# The Tortoise Chef



## Kapidolo Farms

This is a thread about what you actually feed out. @Yvonne G , my 'tortoise wife', posted this scrumptious fare with a description here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-19#post-1472245




Other wonderful meals by other members are @Anyfoot here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-11#post-1371343 TFO said the file was too big to repost your image.

I started a thread some time ago about 'grocery store greens good' here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/grocery-store-greens-good.81609/

I do "get it" that free range/graze is great for a few tortoises in a very large outdoor enclosure. But I have more tortoises than outdoor enclosure, so the grocery store is the tortoise food life for me.

I buy at Restaurant Depot and some wholesalers who will sell COD to some weird guy that wants to buy case quantities for tortoises. Sometime Costco and Smart and Final have better prices. H-Mart a limited national grocery chain (Korean foods, bigger than most grocery stores though, their produce section is bigger than a small grocery store) has many wonderful things for a tortoise chef.

I don't know if Julia Child would approve of the title "tortoise chef" but that's okay.

This thread is about grocery store greens prepared to be a good diet.

@RosemaryDW please share your culinary tortoise talent.


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## Stuart S.

This is great. Being that I'm in Alaska, the store is my go to until we make our transition this fall! 

This morning our little Sully had a breakfast of chopped romaine, arugula, endive and bok choy; topped off with some shredded grassland pellets.


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## RosemaryDW

Wow, thanks for asking @Will !

I don't know that I'm a chef, just someone with time on my hands and a great location in Southern California.

There are a couple of threads I made about shopping at farmers markets, particularly those with Asian or Indian produce. Small and large Asian markets are in many cities, for those wanting to poke around at new foods.

This is one from when I was first feeling comfortable with our market; I have since found several more plants (chayote and bitter melon vines are frequently available). I've also gotten more comfortable with throwing in the occasional random Asian greens, as her diet is so varied. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...pecializing-in-asian-or-hmong-produce.140654/ It's interesting how often people tell me of a tortoise or turtle they owned or cared for; usually they've been feeding it wrong, alas.

This is one from a trip I took to the market where I got well more than I needed for $2 and change: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/cheap-freebie-day-at-the-farmers-market.146540/

I did another recently that I hoped would help new owners figure out if the weeds they are picking are "safe" from pesticides: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...ng-if-your-weeds-are-safe-photo-heavy.153035/

Not an individual thread but I always like to tell new members to check their hispanic markets for spineless cactus, marked "nopales."

As for this week's offerings, it has been a phenomenal year for rain so we still have weeds galore; yesterday I picked wild sunflower, mallow, bindweed (she's a Russian!), bristly ox-tongue, sow thistle, prickly lettuce, wild geranium, naturalized nasturium. These weeds won't stay green for long so I like to load up while I can. Also on the menu for this week are some daikon radish leaves and fifty cents worth of bitter melon vines and amaranth from the farmers market. Amaranth is a "no" food on the Tortoise Table list because of oxalates; I personally don't worry about oxalates, partially from what I've read here from @Will !

She's also eating yarrow, evening primrose, and sage from the garden, along with whatever flowers drop from the abutilon plants (Indian Mallow.) When we aren't looking, she's trampling clumps of iris to get to the flowers.

This sounds like a ton of food for one week but she's in a very large area and her appetite has been enormous this spring. I don't have anywhere near the experience our multiple tortoise owners do but I've been really impressed at her willingness to try new foods after a full year of being fed by us. She's finally slowing down, this should be more than enough for the week! Should we somehow run out, I've got plenty of chicory and frisee in the human fridge to share.


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## RosemaryDW

@Will I've recently seen a post or two from you on dried nopales that I found really interesting. They sound like a great addition for anyone with a bunch of tortoises and/or cold weather. Is that something you could describe here?


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## RosemaryDW

*Criminy, * I just saw the line from Will in the first post that makes it clear the thread is about grocery store greens only! No wonder I was surprised to be mentioned in the original post.

Can a moderator help me delete the portions about weeds? Or just nuke the entire post and I'll make a new one with just info on foods from farmers markets and Asian greens.


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## Yvonne G

RosemaryDW said:


> *Criminy, * I just saw the line from Will in the first post that makes it clear the thread is about grocery store greens only! No wonder I was surprised to be mentioned in the original post.
> 
> Can a moderator help me delete the portions about weeds? Or just nuke the entire post and I'll make a new one with just info on foods from farmers markets and Asian greens.



No need. You post fits in nicely.


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## MichaelaW

Struck gold at my local Mexican farmers markets today. I came away with free green leaf, watermelon, cucumber, pineapple, and tomatoes, plus an offer to come back for more. I was hoping for more greens, but maybe next time.


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## Kapidolo Farms

@RosemaryDW weeds are good to. To great extent most post about food and feeding see to be about which weed is edible or what to buy. Not so much about what and how it is fed. It's all good.


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## Kapidolo Farms

The first five images are the greens that went into today's salad. I used only four of the six heads of romaine. That second image is the back label of the SpringMix showing what may(???) be in the bag. Right now cases of Romaine in CA are $40 to $70 which is crazy, so the smaller bags of cleaned heads at $250 are the better choice. I prefer to buy whole cases. Two heads of escarole sit on top of the Spring Mix before being chopped.

Then we have a dry and moistened ZooMed grassland pellets image, they really "volumize".

Those greens, the pellets, and one zucchini are mixed as a "base" mix. To this base I add cuttle bone dust and a small amount of Vionate powder.

Next image is the hand crank grater. No cactus today, however all the non-leafy things get grated with this - cactus, squashes, the occasional carrot, sweet potato, etc. I hand chop mushroom they don't grate so well. Those pictures follow the grater image.

As mushrooms are such good "bio accumulators" I spend the little more and buy certified organic.

That base salad is fed to Pancake, Leopard, Egyptian primarily. Then to the base that is for Forstens I add more squash. I take some of the base salad and mix in more squash and the mushrooms. This mushroom added salad goes to P. planicauda, and hingebacks. On blossom days I feed the hingebacks first, then mix in blossoms for the planicauda. Some days I collect enough blossoms they are added to the base.

Lone dandelions are fed as-is to the Egyptians.

The last image is the base salad.

In all it takes about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to prepare this. That depends on how much coffee a drank so far any particular morning.


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## Kapidolo Farms

RosemaryDW said:


> @Will I've recently seen a post or two from you on dried nopales that I found really interesting. They sound like a great addition for anyone with a bunch of tortoises and/or cold weather. Is that something you could describe here?



I read many scientific and lay/gray articles regarding cactus as a food item for people and livestock. In all that I decided drying some at low temp was appropriate. It helps maintains a higher post processing amount and range of protein and other nutrients.

My pancake tortoises taught me about its acceptability in the first place, they were going after some that had dried in their enclosure.

I use a hand crank food grater, and dry at 112 F. I remove glochids with stainless steel pot scrubbers and quick once over with hand held blow torch. Then grate and dry. My own shelf life tests show if stored in a cool dry place in a closed zipper bag, like a kitchen cabinet (not above the stove) they retain their color and smell for about a year. I overproduce it so that I keep some mixed into the diet of my tortoises at home, but for the most part use fresh grated cactus.

To use it I recommend re-wetting in regular room temp or cold tap water for at least 20 minutes or overnight in your frig. I use cactus once or twice a week either the fresh or dry re-hydrated.


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## Stuart S.

Will said:


> The first five images are the greens that went into today's salad. I used only four of the six heads of romaine. That second image is the back label of the SpringMix showing what may(???) be in the bag. Right now cases of Romaine in CA are $40 to $70 which is crazy, so the smaller bags of cleaned heads at $250 are the better choice. I prefer to buy whole cases. Two heads of escarole sit on top of the Spring Mix before being chopped.
> 
> Then we have a dry and moistened ZooMed grassland pellets image, they really "volumize".
> 
> Those greens, the pellets, and one zucchini are mixed as a "base" mix. To this base I add cuttle bone dust and a small amount of Vionate powder.
> 
> Next image is the hand crank grater. No cactus today, however all the non-leafy things get grated with this - cactus, squashes, the occasional carrot, sweet potato, etc. I hand chop mushroom they don't grate so well. Those pictures follow the grater image.
> 
> As mushrooms are such good "bio accumulators" I spend the little more and buy certified organic.
> 
> That base salad is fed to Pancake, Leopard, Egyptian primarily. Then to the base that is for Forstens I add more squash. I take some of the base salad and mix in more squash and the mushrooms. This mushroom added salad goes to P. planicauda, and hingebacks. On blossom days I feed the hingebacks first, then mix in blossoms for the planicauda. Some days I collect enough blossoms they are added to the base.
> 
> Lone dandelions are fed as-is to the Egyptians.
> 
> The last image is the base salad.
> 
> In all it takes about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to prepare this. That depends on how much coffee a drank so far any particular morning.
> 
> View attachment 204427
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I'm showing my wife this so she understands my craziness when I'm constantly bringing home different greens for our baby sulcata lol


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## Yvonne G

Today's menu consists of 6 heads of romaine, a large bag of collards, 5 stems of prickly lettuce and 6 stems of mallow:





No additives today.


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## Yvonne G

I should have mentioned that I also feed the above diets to my box turtles. To get them started eating greens I would chop it up real small and strain the juice off of the canned cat food types that have juice - "meaty bits" "Prime fillets" etc. and pour it over the greens, mixing it all up until all the greens are coated with the cat food juice. Once they were finishing off all the greens I started cutting back on the cat food juice and now they eat greens and veggies without cat food. I occasionally will add some night crawlers, pin head crickets, etc. to the box turtles' menu.


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## Neal

I also "get" that a grazing or self sustained type-diet is preferable and would never argue against that. It's definitely a goal of mine to get to that point, but it's not practical right now, and I think a grocery store diet can more than suffice the dietary demands of our tortoises. I have read that the effects of grocery store food is similar to us eating fast food, but I've never quite understood that argument. Maybe I don't know enough about lettuce or the like, but I don't believe that the effects of grocery store foods on a tortoises body are similar to what happens with us when we eat a Happy Meal. I think the term "varied diet" is key to remember when offering a grocery store (or even grazing-type) diet. Sorry to gripe, but I appreciate the topic of the thread and glad to see it's a "sticky thread"

I also shop at the Restaurant Depot and have even gone as far as to reach out to the farms where their food originates to find out about their supply chain and exact content of their mixed foods (spring mix, greens mix, etc...). The growers are surprisingly eager to share a lot of that information. Anyway, there's some good stuff to be found there. I particularly like their bag of mixed dark greens.

I am never consistent with what I feed or how I feed. Sometimes I cut things up finely, or sometimes I'll offer full leaves. I had a little spare time the other day so I did the chop em up method in preparing a meal for the stars. This mix was about 15% mulberry, 40% dandelion, 40% romaine and 5% carrots for some color appeal.







I cut off the stems and less green portions of the lettuce. I heard the greener the better at some point and have always just tossed the less green portions to the leopards who graze more than the other types I have.






A basic pair of scissors and grater took care of all this in less than 3 minutes. It takes a bit longer when preparing the hatchlings meals as I usually chop things up finer.






All mixed ready to go.


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## Pearly

Will said:


> This is a thread about what you actually feed out. @Yvonne G , my 'tortoise wife', posted this scrumptious fare with a description here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-19#post-1472245
> 
> View attachment 204330
> 
> 
> Other wonderful meals by other members are @Anyfoot here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-11#post-1371343 TFO said the file was too big to repost your image.
> 
> I started a thread some time ago about 'grocery store greens good' here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/grocery-store-greens-good.81609/
> 
> I do "get it" that free range/graze is great for a few tortoises in a very large outdoor enclosure. But I have more tortoises than outdoor enclosure, so the grocery store is the tortoise food life for me.
> 
> I buy at Restaurant Depot and some wholesalers who will sell COD to some weird guy that wants to buy case quantities for tortoises. Sometime Costco and Smart and Final have better prices. H-Mart a limited national grocery chain (Korean foods, bigger than most grocery stores though, their produce section is bigger than a small grocery store) has many wonderful things for a tortoise chef.
> 
> I don't know if Julia Child would approve of the title "tortoise chef" but that's okay.
> 
> This thread is about grocery store greens prepared to be a good diet.
> 
> @RosemaryDW please share your culinary tortoise talent.


What a great idea to start this thread! I think it will help so many new tort keepers! I may add some of my "tort meal recipes"


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## Kapidolo Farms

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-11#post-1371216 from awhile ago


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## Kapidolo Farms

@Anyfoot http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-11#post-1371343


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## Pearly

yesterday's salad for my RF's: couple of collard green leaves and endive lettuce, grape vine and lambs quarters (already growing nicely from my last year's plantings) orange chantarelle mushrooms, raddicchio

some finely chopped apple peels, and Mazuri, one whole pellet, and another one smashed to let you see how soft they are. I usually make them pretty moist and mash into a pasty consistency then mix it into the chopped fresh stuff. My "kids" are getting bigger and eating much better now, I'm beginning to condition them to eating "everything off the vine", you know like free grazing where they eat it all, not just picking the fruit and shrimp out, leaving the greans behind


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## RosemaryDW

Wow, that looks nice!


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## Pearly

This is my old thread on feeding baby RF's, and trying to make the food attractive enough to one failing hatchling to eat. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Pearly's-tips-to-feed-picky-eater.139381/there are few universal tips there that can be used across species


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## Kapidolo Farms

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/totoise-salad-dressing.149685/ This is another great 'bought' and harvested ingredients post.


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## RosemaryDW

@Will and @Yvonne G, I was thinking it might be useful to indicate how many tortoises are being fed and/or what the approximate costs of foods are? It would to me anyway! I think my single tortoise food costs are very cheap but being in Southern California with a great farmers market AND an undisturbed field really distorts what most people pay for food.


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## Stuart S.

@Will I received your dried opuntia chips, this will be Spur's first batch with it mixed in with his greens and grassland pellets.


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## MichaelaW

RosemaryDW said:


> @Will and @Yvonne G, I was thinking it might be useful to indicate how many tortoises are being fed and/or what the approximate costs of foods are? It would to me anyway! I think my single tortoise food costs are very cheap but being in Southern California with a great farmers market AND an undisturbed field really distorts what most people pay for food.


Seconded.


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## RosemaryDW

A trip to my community garden.

I know the area around our garden is not sprayed; as you can see, they mow and mulch. There is an obvious downside here, which is very few weeds after the first mulching or two! I have to look elsewhere for them now.




Fortunately one edge of the field has some large shrubby "trees" providing shade and that's where I look once the weeds are gone. A favorite at our house is nasturtium. This plant is easy to identify with its round leaves and numerous yellow and orange flowers. In California we will see them in the spring in shady areas; it's not uncommon to see them year round in places with deep shade and water. Nasturtiums easily naturalize, these have seeded themselves from earlier plantings in the garden itself. They are very easy to pick, just grab a handful and pull.




I check to make sure they haven't been sprayed: nope!




Another escapee, calendula, is here late winter and into early summer; it's going like gangbusters this spring. This plant is included in at least one popular tortoise seed mix and basically grows like a weed. 




