# Can you eat the wild onions and dandelions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442 "2008-03-07T14:54:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/1 "2008-03-07T14:54:34Z")
Don’t know whether this should be GQ, CS or IMHO _rolls dice_ CS it is! I’ve heard of dandelion soup, but can you make it from the ones that grow in your backyard-- even after you’ve put down a systematic weed killer? How about those plants that look a little like grass and then grow much longer. The look and smell just like scallions. Are they onions? Can you eat them? And, just to make this more CS-y. If they are edible, do you know any recipes for them? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/2 "2008-03-07T15:03:14Z")
I’m sure there are probably many varieties of wild onions, But the ones I’m familiar with in Colorado are edible. I eat them all the time, and have actually cooked with them at camps. These are a short green plant with a white blob of a flower, and no root bulb. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/3 "2008-03-07T15:07:21Z")
Just search for “cooking dandelions.” [This](http://www.edibleweeds.com/generic.html?pid=7) is the first hit I got. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/4 "2008-03-07T15:08:41Z")
I guess I should mention that these things are in my backyard on Long Island, NY. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/5 "2008-03-07T15:14:00Z")
You can eat them, but not if you’ve sprayed herbicides on them. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/6 "2008-03-07T15:22:13Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] I’ve heard of dandelion soup, but can you make it from the ones that grow in your backyard-- **even after you’ve put down a systematic weed killer?** How about those plants that look a little like grass and then grow much longer. The look and smell just like scallions. Are they onions? Can you eat them? [/QUOTE] (emphasis added) I wouldn’t eat _anything_ from my backyard if I had put a systematic weed killer on it, unless said weed-killer was specifically labelled as safe for putting on food plants. I suspect most of the ones used in yards are not so labelled. If I wasn’t sure if the weed-killer that was used there was safe, I wouldn’t eat anything it might have touched. I also wouldn’t eat anything picked from the backyard unless I was absolutely certain beforehand what it actually was, and that it was safe to eat. I wouldn’t rely on it looking and smelling just like scallions. Poisonous plants can resemble ones that are safe to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/7 "2008-03-07T15:22:47Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] You can eat them, but not if you’ve sprayed herbicides on them. [/QUOTE] Soooo weed-killer is good for absolutely nothing. Even worst than nothing. We sprayed last June and the first thing to grow this March were wild onions and dandelions. What a waste of money! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/8 "2008-03-07T15:44:52Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] Soooo weed-killer is good for absolutely nothing. Even worst than nothing. We sprayed last June and the first thing to grow this March were wild onions and dandelions. What a waste of money! [/QUOTE] You might be seeing natural selection in action. A few of the wild onions and dandelions are resistant to weed-killer. You kill off the non-resistant ones, and then the resistant ones and their resistant descendants take over the space you’ve freed up for them. Or you might just be using the wrong weed-killer. There are different types for different types of plants- some only target broad-leaf plants, so they might not be effective against your wild onions. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/9 "2008-03-07T15:51:41Z")
You can absolutely eat wild plants such as dandelions, pine needles, and [plantain](http://prairielandherbs.com/plantain.htm), IF you know precisely what you’re eating, and know with certainty that no chemicals have been used in that spot. Books on edible plants were available in every library I’ve ever looked for them in. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/10 "2008-03-07T15:55:55Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] How about those plants that look a little like grass and then grow much longer. The look and smell just like scallions. Are they onions? Can you eat them? [/QUOTE] They sound like chives: [http://www.seedfest.co.uk/seeds/herbs/chives.jpg](http://www.seedfest.co.uk/seeds/herbs/chives.jpg) They are a nice herb and are often sued as a garnish but I wouldn’t eat anything you’ve put weed killer on to be honest. Both of these are basically weeds so you could find some in the wild that haven’t been sprayed I would have thought. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/11 "2008-03-07T16:15:30Z")
I pick those wild onions all the time. They’re always nice and fresh testing, and I use them where I would otherwise use scallions. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/12 "2008-03-07T18:06:30Z")
I’ve eaten wild onions, wild asparagus, wild garlic, dandelion flowers & leaves, plantain, nettles, purslane, lamb’s quarter, dock, poke, thistle, the inner bark (cambium) of pine trees, clover, alfalfa, juniper berries, rose hips, wild peas, serviceberries, chokecherries, persimmons, pawpaws, crabapples, wild plums, and several diferent types of wild mushrooms. Make sure you know what you’re eating, that it hasn’t been sprayed with weed killers, and that you wash it thouroughly and prepare it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/13 "2008-03-07T18:24:03Z")
Summer is the wrong time for killing dandelions. The killer makes them grow so fast they exhaust their food supply and die. It needs to go on in the spring when the flowers are first developing. The killer needs to stay on the leaves for a number of days, so you don’t treat just before a rain either. They should die in about ten days. Applying at the wrong time is a waste of money. You shouldn’t eat the plants where weed killer has been used. From the other thread I will say that the wild ones are the ones you eat, and you don’t have to by a special domesticated seed. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-the-wild-onions-and-dandelions/440442/14 "2008-03-07T18:37:49Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Summer is the wrong time for killing dandelions. The killer makes them grow so fast they exhaust their food supply and die. It needs to go on in the spring when the flowers are first developing. The killer needs to stay on the leaves for a number of days, so you don’t treat just before a rain either. They should die in about ten days. Applying at the wrong time is a waste of money. You shouldn’t eat the plants where weed killer has been used. From the other thread I will say that the wild ones are the ones you eat, and you don’t have to by a special domesticated seed. [/QUOTE] The older leaves that have survived the winter are incredibly bitter. You want to pick the young tender leaves that come out after the thaw.