Decided to harvest.
Single treated plant 3x weight of other untreated 2.
Same pot, same nutrient, same spectral composition,same ppfd, same music, same treatment same everything except 2 things
hmmm, in time.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale L. syn. Taraxacum vulgare L.), belonging to the Asteraceae family, is a pharmacopeial, edible plant. It probably originated from Europe; it also gradually spread to Asia, then North America, and later to some South American countries. In many European countries, it is a common weed growing in fallow fields, roadsides, meadows, and lawns. Dandelion is a perennial weed with sturdy taproot, long green leaves organized in a rose-like manner, single yellow flowers, and characteristic cotton-like fruits with many seeds that are scattered by the wind [14]. The pharmacopeial raw materials are the roots of the dandelion (Taraxaci radix), herba, and also flowers. The traditional uses of dandelion that are mentioned in the literature concern its use as a remedy in kidney diseases, diabetes, bacterial infections, diuretic, liver, kidney, and spleen disorders, and as an anti-inflammatory factor [15]. On the other hand, dandelion parts are used as food, mainly as a salad ingredient, young leaves are placed in many dishes, and the inulin-rich roots are used as substitutes for coffee or tea [15]. It has been detected that approximately 100 g of fresh leaves contain 88.5 g of water, 19.1 g of crude protein, 6.03 g of crude fat, 10.8 g of crude fiber, and 0.67 g/100 g dry matter of calcium, 6.51 g/100 g dry matter of potassium, 3.99 g/100 g dry matter of zinc, 12.6 mg/100 g dry matter of tocopherols, 156.6 mg/100 g dry matter of L -ascorbic acid and 93.9 mg/100 g dry matter of carotenoids [16]. Dandelion flower extracts can be used as flavor additives in many food products, such as desserts, candies, baked cakes, puddings, and other similar food products [17]. The main active compounds of dandelion are presented in Figure 2.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9498421/
The dandelion's purpose is to pull calcium from deep and bring it up to the topsoil, its root system can penetrate deeper than grass.
@BrigadeDesTerps, thank you very much π that sounds like a good idea, I'm very much learning as I go, do you have any tried and tested recipes or any you recommend?
@Ultraviolet, I wish you good luck in your search for nematodes and in the fight against aphids. You could water by making small oxygenated compost teas with earthworm compost, fish powder, insect droppings, soluble bacteria, bee polen and many other wonders to nourish your soil while living π±
@BrigadeDesTerps, The predatory insects arrive on the 26th, DYNOmyco bacteria/fungi are loaded in the soil mixture. It has some micro-arthropods and an earthworm I named Jim, I'm going to let the predatory insects do their business first to help combat the aphids, and then I'll add nematodes that work in conjunction with the fungi, I'm still in the process of researching as it seems there are10,00000,0000000000 species of nematodes and not all are beneficial for nutrient cycling.
I'm trying to make it a living soil, but it's not quite there yet.
for me the plant will go where the ph will be the best for it, if you put mycorrhiza in your soil, the roots will indicate to the mushroom the needs it has and the fungus will indicate to the roots where it should go, the best to test this, it is to make two pots of living soil with mycorrhiza and a third smaller one with the bottom of the pot which is removed and the plant in it, put it above the other two pots and feed the pots with different solutions and look at where the roots are going. I would advise letting the soil become active and putting alfalfa pellets on top of the pots to create decomposition and feed the mushrooms. ππ»πͺπ»