I was not surprised to see desert primrose. After years of being used in drought-tolerant gardens, it is everywhere in the spring. It's another plant that's easy to harvest, grab and go. Desert primrose was tortoise crack for my Russian this year. There is wild sunflower here as well but it's not on this week's menu.




Having only the one tortoise, I don't need a lot of castoff plants but wow, the green waste pile here is the motherlode. Everything is in this pile today, including huge loads of chard and bitter melon vines. Kale seems to be here every time; you can't give that stuff away! Come summer, squash vines will be everywhere, along with monster zucchinis; usually some sunflower. In fall there will be pumpkins and yet more kale.




Of course I wouldn't randomly take anything out of this pile but I could make some fast friends here on a weekend. We have quite a few tortoise owners in the neighborhood, people are always willing to share. My biggest problem is explaining to people that I only need one turnip leaf for a Russian, not a bucketful.

Cost: free except for my time. I enjoy the garden so it was already part of my regular walks. It's not just me, this garden is attractive to both the tortoise and the hare.


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## MeAndMyTort

So here's what was for dinner for my one Greek...

A little bit of spring mix, with the spinach taken out:




Added some cut up cilantro(just a little) and some wheatgrass, then gave it all a good wash.



And here's a picture of the grass I bought (chemical free) and some grass I'm growing in tiny cups because it's cute:



And FYI, he doesn't usually get store bought greens everyday, but since today was a supermarket green day , It seemed like a good idea to post.


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## Kapidolo Farms

I did not take an image, my bad.

My wife noticed grape leaves at the 'North Park Produce' store in Vista/Oceanside. I bought a pound of them $3.59 a pound. I bought a pound, it's several hundred leaves. I cut them up across the face of the leaf, what a great smell. The small P. planicuada were a bit aggressive to eat them, everyone else was just sorta "whatever?"

I guess I am a total 'tortoise chef' dork/nerd 'cause I find it fun to do this and watch the tortoises react.


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## RosemaryDW

Will said:


> My wife noticed grape leaves at the 'North Park Produce' store in Vista/Oceanside.



Ooh, I'm always looking but I've never seen them for sale at our Persian market. That seems like a great price. My tortoise likes them nearly as much as squash leaves. Unless it's Tuesday, in which case, forget it.


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## Kapidolo Farms

RosemaryDW said:


> @Will and @Yvonne G, I was thinking it might be useful to indicate how many tortoises are being fed and/or what the approximate costs of foods are? It would to me anyway! I think my single tortoise food costs are very cheap but being in Southern California with a great farmers market AND an undisturbed field really distorts what most people pay for food.




A case of Escarole is 24 heads, and ranges in price from $24.80 to $28.60, as I use it it will last about a week, as will all the other I list at first
A case of romaine is 24 head, will cost $7.99 to $24.00. An alternative is to buy cleaned heads in six packs for 2.49 to $2.99, but they don't have all the big fluffy outer leaves.
A 3# bag of Spring Mix costs $4.95, two per week.
A 2 pound bag or baby arugula costs $4.75
A bag of baby kale is 1.5 pounds and costs $4.95
A bag of rainbow Kale is 2.5 pounds and costs $4.95

Opuntia is harvested

These last two to three weeks, and are in a rotation so two or three may be in play at any time
A 22 pound box of yellow or green or grey summer squash ranges from $7.00 to $25 a box, I only buy it when it's under $10.00
A 32 pound box of Bok Choy can range in price from $12.00 to $35, I only buy it when it's under $17 or so.
A 4# case of bananas cost $4.74 to $4.95, I get one every two or thee weeks, freeze what I don't use before it gets mushy. A 40# pox costs $17.99 and I have considered that but don't have that much freezer space to spare.
Yams and Sweet potato are in 22# boxes and I don't recall the price.
A 30 pound box of acorn squash costs about $20.00

Most of these things have seasonal price swings, and so I elect to go with a best deal at the time. Many restaurant suppliers have what might be thought of as "B" grade odd boxes at about half the price, that deal leads me to those things.

Sometimes they have cases of mushrooms at 2/3 off and I always buy them then, the Manouria seem to have no upper limit on the the amount of mushrooms they will eat, and all the hingebacks like them too. I buy no less than a 2# basket of mushrooms at Costco once a week for the Pyxis planicuada,

Mulberry leaves are supplied by a friend, so no cost and last year round as fresh or dried.

40 pound bags of grass pellets are in the $20/bag range and last about 6 months.

A low cost week is about $45, a high cost week is about $80 total.

I don't publish a list of animals in total ever anywhere.


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## Kapidolo Farms

Stuart S. said:


> @Will I received your dried opuntia chips, this will be Spur's first batch with it mixed in with his greens and grassland pellets.
> 
> View attachment 204858


It looks tasty to me!


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## Neal

Just went to Restaurant Depot and a case of 24 heads of romaine was about $60....I have never seen it that high. Normal price is $13 give or take.

I noticed the supplier is different than normal, and the heads were wrapped in sealed plastic instead of wrapped in an open plastic bag. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing.


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## RosemaryDW

Will said:


> I don't publish a list of animals in total ever anywhere.



Okay, I'll assume it's more than five. 

Thanks for the info.


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## Kapidolo Farms

Neal said:


> Just went to Restaurant Depot and a case of 24 heads of romaine was about $60....I have never seen it that high. Normal price is $13 give or take.
> 
> I noticed the supplier is different than normal, and the heads were wrapped in sealed plastic instead of wrapped in an open plastic bag. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing.




Yeah, It is because the AZ producers have shut down and Salinas Valley is still a bit recovering from being swamped by California rains. AndyBoy farms 6 packs are still under $3.00 though. Hard to find. I do a sweep on the way home of three Smart and Finals and a Costco. As I buy for about a week at a time I get four 6 packs and call it done for the week.


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## Alicia Hoogstra

Wow! I've been weed hunting..lol for my two little ones, i can't wait to really mix it up as they get older!!!


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## RosemaryDW

Back to the farmers market!

I was at the market by myself today. My husband is a patient man but there is only so much time he is willing to stand in the sun while I meander the stalls.

I usually pick up a few squash or melon leaves: today was chayote squash. If you look closely, you can see these vines from one of our largest Hmong vendors are not at all cheap at $6/pound. They have just about everything at this stand, all terrifically clean and organic. Everything has easy to read signage and the staff spend a good amount of time describing the uses of all the vegetables to customers. All of this is reflected in the prices. Unlike some vendors, they sell most green vegetables loose, which is why I shop here. I only needed a couple of squash stems, which cost me 25 cents. When I told the cashier it was for my tortoise, he tells me his mom has desert tortoises and would they like this? "YES!" I presume he can get his at cost. 




If I was buying in quantity, I'd pop down to another large vendor that is very nice but not organic nor as well staffed. Just about everything they sell is in $2 bundles. Typically the bundles hold a very large handful of whatever plant it is, so the weight varies. They are selling bundles of bitter melon stems that I estimated at least a pound plus--I've posted a picture of one bundle by itself in a produce bin. In summer their zucchini bundles are huge, far too big for me to even consider.







If I was looking for a bunch of dandelion (chicory) this is where I'd shop. This bundle is huge, making it perhaps half as expensive as other vendors.




I purchased a bundle of methi (fenugreek) here because it is often recommended to/by owners in Asia and India and I wanted to see if it would pass muster with a Russian. I got ten ounces for my $2 and I was surprised that Adila ate a few leaves the first time I offered it to her--it's extremely bitter. I'll try her again when she is hungrier. Obviously she won't eat the whole bundle and as I don't make much curry, this was an experiment I undertook for the benefit of forum members!  They let me take a few daikon (big radish) leaves. Addy will eat regular radish leaves but she much prefers these; they are also easier for me to clean and feed, being so large. (Addy gets whatever I throw down whole, no beautiful salads for her!)




My tomato "guy" sells some other vegetables, along with squash blossoms. He gave me his last two flowers (they were a bit squashed!) and when I asked if I could have a turnip leaf, pulled out a double handful of tops of all kinds for me to take. I convinced him I needed just the one leaf.

I made my last purchase at a vendor selling cleaned opuntia pads for $2 pound. This is on par with other vendors, but our primary vendor only sells it in two-pound bags, already sliced. I wanted one tiny pad, which they gave me free when I said it was for my tortoise. Honestly, telling people here you have a tortoise makes you an "A" list celebrity.

I was poking around another vendor when I noticed they had a large box of vegetable tops and loose lettuce leaves out front. Customers often ask vendors for tops, for their chickens and compost bins, occasionally for tortoises. This vendor must have decided it was easier to leave things out front than keep pulling things from behind the counter; I've never noticed it before. I see some collards in there, along with chard, beet tops, various lettuces, and carrot tops. I'd rinse anything I took from here but you can't beat free.




Here we are at home with everything washed. Total cost $2.25 but without the methi experiment, it would have been just the 25 cents. It's not food for an entire week, just some additional variety to the weeds I picked earlier. At this point, my entire food budget for the week is 25 cents unless you factor in the very high cost of living in this neighborhood. Once that number is included, the total cost is approximately one squillion dollars.


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## RosemaryDW

RosemaryDW said:


> I purchased a bundle of methi (fenugreek) here because it is often recommended to/by owners in Asia and India and I wanted to see if it would pass muster with a Russian.



Wow, she devoured this today, ignoring just about everything else. I've posted a picture of the aftermath. She ate quite a few stems so you can't quite get the full effect, it was a ton of food. At this rate, I'll get my money's worth!


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## TortoiseLover8

What are the ingredients and what type of tortoise do you have


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## Kapidolo Farms

RosemaryDW said:


> Wow, she devoured this today, ignoring just about everything else. I've posted a picture of the aftermath. She ate quite a few stems so you can't quite get the full effect, it was a ton of food. At this rate, I'll get my money's worth!
> 
> View attachment 205634


I am thinking that the squash vines are a great "long" fiber inclusion in the diet. I had spent many Tuesday afternoons at a Farmers Market in Mira Mesa, but now living in Carlsbad don't get there. There is a farmers market in Vista, I went once, but no Asian vendors with all those vines with leaves. I have grown some, but the amount they will eat surpassed my production. All good stuff.


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## RosemaryDW

[


TortoiseLover8 said:


> What are the ingredients and what type of tortoise do you have


The picture above was just one plant, fenugreek (also valled "methi" in India). It's from the legume/bean family.

She's a Russian and very hungry this spring!


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## RosemaryDW

Will said:


> There is a farmers market in Vista, I went once, but no Asian vendors with all those vines with leaves. I have grown some, but the amount they will eat surpassed my production. All good stuff.



They are popular as cooked vegetables. We have large populations of Asians and Indians living here; the market sells all kinds of things I've never seen elsewhere.

We gave up growing it as well. We only needed one plant but our cat insisted on sleeping in it. :/


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## TortoiseLover8

No way my fam is about to get a Russian tortoise that's why I got the app, I have been obsessed with tortoises since I was 9


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## Turtlesfromcolo

I love this...This thread is so AWESOME!! Thanks for sharing all these great recipes. I'm a newer turtle owner, I've had my box turtles for 3 years. This is very helpful.


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## RosemaryDW

My Russian tortoise was sick this week. Naturally being a new and nervoise tortoise owner, I rushed her to the vet where we spent $186 to confirm a stomach ache. 

Addy is still off her feed and stressed around us because we were giving her medicine. I imagine an experienced owner would just soak a tortoise and wait for it to feel calmer around the medicine god. I couldn't possibly be calm so I bought or picked everything I thought might peak her interest! Weeds have been rejected, as have nasturtiums which are going to seed and will soon be gone for the year. I'll see how she feels about them later in the week.

I went all out at the farmers market but first I'm going to post a picture of a plant I *didn't* buy. It's sour leaf, also known as gongura. This is a plant in the hibiscus family and allegedly a native food for star tortoises in India. People eat it, too, which is why it is at the market. Addy does not care for anything from a large hibiscus or mallow plant; she never took a bite of it last year. But for those of you with a star or any tortoise that will eat hibiscus, it's available at my market about half the year: $2 for a good sized bundle.




We are getting a little of everything today, starting with a few okra. Okra looks like a vegetable but is actually a fruit so she won't get many.




At the expensive organic Asian booth, I buy a few leaves of Chinese lettuce; one tiny bok choy; a few leaves of mustard; a couple of stems of melon vine. It's $1.50 but they give it to me for a dollar. I try to pay full price, pointing out I buy something here every week and should not always get a handout. "I know you have a tortoise," says the young man at the counter. "Consider it a sampler pack."

Chinese lettuce refers to quite a few lettuces, from what I see. This one is "youmaicai." It's a lettuce, not as hybridized as the lettuces in our grocery stores. I don't buy it often but she likes it and I like that the stems have a bit of fiber.




I get one little bok choy. Today's it's labeled as butter bok choy; I've also seen it as Snow White bok choy. There are seemingly one billion types of bok choy and they are all in the brassica family, just like radishes, cabbages, and mustard greens. My cat likes bok choy (don't ask) so it's a toss up who is going to end up with it.




It's crazy expensive for tortoise food; here is something more reasonable at a stall down the way. You can almost taste the bugs on this organic vegetable!




One thing I always find laughable at this stand is that they sell organic "dandelions" for $5 a pound. These aren't dandelions or even Italian dandelions (chicory). They are sow thistles! I'm pretty sure they just pull these as weeds from the fields; I've never asked what humans do with them. That said, they are a good tortoise food and I won't lie, I've bought a few on a rushed weekend. I love slow trips to the market but my time is occasionally more important than thirty cents. 




I find a few daikon radish leaves broken off in another stall. There is not a free turnip green to be found today. 

I'm willing to do anything today so I go to the very expensive lettuce/salad stall where they have everything: mizuna, pea greens, kales, mixes, baby chard, spinach. Everything is perfect, clean, no stems; ready for human consumption with zero effort. Not real useful for tortoises at their price but Addy is tiny and I am nervous so I buy some "spicy" mix and some arugula. As an outside tortoise, she doesn't get it often, because it dries up so quickly in the heat. We'll eat what she doesn't but I estimate her portion at $1.




I buy some collards for the humans, she'll get a leaf from the bundle. A few squash flowers (fifty cents?) and I am ready to go. On my way out, I price this smaller bundle of Italian dandelion (chicory) for $1 at the herb stand. It's an okay price for the size but way too much for a Russian. I don't think it keeps very well in the frige so unless they give me a few stems for free, I don't buy it.




At home I use my bare hands to pull the tiniest pad off our cactus plant. Addy has not been interested in store-bought cactus at all lately but when I scratch myself up, she thinks it's *amazing* and today is no exception. Of course I rip off another pad, she's worth it!




I wasn't watching prices today, under $3? Add in the vet visit and we're still under $200 per week, lol.


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## Kapidolo Farms

Okra, killer good tortoise food. Gotta watch the seed size though, really small tortoises might end up blocked. If you can visualize ten or more seeds can fit in their mouth at once, that is my guide for safe. Remember seeds are slimy, and round so it's not like rocks, but better safe than sorry.


