For those who grow their own tort food

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hello!!

I'm so excited to have our new place but then again I'm kinda bummed that there isn't many weeds :( so I'm planning on growing more food for hiccup. So far I have the plants from the old house : snap dragons, pansy's ,hibiscus, and spinless cactus . If you grow your own food what do you have ? Do you prefer to have them in a container or just growing in the yard ?


o_O
 

katieandiggy

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I have some large plastic tubs.
I buy weed seed mixes from eBay (I’m in the U.K.) I sprinkled seeds about 7 days ago and I have LOTs of shoots already. Haven’t got a clue what they are at the moment but they are all edible.
I know some people grow them in their yard too, is your tort roaming your whole garden?
 
Joined
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Cleveland tx
I have some large plastic tubs.
I buy weed seed mixes from eBay (I’m in the U.K.) I sprinkled seeds about 7 days ago and I have LOTs of shoots already. Haven’t got a clue what they are at the moment but they are all edible.
I know some people grow them in their yard too, is your tort roaming your whole garden?
Thank you so much for replying. Not yet he is just under a year old so most of the time he is inside
 

wellington

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For your little one you could grow them in low sided trays that will fit in his enclosure and swap them out so he can graze on them. My leopards live outside during the summer so I just throw seeds in the yard enclosures.
 

katieandiggy

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Personally I grew mine in top soil which is probably not the best thing. Obviously you have to be careful that the dirt hasn’t been treated with anything. If you are going to grow it in a low sided tub to put in your tort enclose be carful with some composts as they contain those little balls of fertiliser.
 
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Personally I grew mine in top soil which is probably not the best thing. Obviously you have to be careful that the dirt hasn’t been treated with anything. If you are going to grow it in a low sided tub to put in your tort enclose be carful with some composts as they contain those little balls of fertiliser.



Im gonna check into our local soil company and see if I can get a truck bed full of organic soil
 

Len B

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Along with what you are growing now for it, you should start growing things for when it is a big eating machine in a few years More Cactus, Mulberry, Rose of Sharon, Grapevines,and even Maple trees (some examples of what i grow) .If you grow more than you need during summer you can save and feed in dry form over the cold months. cactus can be cut off and stored or left on the plant and cut off as needed.
 

RosemaryDW

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For my tiny but ravenous Russian I’ve been experimenting with what I think are easy foods to grow in containers. I’m currently growing in pots nasturtiums; turnip and radish greens; and sunflowers. When it’s warmer I grow squash and okra (okra only for the leaves).

You’re going to have a large and ravenous tortoise soon; the smaller plants won’t do long term. But squash and okra get pretty big, pretty fast!

I plant weed seeds and tortoise mix. But those I just grow in the yard.

Enjoy your little one!

@katieandiggy, in the UK you can find good tortoise mixes at Shelled Warriors.
 

katieandiggy

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Hey thank you, that is where I have just got my seeds from. I have 2 packs of weed seeds and I’ve just ordered the flower mix too. Looking forward to seeing them grow.
 

Tom

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hello!!

I'm so excited to have our new place but then again I'm kinda bummed that there isn't many weeds :( so I'm planning on growing more food for hiccup. So far I have the plants from the old house : snap dragons, pansy's ,hibiscus, and spinless cactus . If you grow your own food what do you have ? Do you prefer to have them in a container or just growing in the yard ?
o_O

I prefer planting outside in planters. Here is a list of some of what I plant:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
 

NorCal tortoise guy

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Maybe it's just over simple for me but I just water the dirt and all sorts of good weeds come up. I pick weeds for the babies and the adults help themselves. Then in the summer when the weed slow down I use hay and mix it with greens
 

Tom

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Maybe it's just over simple for me but I just water the dirt and all sorts of good weeds come up. I pick weeds for the babies and the adults help themselves. Then in the summer when the weed slow down I use hay and mix it with greens
For years I've been pulling out the "bad" weeds by the roots before they go to seed, and I've been intentionally seeding and letting the "good" weeds go to seed. I now have pasture areas of tortoise food that grow during our winter rains. For about 4 or 5 months of every year, I don't have to "feed" my tortoises anything at all. They just come out of their boxes in the morning and eat their fill of weeds and grasses all day long.
 

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