Planting edibles.

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tortallyinsane11

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I have Russians, Sulcatas and Desert tortoises. Being in AZ makes the Desert's habitat planting relatively easy except for the "fun" stuff. I am trying to plant edible things in the other two outdoor, table type habitats. I have them in tables because of size. Anyway, I went to Home Depot to buy some "edible" plants with my lists of things that were considered edible for these types of tortoises. When I checked the plant tags they all say "For ornamental use only. Not for human or animal consumption." I came home a bit confused and frustrated about what to plant. Even the grass seed had a warning on it! I generally have a bit of a "black thumb" with plants anyway, but I'm sure my torts would enjoy it if I'm not always feeding them on their rocks and they could occasionally grab a bite as they walk by. Advice?
 

Cowboy_Ken

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tortallyinsane11 said:
I have Russians, Sulcatas and Desert tortoises. Being in AZ makes the Desert's habitat planting relatively easy except for the "fun" stuff. I am trying to plant edible things in the other two outdoor, table type habitats. I have them in tables because of size. Anyway, I went to Home Depot to buy some "edible" plants with my lists of things that were considered edible for these types of tortoises. When I checked the plant tags they all say "For ornamental use only. Not for human or animal consumption." I came home a bit confused and frustrated about what to plant. Even the grass seed had a warning on it! I generally have a bit of a "black thumb" with plants anyway, but I'm sure my torts would enjoy it if I'm not always feeding them on their rocks and they could occasionally grab a bite as they walk by. Advice?

I have never asked for tortoise advise from a Home Depot employee. They don't know. The warning, I'm sure is to cover their @ss. That said, remember to repot them into organic soil that does not contain any of the little white balls or chunks, for some reason, tortoises find these edible and that can lead to impaction. Typically, store bought plants have loads of fertilizers in the soil that should be considered bad/poisonous to our tortoise charges. Was the leaves as well. Pesticides and other nasty chemicals are used to help keep the plants looking good for the buyer.
 

Thalatte

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Are there any organic stores around you? They grow all plants without fertilizers and pesticides.
If not you can buy the Home Depot plants and then let them grow in Unfertilized soil for about a month to allow all the fertilizers and pesticides to dissipitate.
Now I don't know if this is strictly necessary but it is how I do it.
 

tortallyinsane11

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He he he, Cowboy, I don't typically ask Home Depot employees advice about anything. I surely wouldn't ask them about a tortoise. I save those questions for Petsmart :) (just kidding!) I was just reading the tags on the plants that I was told were supposed to be edible and they all said they were not(sort of). That's why I posted it on the forum. This is where I get my reliable information. You are probably right about them just covering their behinds. Thanks.


Thalatte said:
Are there any organic stores around you? They grow all plants without fertilizers and pesticides.
If not you can buy the Home Depot plants and then let them grow in Unfertilized soil for about a month to allow all the fertilizers and pesticides to dissipitate.
Now I don't know if this is strictly necessary but it is how I do it.

Will check on the organic nursery. I do the same thing with the HD plants. My concern was more the species of the plant and whether or not they are actually edible for my torts. I'll be collecting some desert weeds next week. Think I'll try some transplanting.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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(None of this is good husbandry. It is all sarcasm and intended only as comic relief)
Petco is the best for asking care needs for tortoises. Particularly in regards to corn cob or walnut shells as a substrate. And the kid in the fish department also said that torts get all the water they need from the food they eat. Then he gave me a flier for a garage party his band was going to play at on Saturday! LOL.
 

tortallyinsane11

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Cowboy_Ken said:
(None of this is good husbandry. It is all sarcasm and intended only as comic relief)
Petco is the best for asking care needs for tortoises. Particularly in regards to corn cob or walnut shells as a substrate. And the kid in the fish department also said that torts get all the water they need from the food they eat. Then he gave me a flier for a garage party his band was going to play at on Saturday! LOL.

Like button needed :)
 

Tom

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You need to find a place that offers pasture seeds. Here is my favorite:
http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html?SID=odtspt2cao79c3old0habg8c83

They sell a "premium horse pasture mix" that is EXCELLENT! I also love their alfalfa, clover and endive seeds.

Also check out http://tortoisesupply.com/ They sell several mixes. My favorite mix of all time is their "Testudo Mix". It grows like crazy in a hot dry climate, and its a really good variety of things.

You should also order up a box of "spineless opuntia pads". These are super easy to plant and grow yourself, and an excellent food source for tortoises.

Grape vines, hibiscus and mulberry leaves are all really easy to grow and the leaves are excellent tortoise foods.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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On a more serious note, Tom has provided you with great resources for finding seeds for your kids. Thanks Tom for getting us back on track. My Russians and sucatas also enjoy California poppy flowers and they reseed themselves. Only the California type of poppy is good for a tortoise, don't use any of the others. White clover also is fast growing and also reseeds itself so that's another to get.
 

tortallyinsane11

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Thanks Tom for the links, I will be sure to check them out! I have spineless cactus pads growing all over my yard. I'll have to see if its the same I suppose and you said Mulberry. My son has a huge "fruitless mulberry" tree in his yard. Is this the mulberry you mean?

Thank you for clarifying the poppy info Cowboy. I did indeed buy the wrong poppy plants. Fortunately, they are easily removed:)

One last thing guys! Since my grass seeds were "blue" should I be digging them out of the habitats? This would be my final worry( I think?).
 

immayo

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I know right now Lowes and Home Depot have an organic herb section (same brand at both stores). I bought my little guy one of their lettuce plants. It was called city mix or city something and had a few different types of lettuces. I asked about it having pesticides and was told that these plants had organic ones which were safe for human consumption and my tort has seemed perfectly fine with it. These plants also come in a biodegradable pot. Unfortunately my tort has eaten the lettuce faster than it has been growing so my plans for growing it kind of went out the window! haha
 

Cowboy_Ken

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The grass you have growing is fine. Fruitless mulberry is great. The leaves are what you're after. Did we mention grape? Here, too, the leaves not the fruit.
 
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