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## Kapidolo Farms

K. erosa salad as fed out. 0% remains the following morning. I put food out at about 5:30am, about 1/2 after the light come on. By next morning I feel guilty non was left over.

Salad content: cross cut mulberry leaves, through the hand crank food grinder - one frozen banana, zucchini, butternut squash, and opuntia. Hand chopped are lettuce butts from romaine, escarole, and naps cabbage, and papaya. 

The banana thaws pretty quick after being runs through the hand crank. Then all this is tumbled. Papaya and banana flavor everything. 

Some ate a few bites of plain mulberry. They really like cicada grubs. I find these under a stack of discarded palm fronds. Snails work too.


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## RosemaryDW

Will said:


> Okra, killer good tortoise food. Gotta watch the seed size though, really small tortoises might end up blocked. If you can visualize ten or more seeds can fit in their mouth at once, that is my guide for safe. Remember seeds are slimy, and round so it's not like rocks, but better safe than sorry.



She gets the smallest okras I can find. I can assure you everything that goes in, comes back out!


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## RosemaryDW

@Will and @Yvonne G , I'm posting a link to a thread I just added to the general diet section. I don't think it belongs here, since we are showing what people *do* feed; more a description of why growing/finding your own foods can be quite difficult.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/why-growing-your-own-weeds-sometimes-just-wont-work.154611/


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## RosemaryDW

We are serving mostly weeds this week, as they are drying out for the year (an unexpected shower last night may change that). So not much to share about food I purchased.

I've had some time off from work and when that happens, I sometimes wander through one or more of our ethnic markets; it's like a little foreign tour for me. (I also have the time to write up some lengthy food posts, lol.) 

On my visit to our Asian market, I noticed the following tort foods at what I thought were fair prices; I'm posting them here for single or small tortoise owners who might be looking to spice things up or multiple owners looking for relatively cheap produce by the pound. Many of us have Asian grocery stores around us and just don't realize it. Google "Asian grocery" or "Chinese grocery" and see what you get! If you're worried about imported foods, don't be; these are all grown in the U.S.

For the record, I mostly buy snacks at this market; this time I bought some spicy-cuttlefish-flavored chips (yes, you read that right). @Grandpa Turtle 144 , they definately taste fishy!

In the fruit section, Mexican papaya was on sale for .79 pound, which seemed reasonable to me? They also sell dragon fruit, a large cactus fruit, for much cheaper than other stores; definately MUCH cheaper than at my farmers market where it is still a specialty item.




There were at least ten varieties of choy, a brassica, mostly in the $2-$3 range per pound. But two types were on sale, one for .59 cents/lb; another for .79.







Daikon radish leaf, a brassica, was on sale for what seemed an outstanding price: $1 for four pounds!




They also had yam leaf, the Ipomoea type. This is in the Convolvulaceae family, which includes morning glory. Different opinions on this plant but several experienced owners feed it and lochroma has given his opinion on it as as a safe-to-feed plant. $2.99/lb.




They had several varieties of "Chinese lettuce" mostly at $2.99. Pricey for multiple owners but a nice change of pace for single or small owners. It's in the Aster family, the same family as all letuces, dandelion, and chicory, but with a little more fiber in the stem, IMO.




I couldn't help but take a picture of this "lettuce stem." It's just what it says, the stem of a large lettuce, grown for eating while it's young. It's the same plant as the Chinese lettuce celtuce that I mentioned above. Not cheap at $2.99/lb but I'd sure love to see a large tortoise take a crack at it.




I also found Shepard's purse of all things, in the frozen section! This is another brassica and I've always thought of it as a "true" weed, it's used in stir fry and sometimes sold fresh. I've never read, or perhaps never understood the Chinese name for it, it's always got an English label of "shepard's purse" along with the Chinese characters. If you're in the tundra or far desert and desperate for weeds, the frozen version may worth a try. At worst, you're out $2!




Less common in American markets, they sell at least a dozen types of mushrooms that aren't the Shitake and regular white/brown ones we see. They are fresh and cheap compared to a standard market--but I think most owners would go for plain white or brown; they are still much cheaper in a regular market. So much cheaper that I didn't bother to take a picture.


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## Alicia Hoogstra

Ugh! I can't wait for our farmers markets to open! Organic Tortoise food feast!!!


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## Alicia Hoogstra

I know I saw something, but how do you dry grasses, weeds etc for winter?


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## Kapidolo Farms

Alicia Hoogstra said:


> I know I saw something, but how do you dry grasses, weeds etc for winter?



I bought a food dehydrator that works well for cactus, as it is thicker heavy stuff to dry. I think I have 18 disks to stack up. When I dry leaves I just wash drip dry and then lay out on paper or cardboard and run a fan over but not "at" the leaves.

A friend recently gave me a bunch of mulberry and I cut it across the leaf at about 1/4 strips and used it as it dried. It just sat loose, not packed down and it dried in about four days, such that refrigeration would have kept it for weeks. A few more days and it would have been brittle dry for closed bag storage not refrigerated.

The key is to have moving clean air and not use temps above 112F, apparently that is the temp that many proteins start to denature.


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## Alicia Hoogstra

@Will, thank you so much! I'm going to start today! MI winters are long


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## RosemaryDW

Some of the tougher weeds are still going strong but the pickings are getting pretty slim around here! I've got to start looking at other foods. Just about everything on the menu is from our yard or fridge, rather than my scrounging. Our little Russian is dedicated to the yarrow and desert primrose in our yard anyway; she doesn't need much from me.

First up is some lavatera, the one with the five-petaled pink flower. She''s not usually a fan of this mallow but I offer it pretty regularly, we have so much. The moons must have aligned because she's happy with it right now.

Our cilantro is going to seed. I snuck in a few flowers just to see what would happen. A big fat NOPE is what happened!

She got a little bit of dill, again to see what would happen. To my surprise she took a couple of good sized bites and a fair amount of stem.

A couple of chives were tossed in. This is a giant "No" in the Tortoise Table but the reasoning for that has always been unconvincing to me: plants with bulbs are bad. I take the chance on occasion--she loves these and also the stems of green garlic.

There is a handful of "wild" arugula that turned out to be too bitter even for me, a dedicated greens lover.

She gets a few bites of yellow squash trimmed from the end of the one we're eating.

I threw out a bag of mixed California wildflowers this winter. A single bright pink wildflower grew out of that. I don't know what it is but it's eaten with gusto, including the stems.

I happened upon a couple of domesticated sunflowers that had sprouted near our community garden. They won't survive long without water so I grabbed a couple of leaves. These things are HUGE. The fiber content seems pretty good and she likes them more than the wild sunflowers she had earlier in the year.

I finally got my hands on the saddest of turnip leaves at the farmers market and grabbed one beet leaf as well.


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## Kapidolo Farms

Bananas can be an appropriate food for tortoises in limited amounts. I buy a case, wash them, cut the ends off and then freeze them. This way I can utilize case quantities when on sale. Banana when mixed in with other food items helps vitamin-mineral powder to stick to the rest of the food. This type of food mix would be suitable for tropical forest species, not Testudo or grassland species.

This morning I used about a pound of mushroom, a large whole acorn squash, a half dozen green zucchini, and about two pounds of chopped greens, and the rind of a mellon. Aside from the greend I used this same size cutting head for all the produce. The large cutting head works with mushrooms. 

This is fed-out to adult I. forsteni and, K. erosa & K.spekii hingebacks. Today several squished snails were included for the speckii. 

A video and a still.


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## Kapidolo Farms

Will said:


> Bananas can be an appropriate food for tortoises in limited amounts. I buy a case, wash them, cut the ends off and then freeze them. This way I can utilize case quantities when on sale. Banana when mixed in with other food items helps vitamin-mineral powder to stick to the rest of the food. This type of food mix would be suitable for tropical forest species, not Testudo or grassland species.
> 
> This morning I used about a pound of mushroom, a large whole acorn squash, a half dozen green zucchini, and about two pounds of chopped greens, and the rind of a mellon. Aside from the greend I used this same size cutting head for all the produce. The large cutting head works with mushrooms.
> 
> This is fed-out to adult I. forsteni and, K. erosa & K.spekii hingebacks. Today several squished snails were included for the speckii.
> 
> A video and a still.


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## RosemaryDW

Is the skin still on those bananas. I can't tell.


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## Kapidolo Farms

RosemaryDW said:


> Is the skin still on those bananas. I can't tell.


Yes, If you watch the video you can see me setting some aside, and my narrative says I will cut it up with a knife. Well I figure you did watch the video? So maybe didn't hear or see that part?

I was thinking with the small blade I could do this with pealed bananas and top ice cream with it.


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## RosemaryDW

I did watch it with the sound off, I was at the doctor! I will try again.


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## Yvonne G

I love that food grinder. I have one too, and it's great for babies. But I caution about using it all the time for bigger tortoises because they need to keep their beak in shape by biting. 

That frozen banana tip is pretty handy - thanks.


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## Kapidolo Farms

Yvonne G said:


> I love that food grinder. I have one too, and it's great for babies. But I caution about using it all the time for bigger tortoises because they need to keep their beak in shape by biting.
> 
> That frozen banana tip is pretty handy - thanks.


The tortoises that get the large cut bits are in the 1 to 4 pound range.


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## RosemaryDW

Vacation feeding--last year vs. this year.

I'm leaving for a conference tomorrow and my husband is working intense hours at his job. Plus it's hot here this week. Food is going to left out in the morning and hopefully doesn't melt before lunch.

Last year, as a brand new owner, this is the kind of thing I would prepare in advance of my departure. Carefully curated containers of sturdy greens that would get placed out each day in a small water saucer to keep them from wilting. Plus a flower, because I felt guilty about leaving her.




This year:




Head of frisee: one minute at the grocery store, one dollar to buy, one handful dumped out per day. Frisee is one of my favorite foods for hot weather; stays the crunchiest. Feeding an outdoor tortoise seems the reverse of an indoor tortoise; she gets more spring mix in summer than any other time of the year.

Next year I imagine I'll just soak her and let her fend for herself.


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## sheldon64

I Juz got my tortoise Sheldon a couple of weeks ago sinse then I've had him on a steady diet of store bought pellets dandelions frozen veggies (green beans, peas , carrots , and corn) and Juz recently added collied greens I want to add more to his diet but I'm scared to add something in his diet that will hurt him what are some safe veggies I can get from say Kroger or Walmart to add to his food that will be safe


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## RosemaryDW

It looks like your Sheldon is a Russian tortoise? That frozen veggie mix isn't good for him. While he can have the occasional bit of peas or carrots (very small!) those vegetables are overall too high and sugar and protein than his system can digest.

Have you taken a look at our Russian care sheet? Down near the bottom are some tips for feeding and it includes some grocery store foods. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Other owners will include plants in the chicory family to this list. Chicories are "fancy" looking lettuces and include "regular" chicory, frisee, endive, radicchio, escarole--these are all related to dandelions. Look for them at the far end of the lettuces. You might see something labeled dandelions there as well. They won't look like the regular dandelions you find in your yard but they are related and good food. A bag of "Spring Mix" is an easy option to buy and will often contain several or all of these lettuces, just check the label to see that several of them are included.

There is another care sheet for a different type of tortoise, Sulcata, but the list of grocery store foods at the bottom of that sheet contain good options for Russian tortoises as well: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

You won't find all of these at Kroger but you will find some; mix things up as much as you can.


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## RosemaryDW

Tried some pennywort this week, also known as dollarweed in the south, where I understand it grows like a weed! Once again purchased at the farmers market.

She wasn't a big fan last year and things didn't change this year. She'll eat a few leaves, then look for something else. I don't doubt she'd eat more of it if I cut out other things and since it's a local weed for many, folks might want to try it out. It's an edible weed so if your tortoise won't eat it, throw the leftovers into your salad! I put mine into a smoothie.




Otherwise it was mostly daikon radish leaves and squash leaves this week, some weeds.


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## Pearly

Will said:


> http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/totoise-salad-dressing.149685/ This is another great 'bought' and harvested ingredients post.


Awesome! This is fantastic thread! Thank you for putting it together


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## Pearly

RosemaryDW said:


> Back to the farmers market!
> 
> I was at the market by myself today. My husband is a patient man but there is only so much time he is willing to stand in the sun while I meander the stalls.
> 
> I usually pick up a few squash or melon leaves: today was chayote squash. If you look closely, you can see these vines from one of our largest Hmong vendors are not at all cheap at $6/pound. They have just about everything at this stand, all terrifically clean and organic. Everything has easy to read signage and the staff spend a good amount of time describing the uses of all the vegetables to customers. All of this is reflected in the prices. Unlike some vendors, they sell most green vegetables loose, which is why I shop here. I only needed a couple of squash stems, which cost me 25 cents. When I told the cashier it was for my tortoise, he tells me his mom has desert tortoises and would they like this? "YES!" I presume he can get his at cost.
> 
> View attachment 205548
> 
> 
> If I was buying in quantity, I'd pop down to another large vendor that is very nice but not organic nor as well staffed. Just about everything they sell is in $2 bundles. Typically the bundles hold a very large handful of whatever plant it is, so the weight varies. They are selling bundles of bitter melon stems that I estimated at least a pound plus--I've posted a picture of one bundle by itself in a produce bin. In summer their zucchini bundles are huge, far too big for me to even consider.
> 
> View attachment 205549
> 
> 
> View attachment 205550
> 
> 
> If I was looking for a bunch of dandelion (chicory) this is where I'd shop. This bundle is huge, making it perhaps half as expensive as other vendors.
> 
> View attachment 205551
> 
> 
> I purchased a bundle of methi (fenugreek) here because it is often recommended to/by owners in Asia and India and I wanted to see if it would pass muster with a Russian. I got ten ounces for my $2 and I was surprised that Adila ate a few leaves the first time I offered it to her--it's extremely bitter. I'll try her again when she is hungrier. Obviously she won't eat the whole bundle and as I don't make much curry, this was an experiment I undertook for the benefit of forum members!  They let me take a few daikon (big radish) leaves. Addy will eat regular radish leaves but she much prefers these; they are also easier for me to clean and feed, being so large. (Addy gets whatever I throw down whole, no beautiful salads for her!)
> 
> View attachment 205552
> 
> 
> My tomato "guy" sells some other vegetables, along with squash blossoms. He gave me his last two flowers (they were a bit squashed!) and when I asked if I could have a turnip leaf, pulled out a double handful of tops of all kinds for me to take. I convinced him I needed just the one leaf.
> 
> I made my last purchase at a vendor selling cleaned opuntia pads for $2 pound. This is on par with other vendors, but our primary vendor only sells it in two-pound bags, already sliced. I wanted one tiny pad, which they gave me free when I said it was for my tortoise. Honestly, telling people here you have a tortoise makes you an "A" list celebrity.
> 
> I was poking around another vendor when I noticed they had a large box of vegetable tops and loose lettuce leaves out front. Customers often ask vendors for tops, for their chickens and compost bins, occasionally for tortoises. This vendor must have decided it was easier to leave things out front than keep pulling things from behind the counter; I've never noticed it before. I see some collards in there, along with chard, beet tops, various lettuces, and carrot tops. I'd rinse anything I took from here but you can't beat free.
> 
> View attachment 205553
> 
> 
> Here we are at home with everything washed. Total cost $2.25 but without the methi experiment, it would have been just the 25 cents. It's not food for an entire week, just some additional variety to the weeds I picked earlier. At this point, my entire food budget for the week is 25 cents unless you factor in the very high cost of living in this neighborhood. Once that number is included, the total cost is approximately one squillion dollars.
> 
> View attachment 205554


@RosemaryDW, I hate you!!!!! (Joking!!!!) but seriously, what I would not do to have farmers market like yours around here!!! I adore fresh produce!


