Dear Jeff,

I just read a year-old comment left on a Veggie Gardening blog by you concerning selling dandelions during the depression:

Jeff Levengood August 6, 2009 at 5:10 pm
My grandparents ate ddln greens w/ hot bacon dressing every spring. I remember my great uncle saying that he picked and sold them by the sackful during the depression. If you have dogs be careful about eating uncooked greens from the lawn!

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I am a composer writing songs based on letters written during the depression, and one song I am writing is called Dandelion, or Dandelions and Pencils (as I read that some folks also sold pencils). I am seeking additional information about how they were collected and sold, and I wonder if you recall anything else your grandparents or great uncle may have told you.

For example, how much they sold for. Right now I’m saying something like 5 or 10 cents a bag (or I might change to a sack, based on your comment), but that’s just guess, based on the economic conditions then. And were they sold in a sack, or just handed to the buyer in a clump? And how were they carried around by the seller, or where they sold at a roadside stand? Did they go door-to-door?

And how were they collected? Just wild from the countryside? Or could you collect them in the city?

I’d also be curious how they were prepared and eaten, and whether they were a staple. Were they eaten by all people at all economic levels—by rich, middle class, and poor?

I realize you may not know any of this, but if you do it could be very helpful to my song. I will be very grateful for any information, even just a guess. Or if anyone else reading this knows anything, please let me know!

Thank you very much,

Phillip Bimstein