# Safe plant food???? Is there such a thing?



## gabby.santana (May 16, 2016)

I just bought a grape plant, some strawberry plants and some cilantro. On the instructions it says these plants are going to need plant food. I know fertilizers are bad for my tort but is there anything out there that I can maybe give my plants that is also safe for my tort and box turtle?


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## WithLisa (May 16, 2016)

Tort poo?


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## gabby.santana (May 16, 2016)

That's good idea. Could I use manure? Since I plan on also eating from these plants and am not so thrilled with having my pets poop around the plant


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## dmmj (May 16, 2016)

I can't help you sorry I use my own natural mulch that I make an earthworm and Nightcrawler casings.


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## JoesMum (May 16, 2016)

It's the chemical fertilisers that everyone avoids. Well rotted manure should be fine.


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## Rue (May 16, 2016)

Chemical fertilizers are fine. The plant metabolizes nutrients from them - same as what it does with the nutrients it gets from manure - and incorporates those nutrients into its plant tissue. N, P and K are basic chemicals no matter what the source. N is N.

Just don't get the actual fertilizer *ON* the tortoise. That's different, because the chemicals are concentrated in solution. 

General purpose fertilizers are labelled more or less as 12-12-12. Specialty fertilizers might have a different ratio of NPK, so the numbers may vary.


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## gabby.santana (May 16, 2016)

So if chemical fertilizers Are ok to feed than I don't understand why people say we can't feed our torts plants directly from Home Depot, lowes...


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## Rue (May 16, 2016)

They are concerned with systemic insecticides.


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (May 16, 2016)

The best plant food is compost tea ! Nothing better for the soil or the plants !


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## gabby.santana (May 16, 2016)

What do you mean compost tea?


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (May 16, 2016)

gabby.santana said:


> What do you mean compost tea?


Compost tea is where you mix compost into water and air ate it . And you get a tea of bacteria and plant food with out chemicals !


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## Rue (May 17, 2016)

Yes, you can make a compost tea for your plants if you're inclined to. I tried it once many years ago...but you have to be a more dedicated gardener than I am to do make and use on a regular basis.

Because it's convenient - I do use old aquarium water to water my house plants with (when I do water changes on my aquarium). It acts as a weak nitrogen fertilizer (primarily). So that's not quite the same, but is a similar concept. In this case the nitrogen comes from fish waste.

We might have to redefine 'chemical'. Everything is a chemical.


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## gabby.santana (May 18, 2016)

Maybe I can water my plants with the dirty water from my reptiles bowls. I'm sure there is waste in there. 


Would u guys by any chance know what these weeds are ?




The daisy like weed has a really strong smell to it


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## Pearly (May 18, 2016)

gabby.santana said:


> Maybe I can water my plants with the dirty water from my reptiles bowls. I'm sure there is waste in there.
> 
> 
> Would u guys by any chance know what these weeds are ?
> ...


The first one is not a weed, it's a flower I pay to buy at the nursery. Plus very few nurseries have them. It's called Dahlberg Daisy. I use it on the edges of my flower pots. It's a gorgeous cascade of abundant blooms all summer. It loves the sun and heat. Not sure what the tortoise table says about them. My babies leave it alone. It does have rather unpleasant odor but I love them and look for them at garden centers every Spring


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## gabby.santana (May 20, 2016)

Thanks @Pearly do you by any chance know what the other weed is


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## Tom (May 20, 2016)

gabby.santana said:


> Maybe I can water my plants with the dirty water from my reptiles bowls. I'm sure there is waste in there.



I would not use water that has had contact with a reptile to grow food to be fed to another reptile. There is a big risk of cross contamination there.

Rue's info about fertilizers and pesticides was well worded and completely accurate. I just wanted to offer one more opinion to agree with what she said.


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## gabby.santana (May 21, 2016)

Your right tom thanks for pointing that out. 


Has anyone ever used Alaska fish fertilizer ?


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## Pearly (May 22, 2016)

gabby.santana said:


> Your right tom thanks for pointing that out.
> 
> 
> Has anyone ever used Alaska fish fertilizer ?


Fish or any other natural fertilizer. I love my compost (it doesn't cost me a penny). I think though you are onto something with the waste water idea. I've been doing it (miss recycling here!!) watering my terrarium and house plants with it as well as few garden centerbought potted plants that are "airing out" for few months outside before I put them in with the babies. All those plants grow beautifully! I don't have any other reptiles to worry aboutcross contamination


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## RosemaryDW (May 22, 2016)

The second picture is yellow sweet clover. Listed as a "do not feed" in the Tortoise Table.


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## jaizei (May 22, 2016)

Pearly said:


> Fish or any other natural fertilizer. I love my compost (it doesn't cost me a penny). I think though you are onto something with the waste water idea. I've been doing it (miss recycling here!!) watering my terrarium and house plants with it as well as few garden centerbought potted plants that are "airing out" for few months outside before I put them in with the babies. All those plants grow beautifully! I don't have any other reptiles to worry aboutcross contamination



Do you just do traditional composting or with worms and bsfl?


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## Pearly (May 22, 2016)

Nah! None of that! Used to have big compost container but once it filled up to 2/3 I couldn't turn it myself. The pitchfork would get stuck in long stringy plants and I'd swear and curse, and my husband wouldn't help... So it wasn't breaking down properly, then I saw a rat in my garden one night... Then, soon after big/loooong snake skin in neighbors yard 2 houses dow... And that was IT for my "natural gardening" Now depending what veggie/fruit scraps I have I either throw them out in the areas that need a little boost, or collect them for few days and go out with a shovel, dig up a hole and put the scraps in, backfilling with soil. It works for me as I know this garden very well, and know where and what needs to go. Now, I still haven't given up the idea of proper composting with earthworms or microorganisms etc... But first would need to get nice shredder/mulcher to chop everything up. Then turning would be easier and proces of breaking down much faster


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