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## RosemaryDW

Pearly said:


> @RosemaryDW, I hate you!!!!! (Joking!!!!) but seriously, what I would not do to have farmers market like yours around here!!! I adore fresh produce!


 
I am extremely fortunate, for sure.

Update on the dollar weed; she's eating it if I remove some of the stem, they are too stringy for her to manage. On something with a thicker stem, she can put a foot down on it and bite out a stringy bit; she can't get leverage on these narrow little stems. It's the only stem she hasn't been able to manage, as far as I can remember. Probably not an issue for a larger tortoise?


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## SaraP

OMG...this thread has been so helpful--thank you!! I've been wondering what folks do in areas where there just isn't enough/the quality is dubious of the weeds they might be able to pick or where outside isn't much of a grazing source for their tortoise. All of these markets and resources are available to me and now my confidence is buoyed a bit more that I'll be able to feed a tortoise off of what's accessible to me here.


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## RosemaryDW

Another grocery store post!

I needed to pick up something unusual so went to our local Persian grocery store. We have several, but this is the largest. While the focus is obviously on Persian foods, they cater to our Asian and Indian populations as well. They even have a small Russian deli selection! These are similar to Asian grocery stores in that you may not know there is one near you! Do a little Googling and see what you find.

They sell some produce that a single owner might consider.

In the herb section I find methi (fenugreek), shahi (a type of cress) for a buck for what I think is eight ounces or a bit more. My tortoise loves chives as well. They are a "do not feed" on the tortoise table but I don't agree with their logic on this one.




They've got cactus as well, at $2.49 for a pound of peeled and cut strips. A pound wouldn't keep fresh long enough for my tortoise to eat it but I know many of our owners want or would like to feed it so here it is as an option.




Purslane is also here, super cheap. It's a LOT of purslane so not the best purchase for me but keeps pretty well in the fridge, worth a try for larger tortoises or a few small ones.




Herb and vegetable mixtures are used in numerous Iranian dishes and there are dried herbs here by the bagful. Many contain leek which again is a Tortoise Table no no. But if you are okay with that and want to add some variety to a winter diet, possibly of interest. 







I pull up to the spices section, it's my favorite. Do you want to try your hand at growing something but don't have a good nursery nearby? Or perhaps you've got a ton of space and can use a LOT of seeds? Pull out $5 and give it a go. Not all of these seeds will grow, some have been heat treated. But many will.




If you've been wanting to add something dry to a winter diet, they've got several dried flower heads for you: hibiscus, rose, and chamomile. Mexican markets usually have these dried flowers as well. You see some poppy seeds snuck in there, another "do not feed but Russians eat of a little of in the wild and I love the flowers; we'll see if anything grows this winter when I start them.







I finally hit up the freezer section. *I'm* there for frozen and peeled fava beans (cheap!) but I always took a look at all the different vegetables. They have okra for what seems like a good price to me. (Disclaimer: I live in a very high cost of living area so what seem like good prices to me may look ridiculous to you. I couldn't tell you what okra goes for in a "regular" market here as we rarely shop there. It is just crazy expensive!)




There are tons of interesting frozen vegetables here (but never any grape leaves, which seems odd to me). Today I take a picture of something that "looks" like tortoise food and indeed, when I look it up later, it's in the mallow family. It's a plant with sturdy leaves, which is what first caught my eye. When I read other threads here about freezing foods for later use, the thicker leaved ones (mulberry, grape) are often mentioned as good candidates for freezing. If you live somewhere with very limited winter options, these seem worth a try. At 88 cents, why not?


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## RosemaryDW

I call this week's selection "Take it or Leave it."

I'm busy and I'm tired from being busy so she mostly getting what's in the fridge: the saddest leaf of kale; a sugar snap pea and a slice of squash; radish leaves, purslane, and squash leaves are holdovers from last week. I found a chicory in the yard and threw that in. There is some cilantro in there; she is *going* to eat it one of these days, darnit!

I don't think it matters much, she's perfectly happy grazing in the yard.


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## Pearly

@RosemaryDW, I LOVE this thread!!!! Thank you for taking your time to share with us


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## JLM

Thank you! This thread is awesome


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## RosemaryDW

There's been something at the farmers' market I've had my eye on, which is sweet potato leaves. Sweet potato leaves are listed as a do-not-feed on the Tortoise Table due to a low calcium to phosphorous ratio but several experienced members feed it and my tortoise gets enough variety for me not to worry about it.


I was careful picking these out, as they are marked as yam leaves. Sweet potato and yam leaves are frequently labeled as each other, as they look and are used in similar ways; yam leaves are not a recommended food so I want to be sure I've got the right thing. The leaves on these plants don't look the same but it's the stem that sets them apart for me. You can see the stalks on these sweet potatoes are pretty sturdy; the plants mound low on the ground, like pumpkins or squash. Yam leaves have very thin stems with curly tendrils--they are climbing plants, like peas or beans.

I spent $2 on an organic bundle that weighed about a pound and a half. Too much for one little tortoise. I might stir fry the others or I might just chalk this up to forum research.  Addy spent a very looooong fifteen minutes eating every bit of stem on the first piece I gave her: A+ on the taste scale.




She also got an inch or two of tops I chopped off some green garlic shoots I bought for the humans. (Green garlic looks similar to green onions and is delicious.) Garlic shoots are another Tortoise Table do-not-feed, for reasons I find overly conservative. It's from a plant family different than I usually feed (Amaryllidaceae) and I like to mix things up. As always, no need to feed anything you're not personally comfortable with. Addy has never turned them down.

The usual radish stems that had broken off from their bundles at the market.

Some frisee that's just not getting eaten by the humans.

She continues to be focused on the yarrow growing outside and to some extent, the limited primrose that's surviving the heat. She's also on the lookout for blossoms that fall off the Tacoma stans that grow in our yard. Don't worry about the shape of those flowers, they are *not* trumpet vine flowers.

Total cost: $2 for the bundle of yam leaves; normally I'd just ask them if I could pay for some broken off leaves in the basket but I wanted owners to get a good look.

The usual caveats to my feeding apply: very high cost of living area in a mild climate; easy access to year-round foods, both wild and purchased from a great variety of markets.


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## RosemaryDW

Update on those sweet potato leaves, the long fiber content in them is great. Addy slowly worked her way through every bit of every stem. The leaves didn't last that long for me but the stems kept well for about a week and a half. Ten out of ten, I'd purchase again.


----------



## RosemaryDW

Summer feeding in a fairly dry climate:

I've been "saving" bindweed for midsummer feeding; it's a weed that keeps growing anywhere there is a tiny bit of moisture and it grows *everywhere*. It's called "bind" weed because it climbs up and over everything: the ground, other weeds, walls and fences. Here's how you might find it outdoors.







Bindweed is in the convolvulaceae plant family. Safe in moderation, per the Tortoise Table, and very popular with our Russian. The flowers come in different colors, white, pink, purple, but they all have leaves that look a bit like arrowheads. Very easy to harvest, just grab a handful and pull. Where I find it, it's usually climbing up grass so I have to separate that out at home. It keeps well in the fridge but not so well outside; I put it out in the morning and hope for the best.

This week I tested a suggestion we often give new owners: "Ask your neighbors if they have any grape leaves to share." We actually have a small grape vine but I wanted to give it a shot. I'm in California so several of my neighbors have grapevines but I'm terribly shy. Talking to strangers is nerve wracking but no one said tortoise owning was easy!

I screwed up my courage and asked the family with the biggest vine if they used pesticides and if I could have some leaves. "Help yourself! This vine is more than we can handle, take all you want." Wow, that was easy.

So this week it's mostly grape leaves and bindweeds. I've also got some turnip greens from a bunch of "human" food. I add in the end of a cucumber and a couple of short zucchini stems. I found some purslane growing when I was looking for bindweed and tossed that in as well.


----------



## RosemaryDW

I attempted to feed sesame leaves and dropwort this week, read all about it in my post on visiting a Korean market: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/a-trip-to-a-korean-market-picture-heavy.159825/

I was distracted by a work emergency during this trip and neglected to buy anything I knew she'd it eat for sure. Whoops! I was still working on the emergency three days later and ended up sending my husband to the farmers market to "find some leaves." He brought home a pound of squash leaves, several baby bok choy, and an entire head of frisee! Not sure what we'll do with all of it but he did a great job of choosing; all of these items will stand up to our current heat wave. What a guy!

I walked off some of my work angst today and found some bindweed. Volunteer sunflowers are still growing at our community garden, so I picked one leaf. I think it's big enough? 




My husband spent $5 on top of my $1.30. A pricey week for us, although I suppose I'll eat about $3 of it.


----------



## Kapidolo Farms

A penny for size reference I have here some grated butternut squash/orange sweet potato and purple sweet potato at the top, in the middle is oyster mushroom finely chopped with mulberry leaf, to the bottom are mini portabella mushrooms with some opuntia goo. These are all mixed and fed to some three week old Manouria tortoises. They try their best to pick out the oyster mushrooms, but because their eye-mouth coordination is still not well developed they get a mix of things.


----------



## RosemaryDW

I'm not gonna lie, I shopped at our Persian market today because it sits next to a gas station and I wanted to buy a PowerBall ticket.

She ended up with methi (fenugreek) and Italian dandelions (chicory). There is a little bok choy left from last week.

It's way too much chicory for one week; half will go into some pasta or soup.

I did not win the PowerBall.


----------



## Kapidolo Farms

Before and after of pellets and cubes. I'm glad a stumbled onto these cubes. They have a better acceptance than the alfalfa/timothy cubes.

Now these can be left to dry and mixed in or mixed in right now while moist. Both ways work well and create more variety at least in terms of presentation.


----------



## RosemaryDW

It's late August now and Addy is still growing a bit but truly slowing down on food, just like last fall. She's started excavating a new burrow so we're forcibly placing her in her night box until she gets back in the habit.

I need to remember her fall behavior and not try to tempt her with delicious foods, like squash and cactus. Let's see if I make it! I found her eating dried out grape leaves she'd ignored the day before. I've read about this somewhere, that they shift to dry, leftover plants before hibernation; I never saw her do this last fall.

The usual caveats apply: feeding a single Russian tortoise, housed entirely outdoors in a mild climate. Access to all kinds of food year round but in a very high cost of living area. YMMV.

We tried a new farmers market this week and it was an absolute bust; I wouldn't even have fed the radish leaves from the bunch I purchased.

We went back to the Korean market, H Mart. I don't know it it was because it was a Sunday but the vegetable section was being stocked and shopped like mad. I saw quite a few new things.

I started by buying something I knew she'd like: squash leaves. These looked much better than last time and wow, were some of them huge.




I also bought some water spinach, which I was pretty sure she'd eat, and she did, quite happily.

They were selling small bundles of something marked simply as mallow. It certainly looked like a mallow so I risked .79 cents. Later I identified it as Malva verticillata, or Chinese mallow. She's simply not a fan of large mallows and wasn't real interested. I think she'll try them if she gets good and warm.

I passed on something known as "fish mint," which tastes, not surprisingly, like fish! No thanks!

Japanese shinto caught my eye on my last pass. I've seen it used fairly often as a garnish and thought I'd try it. When I got home, I found that it was regularly eaten by humans but haw bad effects on ruminants (cows). I just couldn't find enough evidence of it being fed by tortoises and finally decided against it. I let her have a smell of it and she found it very interesting but not enough to take a bite. It is quite fragile anyway and wouldn't have lasted in our heat. *Finally*, something I won't feed! 




Not shown in pictures but I gave her a small piece of fennel. This is a plant somewhat high in sugar, with a licorice taste. She took a couple of bites off and on; clearly interested but could not get past the taste. You and me, tortoise, you and me.

Ultimately about $6.50 for the week, $2 of which was wasted on the Shinto. We'll see about that .79 cents of mallow.


----------



## RosemaryDW

Almost mid September and this tortoise is winding down; not too hungry and in bed by two p.m! She built herself another burrow; it's barely hitting mid sixties here at night so we're just letting her hang out there, rather than putting her in the night box. Her weight and appetite should stay stable for a month or so.

We've had an invasion of sphyinx moth caterpillars and they've devastated the yarrow she likes to graze on. She's starting eating the wild strawberry plants insead. We're not happy about it; we don't have a ton of these but what you gonna do? 

I go to the farmers' market for the humans but keep my eye out. Gongura, or sour leaf, is available again. I've written about this plant before; it's a large hibiscus/mallow which never seems to be her thing. I take a couple of broken leaves anyway. Jury is still out on this plant but she's at least considering it.

Something I don't remember from last year: okra leaves. Turns out you can cook and eat them like other sturdy greens. Okra is another mallow. I take a little of that, too. She takes to it pretty readily: winner!







I bought a small bok choy; I'll toss chunks out if I'm in a rush in the morning.

I've got some Asian greens stir fry mix to use up: mizuna, tatsoi, pea shoots, and what I think is baby Swiss chard. This won't keep in the heat so it's for late mornings. 

I found some common mallow and bindweed on the way to the market, although I doubt she'll eat the mallow. Cost for this week: fifty cents for the bok choy. The usual caveats apply: very high cost of living, mild weather and access to foods of all kinds all year. YMMV.


----------



## Bambam1989

I've been lurking around the site for a while and just discovered this thread.
I did this thread on how I prep my torts food on supplement days and it was suggested that I link it here.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/food-prep-pictures.162058/#post-1544126


----------



## RosemaryDW

Bambam1989 said:


> I did this thread on how I prep my torts food on supplement days and it was suggested that I link it here.
> https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/food-prep-pictures.162058/#post-1544126



Great post, thanks!


----------



## RosemaryDW

@Jodie has been kind enough to let us link to her recent post about winter feeding, which includes a genius method for choppiing up hay/grass for large numbers of tortoises.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/winter-feeding-way-up-north.162300/


----------



## Bambam1989

Here is an example of my tort salad! There is enough for about 3days.
Deadnettle
Scotch thistle
Plantain
Clover
Vetch
Bittercress
Dandelion
Catsear
Chickweed
Hawksbeard
Nipplewort
Wild geraniums
Ajuga
Dog violet
Phlox
Rose leaves
Sedum
Lavender
And a single forsythia flower.


----------



## RosemaryDW

Bambam1989 said:


> Here is an example of my tort salad! There is enough for about 3days.



Three days! What kind of monster are you feeding?


----------



## TammyJ

RosemaryDW said:


> Three days! What kind of monster are you feeding?


