Stephanie D
Member
Does anyone order seeds from online? I went to a nursery and when I asked about pesticides, she said they only had fertilizer in their water. I know not to have pesticides but what about fertilizer??
Does anyone order seeds from online? I went to a nursery and when I asked about pesticides, she said they only had fertilizer in their water. I know not to have pesticides but what about fertilizer??
Thank you for the info. You're right, she could have been mistaken, but she didn't hesitate to answer and said she had been asked before so i'm not sure. I am in the process of growing my own. I bought petunias, purple coneflower, hollyhock and california poppy..that was what I could find around me. I was just hoping for something now instead of just waiting for those to grow I am not very garden savvy in case you didn't notice haha. At the nursery they had some watercress and hibiscus that I wanted to buy, but I wasn't sure if I should. So I could buy soil with fertilizer and it would be okay to use? I had bought some organic seed starting mix.I don't think TX is any different than the rest of the country. Commercial nurseries use systemic pesticides to grow their plants. The toxins are taken up through the roots and assimilated into the plant's tissues. This keeps the plants healthy, pretty, and insect free, so they look beautiful sitting on the retailer's shelves. The person you talked to at the nursery might not even know this. These toxins can last one year or more in some cases.
All plants need fertilizer. They can't grow without it. Fertilizer taken up through the roots and assimilated into the plant should be fine, but you don't want your tortoise to have access to any sort of actual fertilizer product either sprayed on the plant or in the form of granules or powder at the base of the plant.
The safe bet is to find older, established plants and take cuttings, or grow your own from seed. I get a lot of seeds here: http://www.groworganic.com
I also like this one a lot:
http://www.tortoisesupply.com/TestudoMix