Growing Food for Tort

[Zergy]

I want to be able to grow my own food for my future tortoise (a baby red foot). No, I don't have one yet. But if all goes well I should have one in a matter of a few months, I hope.

I have seeds for:
Dandelion
Chicory
Plantain (weed kind)
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus type)
and so on...

I can understand the concern for no pesticides to be used. But what about fertilizers? Would fertilizers make the food much more nutritious than it should be? Does it matter? Does it have to be organic? Can I grow their food in an earthbox type container?

I will be growing some foods for myself in my Earthboxes and raised garden, but I want to also grow some nutritious safe foods for my future tort.

 

[ascott]

Fertilizer is not a good thing to use. Also, be very careful to read the contents of a fertilizer showing it is organic...you can create compost and eventually use that. Since you have a little time until you have the tortoise you can begin an organic compost heap .....there are numerous ways to do this and you will want to see what works for where you live...you can gather terrific ideas simply by searching the internet...

By the way..common fertilizers are not great to use for food you grow and consume either...

 

[Zergy]

Last year in my earthboxes I used Happy Frog All Purpose Organic Fertilizer 5-5-5, which "made with premium organic ingredients like feather meal, fish meal, bat guano, and humic acid, a naturally occurring organic material that is formed when organic matter decomposes." Would it be okay to feed a tort foods that I used this fertilizer for? It is organic...

I have tried vermiculture (composting with worms), but there were problems with pest insects. Roaches are rampant out here. My bin was in the house so that was a huge issue.

What about the use of Kelp Fertilizers? Safe? Unsafe?

How do you keep pests from destroying the plants? Or do they not really bother weeds much? I am used to growing tomatoes and pepper plants who have problems with pests, so not sure how growing weeds, greens, and flowers works.

Somehow I think I am over thinking all this... Please feel free to tell me I am going overboard if need be.