I don't think it's TortZilla! I am guessing it's just a small amount of each items on the list, that is given as one meal each day for three days?


----------



## TammyJ

What do you think about *cooked *red peas (I think you guys call them kidney beans)? My redfoots like them and I do feed it to them sometimes with their mix.


----------



## Bambam1989

RosemaryDW said:


> Three days! What kind of monster are you feeding?


My Clunker is a 6 month old sulcata.. he eats alot and is not picky.


----------



## RosemaryDW

For my Russian’s first meals this Spring I popped over to the community garden to see what escaped plants were growing around the perimeter. I lucked out; there was a pumpkin plant, already grown quite large. I took some leaves and stems, and a flower with a bonus baby squash attached!

Sunflowers had already grown tall so I picked some leaves. There was nasturtium also and I grabbed some mallow to round things out.




Unfortunately Addy came out of hibernation with a respiratory infection and wasn’t hungry for some time. Eventually she was tempted with a rose and cucumber with cactus added in the next day. She’s back to eating weeds but still picky.


----------



## RosemaryDW

TammyJ said:


> What do you think about *cooked *red peas (I think you guys call them kidney beans)?


 @TammyJ I have no idea but this is probably a question to ask directly in the diet section. The chef thread is dedicated to foods already being fed, vs. questions as to whether a certain food is good or bad. I look forward to learning the answer.


----------



## trickspiration

Here are some of the goodies that Spike gets in his diet: 

Smooth and prickly sow thistle, dandelion, catsear, filaree, chickweed, prickly lettuce, mallow (not pictured), clover (not pictured), kidney weed (not pictured) 



This is the staple of his diet, along with mixed lettuces (romaine, red butterhead) and spring mix thrown into his diet every two months or so. Including the stems on the weeds is a great source of fiber, and he's gotten better at eating the stems without fuss. He LOVES making a mess, as you can see lol.


----------



## Ann Stonely

RosemaryDW said:


> Almost mid September and this tortoise is winding down; not too hungry and in bed by two p.m! She built herself another burrow; it's barely hitting mid sixties here at night so we're just letting her hang out there, rather than putting her in the night box. Her weight and appetite should stay stable for a month or so.
> 
> We've had an invasion of sphyinx moth caterpillars and they've devastated the yarrow she likes to graze on. She's starting eating the wild strawberry plants insead. We're not happy about it; we don't have a ton of these but what you gonna do?
> 
> I go to the farmers' market for the humans but keep my eye out. Gongura, or sour leaf, is available again. I've written about this plant before; it's a large hibiscus/mallow which never seems to be her thing. I take a couple of broken leaves anyway. Jury is still out on this plant but she's at least considering it.
> 
> Something I don't remember from last year: okra leaves. Turns out you can cook and eat them like other sturdy greens. Okra is another mallow. I take a little of that, too. She takes to it pretty readily: winner!
> 
> View attachment 217883
> 
> 
> View attachment 217884
> 
> 
> I bought a small bok choy; I'll toss chunks out if I'm in a rush in the morning.
> 
> I've got some Asian greens stir fry mix to use up: mizuna, tatsoi, pea shoots, and what I think is baby Swiss chard. This won't keep in the heat so it's for late mornings.
> 
> I found some common mallow and bindweed on the way to the market, although I doubt she'll eat the mallow. Cost for this week: fifty cents for the bok choy. The usual caveats apply: very high cost of living, mild weather and access to foods of all kinds all year. YMMV.
> 
> View attachment 217885


Where do you find these!? I live in a super small town, but I work in las vegas.. I need to know a store!


----------



## Ann Stonely

Bambam1989 said:


> Here is an example of my tort salad! There is enough for about 3days.
> Deadnettle
> Scotch thistle
> Plantain
> Clover
> Vetch
> Bittercress
> Dandelion
> Catsear
> Chickweed
> Hawksbeard
> Nipplewort
> Wild geraniums
> Ajuga
> Dog violet
> Phlox
> Rose leaves
> Sedum
> Lavender
> And a single forsythia flower.
> View attachment 232308


Where do you get these?


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## Bambam1989

Ann Stonely said:


> Where do you get these?


My yard [emoji1]


----------



## RosemaryDW

Ann Stonely said:


> Where do you find these!? I live in a super small town, but I work in las vegas.. I need to know a store!



Check out my earlier posts in tis thread on shopping at Asian, Korean, and Persian markets. Then just Google Las Vegas Asian market, Korean market and Persian Market. There are plenty of choices.

I personally found one of the Korean markets in my area to offer the most choices for tortoises but your mileage may vary. You’ll have to poke around some, especially as most internet reviews will focus on prepared foods, not vegetables.

You’ll also have plenty of latino markets there; you can get cactus (nopales) easily.


----------



## RosemaryDW

Our tortoise is recovering fairly slowly from a respiratory infection. She’s eating some but not spending too much time outside of her heated box and wasn’t going to the bathroom soon enough to suit me! I got some really great info from @Markw84 on how and why tortoises pass urates and water out of their systems: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/drinking-but-not-urinating-post-hibernation.164480/#post-1584364. So in addition to offering every food possible, I added a few more greens with higher protein levels than I normally would in one week: methi (fenugreek); and pea tendrils/shoots; soil thistles with flowerheads going to seed; plus one green bean. 

Also Ong Choy (water spinach) daikon (radish leaves), mustard greens, frisee, and purslane. 

And finally, one mushroom because I think that might be her favorite food. You name it, I bought it this week. And ta da! She’s going to the bathroom, lol.

It probably would have happened without all these choices but it has been quite unnerving to have a sick tortoise; I have so little experience with it.

Now if she would just poop better.


----------



## Ann Stonely

RosemaryDW said:


> Check out my earlier posts in tis thread on shopping at Asian, Korean, and Persian markets. Then just Google Las Vegas Asian market, Korean market and Persian Market. There are plenty of choices.
> 
> I personally found one of the Korean markets in my area to offer the most choices for tortoises but your mileage may vary. You’ll have to poke around some, especially as most internet reviews will focus on prepared foods, not vegetables.
> 
> You’ll also have plenty of latino markets there; you can get cactus (nopales) easily.


Thanks


----------



## no one

Thank you all for this. I will follow...

I have learned that kale is "boerenkool". And I can feed that. Didn't know. Always happy to find new foods to feed. The pictures are nice too. Very inspiring!!


----------



## RosemaryDW

I spent another week obsessing about our slowly recovering from RI tortoise; she was eating some of what I offered but not much. She didn’t seem to be going out of her box much and then she wouldn’t go far. And she even though I knew it might take two weeks of eating before she started pooping it wasn’t happening fast enough for me. (I now qualify as a crazy tortoise lady!)

After a few days of this I put her out in the sun. To my surprise she didn’t go back to her box but hung out for an hour or so, taking a few bites of her favorite plant, evening primrose. I tried it again the next day and when I turned around noticed a familiar devastation of chewed plants. The little stinker had been out for days, just not at the normal times. She’d eaten a ton of primrose in addition to a one of her favorites, a native snapdragon. Worse than that, because we didn’t think she was out we hadn’t caged up some of our less established plants. Young buckwheats were nipped down to the ground and she’d done a fair amount of damage to a plant she’s never eaten before, the California wishbone bush. She’s also started hoovering rose petals that have fallen to the ground from over the fence. I wonder why it’s taken her this long; she’s shown no interest in her previous two years with us.




All of this was made worse by our most dominant cat. She’s afraid of the tortoise but does eat and then sit on every single plant the tortoise visits. Like this evening primrose.







She isn’t eating a ton yet but she’s much more interested in grazing than in anything I provide. I did get her to try filaree this year by offering some that was already flowering and going to seed. If you know birds at all you can see why one of the names for this plant is “stork’s bill” when you look at the seed pods. This is my third year offering it; I always find it interesting how they try new foods over time, just like the experts say!





Overall not much of a “chef” week. Sometimes I think she’ll just go native entirely and ignore us.


----------



## KarenSoCal

I bought a flat of wheat grass at the grocery store...it claims "organic".
1. Is it safe for Chug?
2. Do I just cut some off? Or can I just put the whole thing into some dirt and have it grow? Will it come up again, or is it an annual?
Thanks...bet you can't tell I'm new to all this gardening. And I live where nothing grows!


----------



## KarenSoCal

KarenSoCal said:


> I bought a flat of wheat grass at the grocery store...it claims "organic".
> 1. Is it safe for Chug?
> 2. Do I just cut some off? Or can I just put the whole thing into some dirt and have it grow? Will it come up again, or is it an annual?
> Thanks...bet you can't tell I'm new to all this gardening. And I live where nothing grows!


Forgot to add picture!


----------



## Yvonne G

You'll have to keep it mowed, because when it gets too tall it changes the flavor and is not eaten as readily. So, I would cut it with the scissors, then cut the "cuttings" up in smaller bite-sized pieces and mix it all up real good with his food.


----------



## KarenSoCal

Yvonne G said:


> You'll have to keep it mowed, because when it gets too tall it changes the flavor and is not eaten as readily. So, I would cut it with the scissors, then cut the "cuttings" up in smaller bite-sized pieces and mix it all up real good with his food.


That's what I did today, and he showed little interest. But he'll hopefully learn to like it. If he doesn't, my dogs and cats will eat it!


----------



## RosemaryDW

We’re back from vacation and our tortoise has been enjoying a diet of frisee and desert primrose while we’ve been gone. Plus yay (?) it’s the time of year when she notices the irises are in bloom and starts knocking the plants over. As always the usual caveats occur: we keep a single hungry Russian in a warm climate, with access to great grocery stores and farmers markets. Our cost of living is very high so foods may seem expensive. YMMV.

In the hopes of including more fiber and keeping some of the yard intact I threw out the kitchen sink: the usual squash and yam leaves; some chrysanthemum, which I include on occasion; a taste of amaranth; one tiny bok choy and also some methi (fenugreek). I lucked out and found a vendor who was willing to sell just one cactus pad. Amaranth is always listed in the Tortoise Table as a “do not feed” but plenty of people do feed it, usually in the wild form of lambs quarters. I try it a few times a year; YMMV.

I bought a little Chinese broccoli. She’s never had it; I don’t usually by this brassica but was wondering if she’d eat the stem. I had a bunch of mint and added a few leaves; I doubted she’d eat it due to the strong smell but hey, it’s from a plant family she doesn’t get often. She’s active enough that I thought she might sample some none favorites.
*

*

Not much interest in the “occasional” foods so far. She’s tasted the chrysanthemum and the amaranth when they are included with other foods but not otherwise. The broccoli attracted little notice. Surprisingly she was quite interested in the mint, sniffing for some time and taking a few bites. I’m saving the cactus and bok choy for a busy day as they stand up to heat.

Ultimately did it matter? Not really. :/ You can’t tell a tortoise what to do.


----------



## wellington

I don't have pictures to share. This is a list of what I feed to leopards and a Russian during the winter months.
My winter diet consist of dried grass and leaves like lilac, Rose of Sharon, mulberry, hibiscus, magnolia, another tree leaf I don't remember the name of, cactus, spring mix, and all other grocery greens and mazuri. The dried stuff doesn't last all winter, but about half the winter. All depends on how much you can collect and store. Oh and I did start adding some Purina Layena after reading that both Will and Yvonne used or uses it.
Forgot grape leaves also.


----------



## daniellenc

Skurts winter fare was definitely a learning curve for me as this was his first winter. Luckily my grocery store carries something called spicy herb mix which is actually all types of chicory, endive, escarole, radicchio, and assorted green and red lettuce varieties. I add spring mix, mushroom, fruit, chicken, shrimp, cactus and dandelion leaves from my local international market, and mazuri on a rotating basis. I also discovered frozen fruit can easily be thawed and mashed. I found dried flowers online from tortoise supply which made for a good summer topping and while I know he missed his wild fare I am happy to report between my grocery store and our Latin/Asian market his diet remained varied.


----------



## Jay Bagley

With getting my tortoise in October, winter was upon us before I knew it. So I did not have a whole lot of time to prepare. I know my diet that I am going to list was not 100% optimal, or nearly as varied as it should be. Sheldon in my opinion, that's all really it is, seem to thrive on it. I always used a huge handful of wheatgrass, either endive, escarole, and sometimes collard and mustard greens, a large pinch herbal hay from tortoise Supply, then I would use 10 to 15 Zoo Med grassland pellets, and 10 or so mazuri pellets. I would add some water, and make him a nice mash. When I would come across cactus I would also offer that two to three times a week.


----------



## EdMurphy

wellington said:


> I don't have pictures to share. This is a list of what I feed to leopards and a Russian during the winter months.
> My winter diet consist of dried grass and leaves like lilac, Rose of Sharon, mulberry, hibiscus, magnolia, another tree leaf I don't remember the name of, cactus, spring mix, and all other grocery greens and mazuri. The dried stuff doesn't last all winter, but about half the winter. All depends on how much you can collect and store. Oh and I did start adding some Purina Layena after reading that both Will and Yvonne used or uses it.



How do you dry these for winter use? just with a food dehydrator and then rehydrate to serve it?


----------



## daniellenc

I air dried a bunch of rose of sharon leaves and flowers and simply sprinkled it on his food as a topping.


----------



## wellington

EdMurphy said:


> How do you dry these for winter use? just with a food dehydrator and then rehydrate to serve it?


I bought the mesh laundry bags, very cheap, like 2 bucks at Walmart. I put whatever I'm drying in them and hang them in the tortoise shed. Every day for awhile I carefully turn the bags around to try and mix the stuff around. The grass is the hardest cuz a lot will fall out, but more stays in. Whatever falls out they get to eat.


----------



## RosemaryDW

Some different today at the farmers market: jute mallow. I was looking for okra leaves but this is the mallow they had so I thought I’d try it. You can see some similarities to the leaves on another popular mallow: hibiscus.

I picked up a little mache, also known as corn salad or lambs lettuce, from the Caprifoliaceae family. (I had to look that up; it’s the honeysuckle family.) You sometimes find it in salad mixes or you can buy a whole bag of it at Trader Joe’s and elsewhere. This grows wild in greener places, definitely not near me!

She’s never had either which I realized only after I got home. Fortunately she took to both.

I’m testing out some seeds in pots on the patio. One of them is daikon radish which puts out enormous leaves, as you can see; the thin white radish itself has barely begun to grow. The other is nasturtium which has been slow to start. She got exactly one flower. Lol.

As always the usual caveats occur: we keep a single hungry Russian in a warm climate, with access to great grocery stores and farmers markets. Our cost of living is very high so foods may seem expensive. YMMV.


----------



## Via Infinito

I want to have this thread to gather intel for asian plants diet as we seem to only have info on US-UK-European plants.

