat it. I have a small garden so I prefer to keep it to stuff that doesnt grow here natuarally.

[PrincessSpearmint]

Dandelions are weeds for heaven sakes, they grow everywhere! Selling them for a hefty price!

Ah, that's just flat out wrong, pick them when in season, free and delicious, so they say dandes

are delicious.

[marcjtdc]

why dont the raspberries feed the weeds?

[ConcernedMushroom]

@paulwheaton12 or worse yet they spray it with roundup

[northwestblazinfire]

this guy is like the goerge carlin of gardening

[ERICWAGNERSLUCID]

I want to go to your farm and join in the dance, I'll even pick some weeds.

[smeejit]

Arugula = rocket in Britain.

[octohorse]

you can't use your lawn because of contaminants from drainwater, like weed killer pesticides from other people's lawns, and most people have lead in their soil as well

[otacon451]

dandelion root on google product search were something like $12 / lb bulk :/