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Autumn, time to dig up the dandelion roots. Now why would anyone do that? Some people to eradicate them from their gardens. Others to create a beverage. Drink something made from a dandelion root? Yes, they make a "coffee substitute" according to the book, Peterson Field Guides; Edible Wild Plants by Lee Allen Peterson. There are also several medicinal uses listed under "folklore, experimental findings and analysis of the compounds" found in the root according to the book, Peterson Field Guides; Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs.

The first benefit to drying the roots and using them would be to your pocketbook. Dandelion roots, foraged from your own yard, are much cheaper than ground coffee beans. The second benefit is freshness, stored and shipped items aren't as fresh as just picked. The third benefit is recycling your glass jars to store dried roots. So now you have more money, fresh roots, and less glass to send away.

Before you run out to your back yard and collect them, make sure you have a few field guides with different pictures in them. Bring paper bags to place them in as you dig them up. Also bring some type of digging tool. Putting water on the soil around them helps to loosen the soil. But most importantly, make sure no herbicides or insecticides have been used on your lawn. After you have collected 1 out of every 3 roots that you see (or 1 out of every 7 if there aren't very many) you will notice another benefit to gathering dandelion roots. Exercise: you have walked, knelt or sat, used your arms to dig, your hands to pull, and then you carried and walked back-all in the (hopefully) fresh air of your back yard on a beautiful autumn day.

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