I am currently feeding these in a mix for my Sulcata, I cut them up every 3 days and store in a box in the fridge:
*From garden:*
- Axonopus compressus grass clippings *(staple)*
- Moringa oleifera (drumstick tree)
- Hibiscus leaves *(staple)*
-Some rose leaves (often)
- Ruellia simplex leaves (quite abundant here) (sometimes)
- Bougainvillea glabra leaves (paperflower) *(staple)*
- Nephrolepis cordifolia (ladder fern) *(staple)*

*From fridge:*
- Sauropus androgynus also called katuk ( vet doctor recommended) *(staple)*
- Asian watercress (once every two weeks)
- Mustard greens
- Brassica integrifolia also called (cai ngot), it has a sweet pleasant taste.
- a few Morning glory leaves
- Bok choy
- Salad greens *(staple)*
- Radicchio (rarely)


There are of course tiny sprouts of weeds in the garden that my tortoise plucked them out but I really can't find ways to identify them.


----------



## RosemaryDW

Another visit to the stand that seems to favor India and some parts of Asia. I’m watching this stand pretty often this, trying to see what they offer over the season.

This week I bought some long bean leaves, which are said to be a native food for star tortoises. She liked the leaves pretty well.

Also Malabar spinach, which is not a true spinach although it tastes very similar. High in calcium and supposedly there is healthy goo in the stems (I never noticed any). Apparently it grows everywhere that’s warm and humid. It didn’t taste like much to me and it seems the tortoise felt the same. I’m sure she’d it more of it if that’s what she had access to.

The tomato guy gave me a few squash blossoms. 

Because hope springs eternal I’m trying cilantro yet again.

She also got two fava beans; no chianti.


----------



## RosemaryDW

She hates everything I tried today. She might as well be Mikey in the Life cereal ad. 

Ong choy: no.
Sow thistles: no
Arugula: no
Sunflower: no
Pumpkin leaf: no (Wat?)
Pink buckweat: no
Calendula: no

Self feeding from a wild snapdragon and my turnips. Those turnip greens are mine missy; stay out!


----------



## KarenSoCal

RosemaryDW said:


> She hates everything I tried today. She might as well be Mikey in the Life cereal ad.
> 
> Ong choy: no.
> Sow thistles: no
> Arugula: no
> Sunflower: no
> Pumpkin leaf: no (Wat?)
> Pink buckweat: no
> Calendula: no
> 
> Self feeding from a wild snapdragon and my turnips. Those turnip greens are mine missy; stay out!


Did she ever eat the cilantro? Chug loves it!
I sure wish I had access to the places you shop at! It's so hard to find greens here, except the usual ones. I just found a store that has endive...at $7.00 a pound!


----------



## RosemaryDW

KarenSoCal said:


> Did she ever eat the cilantro? Chug loves it!



No, she never did eat the cilantro; I’m pretty sure she never will. 

QUOTE="KarenSoCal, post: 1609267, member: 100202"]I sure wish I had access to the places you shop at! It's so hard to find greens here, except the usual ones. [/QUOTE]

I just looked at your user profile; you ARE really out there, aren’t you? I’m amazed you can find anything at all!


----------



## KarenSoCal

RosemaryDW said:


> No, she never did eat the cilantro; I’m pretty sure she never will.
> 
> QUOTE="KarenSoCal, post: 1609267, member: 100202"]I sure wish I had access to the places you shop at! It's so hard to find greens here, except the usual ones.



I just looked at your user profile; you ARE really out there, aren’t you? I’m amazed you can find anything at all![/QUOTE]Yes, we are. It's 40 miles to the nearest WalMart. 
The biggest problem is that I'm in low desert. There are no weeds here, just desert scrub. I'm trying to grow seeds, and some are coming up, but nothing wants to thrive in this sandy, salty dirt. It never rains...I don't think the drought will ever be over here. It hasn't rained a measurable amount here in almost a year. [emoji20]


----------



## RosemaryDW

Well he is a desert tortoise, right? He should be used to eating all that scrub. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!

They aren’t flashy but they get the job done!


----------



## KarenSoCal

RosemaryDW said:


> Well he is a desert tortoise, right? He should be used to eating all that scrub. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!
> 
> They aren’t flashy but they get the job done!


Didn't know he could eat creosote! That we have plenty of! I'll look for those others, too. Thanks!


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## RosemaryDW

KarenSoCal said:


> Didn't know he could eat creosote! That we have plenty of! I'll look for those others, too. Thanks!



He might not eat it straight off, if you’ve been feeding him delicious grocery store food.


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## KarenSoCal

RosemaryDW said:


> He might not eat it straight off, if you’ve been feeding him delicious grocery store food.


Hmmm, yes I am guilty [emoji15]. I am going to try to mend my ways.
I was wondering...have you tried drying some cilantro, then grinding it up and sprinkling it on her food? Maybe she would start to get a taste for it? Just a thought.


----------



## mikeylazer

KarenSoCal said:


> Hmmm, yes I am guilty [emoji15]. I am going to try to mend my ways.
> I was wondering...have you tried drying some cilantro, then grinding it up and sprinkling it on her food? Maybe she would start to get a taste for it? Just a thought.



Interesting on the cilantro^ do you know if leopards can eat it as well (if they even will  ) haha


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## daniellenc

My red foot eats cilantro mixed in his greens and doesn't seem to dislike it.....it gets eaten, lol


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## RosemaryDW

KarenSoCal said:


> I was wondering...have you tried drying some cilantro, then grinding it up and sprinkling it on her food? Maybe she would start to get a taste for it? Just a thought.



She is outside and never has to eat anything dry. If she doesn’t like what I feed her she has plenty out there to choose from and clearly she does! It’s just something I like to play with. One of these days she’ll feel like it and I’ll feel like I won a contest.


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## RosemaryDW

mikeylazer said:


> Interesting on the cilantro^ do you know if leopards can eat it as well (if they even will  ) haha



It’s a food we recommend, especially to owners in India and quite a few areas in Asia. It’s a safe food.


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## KarenSoCal

mikeylazer said:


> Interesting on the cilantro^ do you know if leopards can eat it as well (if they even will  ) haha


I know nothing about leopards, but with that said...
My understanding is that they eat the same as sulcatas, but less grass. And cilantro is ok for sulcatas, as well as desert torts, and Russians. Usual caveat...as part of a varied diet!


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## mikeylazer

KarenSoCal said:


> Hmmm, yes I am guilty [emoji15]. I am going to try to mend my ways.
> I was wondering...have you tried drying some cilantro, then grinding it up and sprinkling it on her food? Maybe she would start to get a taste for it? Just a thought.



Interesting on the cilantro^ do you know if leopards can eat it as well (if they even will  ) haha


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## RosemaryDW

I foolishly bought some kind of nightshade at the farmers market; didn’t notice the tell tale flower shape until I got home.

Since it was a new to me plant, I got moringa and chayote vine to be on the safe side. I’m growing nasturtiums on a trial basis so she’ll get a few leaves and flowers of that.

We (my husband) did some work cleaning up our tiny front yard; we saved all the weeds and put them in the fridge.

It’s pretty gloomy out so I don’t know how much she’ll eat of any of this.


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## Bambam1989

RosemaryDW said:


> I foolishly bought some kind of nightshade at the farmers market; didn’t notice the tell tale flower shape until I got home.
> 
> Since it was a new to me plant, I got moringa and chayote vine to be on the safe side. I’m growing nasturtiums on a trial basis so she’ll get a few leaves and flowers of that.
> 
> We (my husband) did some work cleaning up our tiny front yard; we saved all the weeds and put them in the fridge.
> 
> It’s pretty gloomy out so I don’t know how much she’ll eat of any of this.


I'm also trying some nasturtiums... They all seem to be stalling our at 6 inches[emoji20]


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## RosemaryDW

My sister-in-law asked if we’d like any lettuce from her garden. I said okay, we’d take some of the mustard (upper right). Got more than we were expecting, for sure. 

If you look closely, you’ll see the arrow shaped leaves of overgrown spinach on the right. Given all the different foods she eats I don’t fuss over oxalates. As always, only feed what you personally feel comfortable with.

I’m not sure when was the last time she had “regular” lettuce; this is going to be a trip to Candyland for her. The humans will be having a lot of salad as well.


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## daniellenc

Feeling some guilt after his weed and grocery store green mix so plantain, clover, dandelion, rose, red bell pepper, and calcium dusted strawberries it is. He’s ignored his roses all spring but not the leaves. Hoping he forgives my rush this morning but he legit got rose of Sharon leaves, rose leaves, radicchio, arugula, and spring mix hehe. He’s crushing the pepper and strawberry as I type


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## RosemaryDW

Sent my husband to the farmers’ market today and told him to “buy a pound of things” at the stall he knows best. I figured with a pound he’d bring home at least a half pound of good foods. 

As he was looking around an employee asked if he needed help finding something. When he said he was shopping for his tortoise she ran to the back and pulled out some leaves that didn’t look good enough to sell. He received a bag of ong choy (water spinach), mustard, and red cabbage. Plus a couple of carrots, which she said were “very good” for tortoises. They don’t sell tomatoes but she recommended those as well. I know the staff there own at least one turtle and some desert tortoises. I’ll try to chat with them about sugars in future.

My husband added “vines” (bittermelon) for $1.

She’s never had cabbage before, at least not from me. She’s not going for it but we’ll try again later this week, when it gets warmer and she gets less picky.


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## RosemaryDW

Wow, just discovered they sent a second bag! Celtuce; napa cabbage; a tiny bit of “karifurore” which is a cauliflower-broccoli hybrid—it’s mostly stem.

That’s a little high on the brassica scale: two kinds of cabbage, the cauliflower, and mustard. Cabbage keeps so I’ll save some of it for later.


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## RosemaryDW

It’s a hodgepodge this week, impacted by the fact that I’m actually cooking; a rarity these days.

She’ll get the end of that red yam and the stem ends of some round summer squash. I’ve also pulled the stems off some shitake mushrooms; they’re too tough to feed to humans but just fine for a tortoise. These are good foods to toss out in summer, as they don’t wilt.

The turnips greens I’m growing are going to seed, so I pulled them all out to add to the pile.

I was ridiculously excited to find a catsear weed in the side yard and dug it out (her verdict, “Whatevs”).

We’re trying chayote vines again. She not a fan of pumpkin vines; she’ll eat them but apparently the stems are too thick for the effort unless she’s very hungry. Bittermelon has the thinnest stems and are her favorite but since I have access to different plants I switch things up now and then. These are “okay.”

Not pictured is the pad of cactus that finally grew on my pot of very slow growing plants.




For those of you who worry that your tortoise can’t handle tough foods, take a look at Addy devouring the very thick, dry stem on squash; it took some effort to cut it with a sharp knife.










I’m know babies need some help with tough foods but this adult sure doesn’t. The thick skins of yams take a little extra work but what else does she have to do?


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## RosemaryDW

It is sooo hot here, unhealthy hot. 

I couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t curl up and die and finally decided on brussels sprouts. They’re working out so far. They’re pretty dense so I only bought a few.

It’s so hot she’s actually coming out of the burrow very late (yesterday at six pm!) so I have a chance to feed her some softer scraps they gave me at the farmers market when I get home.


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## Bambam1989

A little list of some of the foods Clunker has been eating lately. ok its not a little list and I have pics!

hostas



dandelion



geraniums



zinnia



wall lettuce



yellow loosestrife



sunchoke



squash leaves and blossoms



spirea



sow thistle



snapdragon



sedum reflexum



sedum hylotelephium


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## Bambam1989

but there is more.

narrowleaf plantain



broadleaf plantain



pineapple weed



phlox



pansy



nipplewort (the leaves become pointier as they get closer to the flowers)



nasturtium



missionary bells



lilac (I have two varieties)



ivy toadflax



ground elder



cosmos



clover



catsear



barberry



aloe vera



ajuga



echinacea


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## CarolM

Bambam1989 said:


> but there is more.
> 
> narrowleaf plantain
> View attachment 244423
> 
> 
> broadleaf plantain
> View attachment 244424
> 
> 
> pineapple weed
> View attachment 244425
> 
> 
> phlox
> View attachment 244426
> 
> 
> pansy
> View attachment 244427
> 
> 
> nipplewort (the leaves become pointier as they get closer to the flowers)
> View attachment 244428
> 
> 
> nasturtium
> View attachment 244429
> 
> 
> missionary bells
> View attachment 244430
> 
> 
> lilac (I have two varieties)
> View attachment 244431
> 
> 
> ivy toadflax
> View attachment 244432
> 
> 
> ground elder
> View attachment 244433
> 
> 
> cosmos
> View attachment 244434
> 
> 
> clover
> View attachment 244435
> 
> 
> catsear
> View attachment 244436
> 
> 
> barberry
> View attachment 244437
> 
> 
> aloe vera
> View attachment 244438
> 
> 
> ajuga
> View attachment 244439
> 
> 
> echinacea
> View attachment 244440


Your list is awesome. And thank you so much for posting the pics with the names. Made it easier to identify.


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## Bambam1989

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/tortoise-cookies-winter-prep-treats.167695/

A yummy concoction that I made. Intended for winter supplementing but doubles as a treat.
I call them Tortoise Cookies!!


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## RosemaryDW

That is *amazing*. All of those things grow in your yard or nearby?

I wouldn’t think a tortoise would go for spirea, I’m not sure why. It’s beautiful, I would grow it just for me if it did well here.


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## Bambam1989

RosemaryDW said:


> That is *amazing*. All of those things grow in your yard or nearby?
> 
> I wouldn’t think a tortoise would go for spirea, I’m not sure why. It’s beautiful, I would grow it just for me if it did well here.


The local pollinators love the flowers of our spirea. While the leaves aren't his favorite, Clunker will eat them when mixed with other plants.
I am very lucky to have such a variety here. The only foods I have ever had the need to purchase was his Mazuri and the occasional cactus pad when I can find them. Since our cactus is not yet big enough to harvest from regularly.


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## TortRook1

I am a new tort owner and I was thinking, could I prepare my little guy's food, vacuum seal and freeze it so I don't waste? And thaw what is needed or blanch the food?


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## daniellenc

TortRook1 said:


> I am a new tort owner and I was thinking, could I prepare my little guy's food, vacuum seal and freeze it so I don't waste? And thaw what is needed or blanch the food?


You can try but most hate defrosted greens they get very mushy and unappetizing honestly.


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## Bambam1989

daniellenc said:


> You can try but most hate defrosted greens they get very mushy and unappetizing honestly.


This is the case with my tort. He wouldn't eat any of the foods that I had froze for him last year. 
This year I've begun dehydrating his foods and he doesn't mind that at all. In fact he seems to really like the cookies!


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## daniellenc

Bambam1989 said:


> This is the case with my tort. He wouldn't eat any of the foods that I had froze for him last year.
> This year I've begun dehydrating his foods and he doesn't mind that at all. In fact he seems to really like the cookies!


I dehydrate as well. Much easier and fresher. I have to start on my hasta and rose of sharon leaves and flowers this weekend ugh.


