Re-potting grasses from home depot?

[Nelsamye]

So I read on the sulcata station website that if I get any grasses or plants from home depot, that I should re-plant them in organic soil and wait a few months so any fertilizer in the soil can be flushed out, but I've also read threads here where people don't worry about what it's planted in as long as it hasnt been sprayed with anything. I've already got some seeds planted in organic soil, but grass doesn't grow in a day and my local home depot just got a bunch of great grasses. Has anyone ever bought grasses and fed them to their tortoise right away? Or is re-planting and waiting my best bet?


Amy
Sulcata tortoise - Maximus

 

[Levi the Leopard]

For me, I don't worry about what they are planted in. I shake off the roots and re plant into my outdoor enclosure.

I am more concerned with what they spray on the leaves. So I spend some time washing them off and giving them a week or more before re planting.

 

[wellington]

Replanting and waiting is the best. We will feed grasses and weeds, etc that we know are clean of any fertilizer, etc, but other then that, it should be replanted and waited out for a bit.

 

[ascott]

I too would wait....and also if you are referring to sod rolls--be aware that the rolls are held together initially by a plastic netting which is just below the grass and if your tort gets digging into the grass they ca get caught up in that plastic netting....

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Hi,

Yeah, so I worked in the seasonal department at a Home Depot. These are some facts to consider. No one vendor generates enough livestock to keep a region of Home Depots fully stocked. A lead Nursery for the region or a retail supplier will source plants from dozens of actual growers for a region or district of Home Depot Stores. These lead Nursery people also placed in Home Depots set up the display etc.

So even if you ask, the person in the Home Depot is very likely to not really know where any one plant came from, sometimes by looking at the many labels of the flat or plastic pot you can tell, but that is not guarantee either, as some of the lead nurseries have the actual growers put the lead nursery label on the flat or pot.

What all that means is there is no knowing where the plant came from, for the most part. Why that matters is that the growers will do their best to get marketable plants produced. That further means as the plants are not meant for consumption, they may have systematic compounds in them - chemicals applied that go into the living tissue of the plant, to make the plant toxic to insects, molds, and/or fungus.

So the sprays on the surface can be washed off, but the sprays and soil applied chemicals that become systemic can not be washed off.

Washing the plants is a good practice. Changing out the soil is a good practice. Using only new growth, or waiting for the plant to have a full season strongly reduces the potential for a systemic chemical to be reduced or eliminated.

Nursery growers have licenses and permits to use compounds, we as home owners do not get access to.

If you are impatient for the new growth process, I am, use the wheat grass or cat grass available at grocery stores for "today" feeding, and start and grow your own at home by seed.

I don't know of a situation where a tortoise died due to systemic chemicals used on plants from a comercial nursery operation, but many many plants sold in Home Depot, Lowe's, WalMart etc, those giant big box stores have ever more little stickers on the price tag saying this plants are not for human or animal consumption.

Just a few days ago there was a closeout at my local Home Depot on Kalanchoe, sometimes this is listed as a food plant for African tortoises, so I thought I would get some. On the label was that caution, not for human or animal consumption. It also said the same thing on the Aloe vera plants, which were not on sale.

Will

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Thanks will. You have made me glad that I now grow all my own plants!