Try force planting wild greens
You can extend the harvest of some wild green veges by "forcing" tender shoots of the plants in the basement in winter. You don't need any lights or heating to do this, the ambient conditions downstairs will be perfect.
Dandelions (taraxum officinale) and their cousin - chicory (cichorium intibus) are two of the easiest wild greens to handle this way. Dig their roots during the fall, replant them in a box of dirt and leave the container outside until after the first frost (to fool the plants into thinking winter has passed). Then bring the container inside, keeping it watered and try to maintain the box's temperature around 55' F in a semi-dark spot (a cellar provides near perfect light and temperature conditions). In about 20 to 30 days you should be able to start gathering crisp, pale, blanched leaves that go well in any salad.
Continue watering dandelion and chicory roots, and they'll produce several cuttings of greenery. When the first box begins to taper off, you can bring in another (if you've been clever enough to keep them waiting outside) and extend your harvest right thru winter.
Yellow dock (rumex crispus) can be 'forced' in the same way, although its shoots, which are multi-coloured, add more eye-appeal than worthwhile flavour to a salad.
** CAUTION here: Another plant that can be grown in this manner is poke (phytolacca americana). Dig out 12 to 15 of the massive roots, trim them to fit in a box and bury them, just as you did with the dandelions. Let the box remain outside until after the first freeze and then bring it in. If you keep the poke watered, you'll be able to gather the most delectable SHOOTS (cook 'em like asparagus) every week for most of the winter from that one container. One CAUTION though: DO NOT try to eat the poke ROOTS. They can poison you .... but don't let that fact discourage you from enjoying poke sprouts. The sprouts are entirely safe to eat and delicious.
Happy Winter Harvesting, Herne
Source: Mother Earth News Almanac, June 1973