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## daniellenc

When mommy goes to happy hour I eat dis:


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## Alicia Hoogstra

I'm so excited to post in this thread... living in Michigan as soon as Spring hits...I am outside in my garden and yard. I grow many perennials for.my "little monsters" and Vuldatort..(my hingeback). I grow and feed several varieties of Tradescantia (widow's Tears), Bee Balm, Daylillies, Hostas, Sea Holly, Fern Leaf Yarrow, Coreopsis, evening primrose, yellow Archangel, lilac, and several varieties of safe Sedum's...I also have Prickly Pear that I take outside as soon as the waether warms and bring it in when temps start to drop. My tortoises love it when I go out and gather a variety of plants for them! They literally do a happy dance once Spring hits and they get the fresh variety from my garden! I've started growing them in their enclosure, and I'm having some plants doing well, and others not so well. I'm also going to try some of them indoors year round...which I'm hoping to have some luck, however I know many of them need our cold snowy winters...so we'll see. I'll keep you updated. Also if anyone is interested, I have a couple of members I'll be sending/trading some plants to/with this fall, just message me.


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## RosemaryDW

Thank you Alicia! I wouldn’t have thought tortoises would eat bee balm, since it’s in the mint family and supposedly has a strong taste. Do the sulcatas eat it?


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## RosemaryDW

Last week’s brussels sprouts were a hit. They roll all over the place; if I was feeding a tortoise in an indoor enclosure I’d probably cut them in half lengthwise, to keep them steady.

I bought something else not usually on my list: Belgian endive. Endive is usually the priciest of the chicories where I live—it’s currently $7/lb at my closest grocery store. But they are very easy to feed in hot weather as they don’t wilt.

Trader Joe’s has been selling a package of them for at least a year. They are $3 where I live; I’ve seen them for $2.50 elsewehere.
I don’t know that it’s a pound but with one tortoise and not a lot of creativity this week, it was a good choice.




I thought we’d only use half the endive but came home day three to find her mowing down our strawberry plants so she got twice as much thereafter.

It always seems weird to me that tortoises will eat rose and blackberry leaves, they are so stiff. But they are in the same family as strawberries; I guess it’s just a matter of what they are exposed to or feel like. Addy so far has only eaten strawberries in mid July and August, when it’s really hot. I wonder what’s up with that?

The usual caveats apply: feeding one single Russian tortoise housed outside; easy access to a wide variety of foods; very high cost of living area. YMMV.


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## Alicia Hoogstra

RosemaryDW said:


> Thank you Alicia! I wouldn’t have thought tortoises would eat bee balm, since it’s in the mint family and supposedly has a strong taste. Do the sulcatas eat it?


I'm not sure I would ask Tom!


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## Bambam1989

RosemaryDW said:


> Last week’s brussels sprouts were a hit. They roll all over the place; if I was feeding a tortoise in an indoor enclosure I’d probably cut them in half lengthwise, to keep them steady.
> 
> I bought something else not usually on my list: Belgian endive. Endive is usually the priciest of the chicories where I live—it’s currently $7/lb at my closest grocery store. But they are very easy to feed in hot weather as they don’t wilt.
> 
> Trader Joe’s has been selling a package of them for at least a year. They are $3 where I live; I’ve seen them for $2.50 elsewehere.
> I don’t know that it’s a pound but with one tortoise and not a lot of creativity this week, it was a good choice.
> 
> View attachment 245166
> 
> 
> I thought we’d only use half the endive but came home day three to find her mowing down our strawberry plants so she got twice as much thereafter.
> 
> It always seems weird to me that tortoises will eat rose and blackberry leaves, they are so stiff. But they are in the same family as strawberries; I guess it’s just a matter of what they are exposed to or feel like. Addy so far has only eaten strawberries in mid July and August, when it’s really hot. I wonder what’s up with that?
> 
> The usual caveats apply: feeding one single Russian tortoise housed outside; easy access to a wide variety of foods; very high cost of living area. YMMV.


Gosh, I wish Clunker would develop a taste for strawberry and blackberry leaves. They are some of the foods I have to sneak into his Mazuri mash. I have found that he doesn't care for most plants that are high in tannins. At least he will eat almost anything else!


----------



## daniellenc

Another successful grocery store run! Escarole, watercress, cactus, aloe, guava, dandelion, sweet potatoe leaves, pumpkin, and okra!!


----------



## Jay Bagley

daniellenc said:


> View attachment 245525
> Another successful grocery store run! Escarole, watercress, cactus, aloe, guava, dandelion, sweet potatoe leaves, pumpkin, and okra!!


Nice score!! I think I should put more of what we feed our tortoises on my own plate. Substituting a salad in place of my pepperoni Hot Pocket, probably would do my waistline some good.


----------



## Maro2Bear

daniellenc said:


> View attachment 245525
> Another successful grocery store run! Escarole, watercress, cactus, aloe, guava, dandelion, sweet potatoe leaves, pumpkin, and okra!!



That almost looks like greens and fruit from our local International Market, but i see they have the Opuntia cactus pad package cling wrapped ( ours sells the pads loose ).


----------



## daniellenc

He’s plate for tonight: Guava, cactus, dandelion, escarole, and watercress. I really need another tort I always buy too much but I think I’m going to start air drying my greens once they wilt for winter. And his first guava was a success it’s already gone


----------



## daniellenc

And the new greens were a hit!!


----------



## Alicia Hoogstra

I have Cookies started! I ordered a dehydrator just for my babies! (3leos & 1 hungeback)


----------



## daniellenc

Maro2Bear said:


> That almost looks like greens and fruit from our local International Market, but i see they have the Opuntia cactus pad package cling wrapped ( ours sells the pads loose ).


Yes this was Korean Corner but H-Mart is my spot. This store sells 2lbs for $2.50 so reasonable enough for one little tort I think.


----------



## Alicia Hoogstra

Jay Bagley said:


> Nice score!! I think I should put more of what we feed our tortoises on my own plate. Substituting a salad in place of my pepperoni Hot Pocket, probably would do my waistline some good.


Me too! I know.my health would be greatly improved! What does that say about how we feed our torts better than us?! Lolol


----------



## Jay Bagley

Alicia Hoogstra said:


> Me too! I know.my health would be greatly improved! What does that say about how we feed our torts better than us?! Lolol


That question occurs to me quite frequently. I'm trying to mix in a bunch of fresh weeds that I had just picked with some grass, sometimes a little grocery store greens, all in the meantime I'm waiting for the timer to go off to my frozen pizza.


----------



## RosemaryDW

@Turtulas-Len has graciously allowed us to link to his great post on the food he prepares for winter feeding: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/thinking-about-winter-feeding.167964/.


----------



## trickspiration

Per @RosemaryDW 's request, here's an update on Spike's diet. Currently, the weed stock in Orange County is minimal because of weather, time of year, etc., and so he's been getting less of the good stuff (natural grown weeds) and more of the store produce (spring mix and romaine). Every so often, I am able to find tiny sprouts of young weeds in the yard (prickly sow thistle, dandelions, catsear), but these have been more of supplementary than the main course. 

Nevertheless, Spike's been putting on them grams and is currently at 98.02 grams! It's quite a change from when we first got him! 

December 2017 



July 2018


----------



## RosemaryDW

trickspiration said:


> Currently, the weed stock in Orange County is minimal because of weather, time of year, etc.,



I’m surprised you can find anything. We have prickly lettuce that’s well on its way to seed and the bristly ox-tongue that never seems to die. But she won’t eat it this time of year.

It’s been super random here. I was out of town and it seems my husband put out half of a head of frisée *per day!* He was also brought home an enormous bundle of pumpkin leaves. Today he noticed she prefers the leaves so cut off the stems and tossed them. Lol. 

He has really thrown himself into feeding, after realizing she had eaten half the buckwheats we’ve been carefully raising. “Wow, I guess you were right about that.” (Ha, of course I’m right. I’m always right!)

It’s like having a goat; everything gets carefully nipped down to the ground. She leaves just enough that the plants can sustain themselves and grow back. This is one of her yarrow grazing patches, the other yarrow behind is left to grow. (The now caged off buckwheat is on the upper left.)




After a season of hand watering and sun, we’ve finally had a little luck with the testudo mix I threw out in the winter. Carrots are “Blech,” as is dill. Fine with me, I love dill. Something in the yard must like chia. I’ve never seen her interested but none has ever grown more than four leaves before it’s gone.


----------



## trickspiration

RosemaryDW said:


> I’m surprised you can find anything. We have prickly lettuce that’s well on its way to seed and the bristly ox-tongue that never seems to die. But she won’t eat it this time of year.
> 
> It’s been super random here. I was out of town and it seems my husband put out half of a head of frisée *per day!* He was also brought home an enormous bundle of pumpkin leaves. Today he noticed she prefers the leaves so cut off the stems and tossed them. Lol.
> 
> He has really thrown himself into feeding, after realizing she had eaten half the buckwheats we’ve been carefully raising. “Wow, I guess you were right about that.” (Ha, of course I’m right. I’m always right!)
> 
> It’s like having a goat; everything gets carefully nipped down to the ground. She leaves just enough that the plants can sustain themselves and grow back. This is one of her yarrow grazing patches, the other yarrow behind is left to grow. (The now caged off buckwheat is on the upper left.)
> 
> View attachment 245833
> 
> 
> After a season of hand watering and sun, we’ve finally had a little luck with the testudo mix I threw out in the winter. Carrots are “Blech,” as is dill. Fine with me, I love dill. Something in the yard must like chia. I’ve never seen her interested but none has ever grown more than four leaves before it’s gone.



That spread looks like it would make a lot of tortoises happy! Alas, we have a few bundles of dandelions here and there, but it's very sparingly present.


----------



## daniellenc

Today is a mix of pumpkin, cactus, a home grown cherry tomato, and testudo mix grown by me with some radicchio mixed in. And yes he’s stuck in the sink lol.


----------



## RosemaryDW

The tortoise has become a little fixated on vines and for some reason I got it into my head she’s a little short on calcium right now. I’m pretty sure that’s not at all the case but the thought stuck. I got to the farmers market late and the pickings were slim. I found some leaves marked as okra that I am pretty sure were sourleaf (related). I also bought (human) turnips, which meant calcium-rich leaves for her! She’s a little iffy on sourleaf so I bought a little sweet potato leaf on my way out. Finally, I bought some pumpkin blossoms. I was planning to stuff them with cheese and fry them but bought a big handful, figuring she’d get any of the duds.

I was on my way to another appointment so just jammed everything into the fridge until the next day. At which point I realized I’d put the bag into the coldest part of the fridge and frozen most of the okra/sourleaf. If you’ve been wondering if frozen, defrosted mallow leaves are still edible, she was happy to eat them. But the stems were also floppy, which meant she couldn’t easily rip leaves off. I noticed her getting “stuck” on a few of stems when she couldn’t get a clean bite. I’m sure she would have been okay but tossed them to be on the safe side.

Turns out I froze about half of the sweet potato greens and a good portion of the turnip greens as well. You name it I froze it this week. 

I salvaged what I could, including some radish stems from last week that were still fine. She will get most of the squash blossoms.

I saw something interesting this week: wing beans. They look about ready to take off. These things apparently put the soybean to shame: all parts can be eaten, by everyone and everything! Higher in protein! She got two, also frozen and sad. 





There is a frilly head of dill in there; I just wanted to see what would happened as they smell so strong. Surprisingly she ate about a third of it. I sure hope someone out there had less of a food fail this week than me.


----------



## RosemaryDW

Another super hot week, I’ve been working late and on Saturday, then our air conditioning broke. 

I’m truly a hot mess and barely made it to the Trader Joe’s by my house. I bought bags of endive, brussels sprouts, and cut up butternut squash, planning to chuck out a few each morning. I’ve noticed lately than our most experienced members feed more “orange” foods than I do; foods high in Vitamin A. She’ll get a few cubes and then I’m going to try freezing them, which I’ve also noticed folks doing. We’ll see how she likes the defrosted ones.

Husband of the Year (HOTY) went to the farmers market on his own to buy some bittermelon vines. The tortoise-loving lady at that stall noticed him and plucked out a bag of imperfect greens. We got quite a bit of gai lan, a Chinese broccoli that has the familar thick stems of the broccoli we know but is otherwise mostly leaves; radish leaves; and carrot tops. She told him she feeds quite a bit of carrot tops to her hermit crabs. Who knew they ate that kind of stuff? But I suppose crabs will eat anything.

Adila is not the biggest fan of gai lan, or any broccoli, really. She’ll eat the leaves but has zero interest in the stems so I’ll probably make them into broccoli slaw.

In the yard she is an eating machine! She’s getting into things she usually only eats in the spring, when she’ll eat *anything. *Heuchera (Coral Bells); leaves of our tacoma stans; catsear. Some dead leaves, some dirt. She’s devastated the wild strawberries. The primroses are dying out but she eats what she can find; the wild snapdragon; more yarrow. She even gave the red flowers on my slippers a try! 




She’s not really putting on weight, she’s a marching, eating, and pooping machine.

No food pictures this week; as you can see from the slippers, I’m still barely moving.


----------



## Yvonne G

I thought I might add a few words about what and how I feed my group. I have a big, green, plastic bushel basket type container that I use to mix up the greens.




I start with a big bag of Santa Barbara Salad (endive, escarole, radicchio), a small bag of either turnip greens or collard greens, one bag/bunch novelty greens (usually something asian), OR bell pepper, OR broccoli. I always add a head of romaine and a head of green leaf lettuce. Then I go outside and cut any edible weeds I can find (usually sparse this time of year) and a bunch of mulberry leaves and grape leaves. I cut the larger things up into 3 or 4" squares just to make it easier to mix it all together, then I reach in with both hands and mix it all up. I occasionally use zucchini and cucumber too.




Two or three times a week I add moistened Mazuri Tortoise Diet OR Purina Layer Pellets and I'll sprinkle some dried moringa leaves in too. I also use occasionally hibiscus tea to color the food red. I can't use Mazuri or Purina too often because there are red ants here and if the tortoises don't hurry up and eat those items, it draws the ants.

I feed two kinds of leopards, Manouria, YF, RF, desert tortoises, Texas tortoises, Russian tortoises, radiated tortoises and one very large sulcata. All of these animals, except for the RF, YF and Manouria, have grass and weeds growing in their yards, so they really don't need me to feed them very much, as they can graze, and they do graze.

My baby tortoises (leopards, YF, desert, Texas) all get this same food, but I chop it up into much smaller pieces for the babies. For any baby box turtles or the YF that I have in the house, I mix in a small amount of fruit and canned cat food to this same greens/veggie mixture. I start out all my baby box turtles eating this greens/veggie/cat food mixture, and if I ever skip a day of cat food, the babies still eat the greens.

I pretty much said all this on the very first page of this thread, but was asked to post again to keep the thread current.


