pansy pansies

[toastie]

so i keep reading that if you feed plants from garden centers you should have them grow in a pot at home for 3 months before you feed them to your tortoise to get rid of pesticides etc but with something like winter pansy this is not possible as they will be dead before the three months is up so my question is can i give my hermanns winter pansy that i buy from my local garden center? many thanks in advance john

 

[Yvonne G]

You can always knock most of the dirt off the roots, replant them in clean, chemical-free soil, then water the hell out of them for a couple weeks. That should clean them up enough to feed to your tortoises.

Yvonne

Oh...and:

to the forum!!

 

[tortoisenerd]

It is a matter of personal opinion. I have a hard time with understanding that something systemic can be knocked out of the plant in any short period of time. I would much prefer to play it overly cautious and just wait if I am unsure. You never know how many chemicals and what type was on the plant to start with. Things meant for human consumption that are non organic I believe would still have a lot less pesticides than flowers meant for beauty and not consumption.

 

[dmmj]

IMO harvest the pansy seeds and grow your own next year.

 

[Madortoise]

Hey Yvonne, how come toastie gets the best Welcome sign with gold and diamonds!
Anyway, Welcome, Toastie!
I waited a couple of months before I let my tort go into the pen w/pansies planted in them. After she carefully surveyed the new landscape she went straight for them and ate them all w/in a couple of weeks. But if I didn't have pansies, she would have been perfectly happy w/mallows and dandelions. Why do you feel compelled to feed pansies?? You can get organic edible flowers that usually include pansies.

 

[terryo]

It's a wonder that poor Pio is still alive. I seen to do everything wrong for him. I buy them, wash them off in the sink, and plant them in his enclosure. I've been doing this for two years now. He eats them right down to the dirt. I guess I'll have to start growning my own.

 

[toastie]

thanks for the welcome everybody ( especialy my gold flashy glittering one!) i wasnt feeling compelled to give them pansies its just that i saw some in B&Q and thought they would be a nice treat for them was all but i will take it under advisement and grow my own many thanks for all the replies people
john

 

[Crazy1]

Weclome to the forum John, some grocery stores also sell edible flowers for human consumption that I get and give as a treat sometimes just not too often.