How to Grow Dandelions for High Yield? A Detailed Guide to High-Yield Cultivation Techniques

In Jiangnan, dandelion is called Huhualang, and it is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. It has capitula, and the seeds bear a fluffy ball formed by white pappus; after the flowers bloom, the seeds drift with the wind to new places to nurture new life. The dandelion plant contains various healthy nutritional components such as taraxasterol, taraxacin, choline, organic acids, and inulin. It has diuretic, laxative, jaundice-relieving, and cholagogue effects. Dandelion also contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, trace elements, and vitamins, and has rich nutritional value. It can be eaten raw, stir-fried, or made into soup, and is a plant used both as medicine and food.

Harvesting Seeds

Dandelions generally can bloom and set seed as biennials. Wild plants bloom from May to June, growing either as single plants or in communities. The older the dandelion, the more flowers it produces, with a maximum of more than 20 flowers. After flowering, the seed maturation period is short; generally the seeds mature in 13—15 days. Whether the seeds are mature is mainly judged by the flower head shell changing from green to yellow, and the seeds in each flower head also changing from white to brown; this is the seed maturation stage, and they can then be harvested. After the seeds mature, they quickly scatter with the pappus in the wind, so they can be harvested early before the flower head splits open; this is the key to success in seed harvesting.

After the flower heads are picked, place them indoors to after-ripen for 1 day. Wait until the flower heads are completely spread open, then dry them in the shade for 1—2 days. When the seeds are half-dry, rub off the pappus at the tip of the seeds by hand, then dry the seeds in the sun. The thousand-seed weight of large-leaf dandelion is 2 grams, and that of small-leaf varieties is 1—1.2 grams.

Land Preparation and Bed Making

① Site selection. Dandelion has strong adaptability, tolerates both drought and alkali, and prefers loose, fertile sandy loam with good drainage.

② Fertilization. Apply organic fertilizer per hectare, preferably horse manure, 30000-45000 kg, mixed with 225-300 kg of superphosphate, spread evenly on the ground, then plow deeply for 20 cm.

③ Making beds and ridges. After leveling and raking the ground fine, make sowing beds 100 cm wide, 15 cm high, and 10 m long, or make small ridges 30 cm high, with a base width of 30 cm and a shoulder width of 20 cm.

Sowing and Root Burying

① Bed sowing. Open small furrows 1 cm deep and 5 cm wide crosswise, sow the seeds evenly into the furrows, cover with fine soil, and press with a wooden roller, with a row spacing of 15 cm.

② Ridge sowing. Open small furrows 1 cm deep and 5 cm wide along the ridges. After sowing, cover with fine soil and press with a wooden roller.

③ Root burying and planting. In order to bring dandelions to market earlier and increase income, digging roots in the wild and burying them for planting in a greenhouse can achieve twice the result with half the effort. In late autumn (mid to late October), when dandelions are hit by the first frost and the leaf color changes from green to red, promptly collect dandelion roots in the wild, preferably whole roots. Make beds in the greenhouse with the specifications described above. Plant the roots at a row spacing of 15 cm and a plant spacing of 5 cm, and bury them to the original root surface position, so that the root tops are neither fully exposed nor fully covered on the ground, then press firm by hand. Keep the greenhouse temperature at about 20°C, and dandelions can grow normally. If you want dandelions to come to market during the peak demand season, control the greenhouse temperature to restrict plant growth, and satisfactory results can be achieved.

To promote earlier emergence after sowing, warm-water seed soaking for sprouting can be used, that is, place the seeds in 50-55°C warm water, stir until the water cools, then soak for another 8 hours, remove them, wrap the seeds in wet cloth, and place them in a spot at about 25°C. Cover the top with wet cloth, water once each morning and evening with 50°C warm water, and after 3—4 days, once the seeds begin to sprout, they can be sown. The sowing rate per hectare is 11.25 kg.

Field Management

① Loosening soil and weeding. Half a month after dandelion emergence, carry out 1 round of soil loosening and weeding. For bed sowing, use a small pointed hoe to cultivate between the seedlings; for ridge sowing, use a pickaxe to cultivate in the ridge furrows. After that, carry out soil loosening and intertillage once every 10 days. After the rows close, keep doing manual weeding.

② Thinning and final singling. Dandelion aboveground plants have large leaves, so management must fully consider that the plants need a certain amount of space for growth. Do not be greedy for density and keep too many seedlings, which would affect growth. Generally, final singling can be done 10 days after emergence, with a plant and row spacing of 5—10 cm.

③ Watering and fertilizing. During the dandelion growth period, water frequently to keep the soil moist. After dandelion emergence, a large amount of water is needed, so maintaining moist soil is the key to dandelion growth.

Dandelions grown from sowing cannot be harvested in the same year. After winter begins, spread organic fertilizer on the beds (ridges) at 2000 kg per 667 sq m, preferably decomposed horse manure. In this way, it not only fertilizes but also protects the root system for safe overwintering. Chemical fertilizers are not recommended; although applying chemical fertilizers makes young plants and leaves dark and causes sudden growth, it loses the essence of a green plant and also loses the wild flavor of dandelion. Generally, 9000—10500 kg can be produced per hectare.