Dandelion (_Taraxacum officinale_) is a well-known and troublesome
perennial weed, occurring abundantly almost everywhere in this country
except in the Southern States. It is frequently cultivated in market
gardens for the leaves, which are used for greens or salads, but the
root alone is used in medicine.
This plant will grow well in any good soil and has been successfully
cultivated in the South, but in the colder parts of the country it may
require slight mulching during the winter if the roots tend to heave
out of the soil. The seeds, which are sown in the spring, are drilled
in rows 18 inches apart and covered one-half inch deep. About 3 pounds
of seeds should sow an acre. The seedlings are thinned to stand a foot
apart in the row, and the crop should be well cultivated and kept free
from weeds.
The roots are dug in the fall of the second season after planting the
seed. They should be washed and may be dried whole, or, to facilitate
handling and drying, they may be cut into pierces 3 to 6 inches long
and the larger, portions sliced. Under favorable conditions, yields
at the rate of 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of dry roots per acre have been
obtained from second-year plants. The prices usually offered collectors
for the dry root before the war ranged from 4 to 10 cents a pound. The
price in June, 1920, was about 16 cents. The quantity annually imported
into this country varies from year to year, but averages about 40 tons.
A serious disadvantage attending the cultivation of this crop is the
danger of seeding adjacent land with a very undesirable weed.