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## MaxisMYtortoise

Yvonne G said:


> I thought I might add a few words about what and how I feed my group. I have a big, green, plastic bushel basket type container that I use to mix up the greens.
> 
> View attachment 247362
> 
> 
> I start with a big bag of Santa Barbara Salad (endive, escarole, radicchio), a small bag of either turnip greens or collard greens, one bag/bunch novelty greens (usually something asian), OR bell pepper, OR broccoli. I always add a head of romaine and a head of green leaf lettuce. Then I go outside and cut any edible weeds I can find (usually sparse this time of year) and a bunch of mulberry leaves and grape leaves. I cut the larger things up into 3 or 4" squares just to make it easier to mix it all together, then I reach in with both hands and mix it all up. I occasionally use zucchini and cucumber too.
> 
> View attachment 247364
> 
> 
> Two or three times a week I add moistened Mazuri Tortoise Diet OR Purina Layer Pellets and I'll sprinkle some dried moringa leaves in too. I also use occasionally hibiscus tea to color the food red. I can't use Mazuri or Purina too often because there are red ants here and if the tortoises don't hurry up and eat those items, it draws the ants.
> 
> I feed two kinds of leopards, Manouria, YF, RF, desert tortoises, Texas tortoises, Russian tortoises, radiated tortoises and one very large sulcata. All of these animals, except for the RF, YF and Manouria, have grass and weeds growing in their yards, so they really don't need me to feed them very much, as they can graze, and they do graze.
> 
> My baby tortoises (leopards, YF, desert, Texas) all get this same food, but I chop it up into much smaller pieces for the babies. For any baby box turtles or the YF that I have in the house, I mix in a small amount of fruit and canned cat food to this same greens/veggie mixture. I start out all my baby box turtles eating this greens/veggie/cat food mixture, and if I ever skip a day of cat food, the babies still eat the greens.
> 
> I pretty much said all this on the very first page of this thread, but was asked to post again to keep the thread current.


Can I trust "Grow Your Own Tortoise Food" kits?


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## RosemaryDW

MaxisMYtortoise said:


> Can I trust "Grow Your Own Tortoise Food" kits?



Welcome @MaxisMYtortoise!

The Chef thread is where we talk about what we are feeding right now. The best place to ask about what is safe/good to feed or how to grow it is to create a new thread of your own in the general diet section. It will get the most attention and answers there.

Since you are in the UK be sure to mention that in your post; the seed options available there are good, just different from what we can get in the United States.


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## Tim Carlisle

Fed Ghost a mix of escarole, dandelion greens, and wheat grass with crushed Mazuri sprinkled over it this morning. Had the entire thing devoured in about 15 minutes. He absolutely loved it. Gonna start introducing some dried flowers into his diet on Sunday.


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## RosemaryDW

Finally! It’s not so hot or humid.

I bought some young celtuce to feed over the weekend; it doesn’t take any heat very well but since we’re around the house we can put it out just before she wakes up and goes to bed.

She’ll get a few bites of okra and I found some nice sow thistles.

It’s that time of year when people are *begging* you to take zucchini off their hands and I scored some stems with immature fruits and a few flowers. I do not know what the deal is with this tortoise. I am pretty sure zucchini is her absolute favorite food; she charges for it. But she does not care for the plant itself. The primary stems are pretty woody but there are plenty of young stems and leaves to go around.

I want this girl to eat squash, darnit! Sure, she gets plenty of bittermelon but melon and squash are not the exact same plant family. I finally pull out the cucumber tactic: grate some and coat a stem good and well with it.

It worked! Hopefully she’ll develop a real taste for it. Healthy, accessible, FREE! What’s not to love, unless you’re a stubborn tortoise.


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## Moozillion

I have an Eastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum hippocrepis). 

Her regular food is earthworms! I dig them out of my pesticide-free garden during warm weather, but will be starting vermicomposting red wigglers very soon to make sure she gets them in the winter, too; AND to make sure the worms are well fed on lots of healthy stuff, including calcium. 

Her favorite food is sushi grade raw salmon! But that can only be an occasional treat since it is NOT nutritionally balanced.
Other treats include raw catfish, but only VERY occasionally because it contains significant amount of thiaminase, which blocks absorption of B vitamins.

There are other things she COULD eat, but is too picky and turns up her nose: gut loaded crickets, gut loaded super worms and frozen blood worms.


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## RosemaryDW

Earthworms are nutritionally balanced? You learn something new every day around here!


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## helosoldier66

Currently have Russians and Redfoot

The Russians have 2 enclosures with the following plants growing inside -
Banana trees - Won't eat
Fountain grass - Won't eat
Creeping charlie - only have eaten lightly
Begonias - will eat some to the ground and not others, all planted at the same time and all the same color red
Aloe - will eat it to the ground I had to cage it off to prevent that
Carrot - haven't eaten
Hibiscus - love the flowers but won't eat the leaves
Polka Dot plant - only have eaten lightly
Monkey grass - only have eaten lightly
variegated Monkey grass - Won't eat
Spider plant - eaten to the ground
St. Augustine grass - have only seen eating this once
Grape vine - haven't eaten it
Gerbera daisies - Won't eat
Day lilly - Won't eat
Dracaena Spike - Won't eat
Dahlias- only have eaten lightly
Marigold - Ate this earlier in the spring but haven't seemed to eat it for 2 months
Zinnia - Won't eat
Petunia - ate these to the ground and haven't grown back
Pansy - ate these to the ground and haven't grown back
Red Coleus - haven't eaten
Green Coleus - only have eaten lightly and only in the last month
Kale - ate these to the ground and haven't grown back

There are a couple other flowers and herbs that have grown from seeds I threw in the enclosure but I don't remember the names, I may have identified them on the edible plant list I posted but don't remember.

I have also tried Kudzu leaves but they wouldn't eat them

There are numerous weeds that I used to see growing in this area but no longer seem to live past sprouting, spurge and dandelions. They will not eat a thistle or nutsedge. The Russians don't seem to be interested in grass type plants much and prefer large leaves, flowers, and succulents.

I supplement their enclosure plants with collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, radishes (they love the radish not just the greens), sliced sweet potatoes, green beans, cactus pads, cucumber, Mazuri tortoise food, squash, carrot, tomatoes, mushrooms, kale, corn on the cob, cantaloupe.


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## RosemaryDW

Tried something I’ve been interested in for a while: stem celtuce. Celtuce is a lettuce cultivar that is grown primarily for the stem. Younger plants are eaten whole along with the leaves and that’s usually what I see at our farmers market; the large stems I’ve seen at our Asian grocers have been very large and too pricy for one little tortoise. This week I finally saw some good sized stems; they were $2.50 each so I took one home.

When I first sliced it open, it was a bit sticky, with flesh similar to a cucumber but firmer. The outer stem was pretty fibrous so I cut it in half to make sure she could get a grasp on it.








Success. 




She’s still enjoying roses and our tacoma stans bush so she got good amounts of both when we trimmed them back this week. Also a few bok choy and some arugula.


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## Tim Carlisle

RosemaryDW said:


> Tried something I’ve been interested in for a while: stem celtuce. Celtuce is a lettuce cultivar that is grown primarily for the stem. Younger plants are eaten whole along with the leaves and that’s usually what I see at our farmers market; the large stems I’ve seen at our Asian grocers have been very large and too pricy for one little tortoise. This week I finally saw some good sized stems; they were $2.50 each so I took one home.
> 
> When I first sliced it open, it was a bit sticky, with flesh similar to a cucumber but firmer. The outer stem was pretty fibrous so I cut it in half to make sure she could get a grasp on it.
> 
> View attachment 250454
> 
> 
> View attachment 250451
> 
> 
> 
> Success.
> 
> View attachment 250452
> 
> 
> She’s still enjoying roses and our tacoma stans bush so she got good amounts of both when we trimmed them back this week. Also a few bok choy and some arugula.



Been looking for something different. Have to pick up a stalk for Ghost and see how he likes it.


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## helosoldier66

Do you feed anything not on the list I made? I will add the Tacoma Stans. The Bok Choy is not listed but falls under cabbage so I will change the listing to specify Bok Choy. Bok Choy is listed on the tortoise table as "In Moderation" do yours eat much? I have noticed that the Table is very cautious. Unless it says "Don't Feed" I just use it as a general guide.


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## RosemaryDW

helosoldier66 said:


> Do you feed anything not on the list I made? I will add the Tacoma Stans. The Bok Choy is not listed but falls under cabbage so I will change the listing to specify Bok Choy. Bok Choy is listed on the tortoise table as "In Moderation" do yours eat much? I have noticed that the Table is very cautious. Unless it says "Don't Feed" I just use it as a general guide.



Hmm, your list is pretty big. I am sure I feed some things not on it, though. I will PM you a list of what she ate last year that I kept track of. She ate other stuff this year but they are reflected in this thread. 

I do feed more brassicas than some. If you read the article on Russian diet in the wild, you see they eat quite a bit of them. https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/article-steppe-tortoise-diet-in-the-wild.30230/. They also eat a ton of ranuculus, mostly buttercups; ranunculas are a big “No” in the Tortoise Table. Many UK testudo owners let their tortoises eat buttercups. I would, too but we don’t have a native one in my area. They also eat a ton of poppies, another huge “No.” Another food I would feed but don’t have access to.

You will have noticed I am a casual feeder. I read what the Tortoise Table has to say but don’t consider it a bible. I do a lot of searching here, to see how other owners feed certain foods. I also track down plant information from lists I find on feeding wild gopher and desert tortoises, thinking their diet is closer to a testudo diet than other species. Tacoma Stans is an important food source for desert tortoises, for example.

My primary point is I wouldn’t necessarily suggest everything I feed is universally acceptable.


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## helosoldier66

I agree 100% on the Tortoise Table comments. I am already planning for next springs planting. I learned some things this summer about their feeding habits and plan on re-landscaping their entire enclosure. I had entirely too many grass types which went untouched. I plan on getting Ranunculus bulbs planted along with a lot of broadleaf weeds.


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## LaLaP

What a fun thread this is! I love seeing all those tortoise salads.
Here's Diego's breakfast today:
Begonia
Geranium
Artichoke (leaf of plant)
Sow thistle
Shaggy/galant soldier
Narrow leaf plantain
Lambs quarter
Dandilion
Hollyhock
Nopales cactus
Blended wheat grass (this was a new experiment)
This is a pretty typical meal except for the wheat grass and I put some flowers in this time. I usually skip the flowers cause he doesn't eat them. Diego isn't a flowers kinda guy 
In addition to his breakfast salad he has a lot of plants and weeds to graze on in his outdoor enclosure... clover, broad leaf plantain, dandilion, hawksbit (is that right? It's a fuzzy dandilion like weed) and mallow.
Oh and the second photo is my breakfast and his.


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## RosemaryDW

LaLaP said:


> hawksbit (is that right? It's a fuzzy dandilion like weed)



All those fuzzy chicories look the same to me!

That’s a beautiful meal. What are you trying to incorporate with the grass (does he eat it?)?


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## RosemaryDW

Tried something new today, luffa (loofah). Yes, that’s right, that scrubby thingy you can buy for your shower:




Turns out it’s quite edible eaten young, popular in India, China and Vietnam. Kind of looks like a summer squash, but it’s actually in the melon family.







When the plant dries out and all the flesh dries out, it’s the fibrous structure that’s left behind for scrubbing.

She loved it, perhaps as much as her favorite summer squashes.

I don’t think I can properly describe the taste to humans, other than to say it tastes like luffa! I liked the crunchy skin but found the inside pretty bland and soft. It didn’t seem very fibrous, that’s for sure. It’s not normally eaten raw; I’m hoping it tastes better cooked since she’s only going to get a couple of slices.


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## LaLaP

RosemaryDW said:


> All those fuzzy chicories look the same to me!
> 
> That’s a beautiful meal. What are you trying to incorporate with the grass (does he eat it?)?


Well I read that some people feed wheat grass even to the non grass eaters and then I saw a beautiful pot of it in my local grocery store. Thinking it might be easy to grow indoors this winter I bought it. My Russian, Diego wasn't interested but he'd eat it chopped up and mixed with stuff he likes but then I noticed it came out the other end undigested... which I had read accounts of too. I decided to eat (or drink) it myself. I blended and pressed it and drank the juice. Whoa! But I decided to give him tiny bits of the blended fiber. He ate it and even went after it unmixed with other greens. Unfortunately it seemed to spoil quickly in my fridge and smelled bad. I probably won't persue it any further. I still have the little pot... does it just grow and grow?! Maybe I'll put it in his enclosure for decoration. It's pretty


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## LaLaP

RosemaryDW said:


> Tried something new today, luffa (loofah). Yes, that’s right, that scrubby thingy you can buy for your shower:
> 
> View attachment 251076
> 
> 
> Turns out it’s quite edible eaten young, popular in India, China and Vietnam. Kind of looks like a summer squash, but it’s actually in the melon family.
> 
> View attachment 251077
> 
> 
> View attachment 251078
> 
> 
> When the plant dries out and all the flesh dries out, it’s the fibrous structure that’s left behind for scrubbing.
> 
> She loved it, perhaps as much as her favorite summer squashes.
> 
> I don’t think I can properly describe the taste to humans, other than to say it tastes like luffa! I liked the crunchy skin but found the inside pretty bland and soft. It didn’t seem very fibrous, that’s for sure. It’s not normally eaten raw; I’m hoping it tastes better cooked since she’s only going to get a couple of slices.


Wow! That is fascinating! I thought it was like a sponge and was a weird plant/animal that lived in the sea! I learned something today, thank you!


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## RosemaryDW

Last meal before hibernation, we're pretty sure.

She's pretty slow and not very interested in food but is still eating a bit. I haven't weighed her yet but when she starts losing noticeable weight and digging, it's fridge time!

I've bought some methi (fenugreek), thinking she should have some protein in her system; I've also got a little butternut squash to work in some different vitamins and minerals. There are the more usual dandelions and radish leaves; she'll get a few inches of leek tops to round things out.


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## Toddrickfl1

Here's an example of what I feed my Redfoot. I mix up batches like this that I feed for about a week till I make a different one with different things. First pic is Kale, hibiscus leaves, grated squash, dandelion, mulberry leaf, papaya, and Mazuri. Second pic is Kale, mulberry leaf, dandelion, romaine, papaya, strawberry, mango, grated butternut squash, crushed egg shell.


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## RosemaryDW

Well, my last “pre hibernation” meal didn’t pan out. Five weeks later, with a lot of late sun in Southern California and she is *still* out between six and eight hours a day. She gets no night heat and it’s dropping down to the fifties at night. I haven’t fed her since Halloween.

I notice her taking a bite of primrose now and again, along with some dead plant matter. Her weight’s fairly stable. 

We don’t have too many cloudy days on the forecast so I guess she’ll eat what she wants until she decides it’s time.


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## Toddrickfl1

This mornings meal for my Redfoots.

Turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, dried mulberry (courtesy of @Will ), dried hibiscus leaf, bok Choi, opuntia cactus, and Mazuri.


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## jsheffield

Darwin's breakfast today:

Cilantro and collard greens topped with butternut squash, strawberry, radish, papaya, carrot, fig, and mango, dressed with rehydrated mazuri and seaweed (dulse and wakame).

Jamie


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## RosemaryDW

Radish and seaweed? I guess redfoots really will eat anything!


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## Blackdog1714

OMG add some Balsamic/Olive Oil and I know at least 3 restaurants that would charge you $10. SPOILER OF TORTS


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## Toddrickfl1

RosemaryDW said:


> Radish and seaweed? I guess redfoots really will eat anything!


They really will. My new hatchling tries to taste my hand Everytime I pick her up.


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## RosemaryDW

I planted some buttercups last year for her to eat when she got out of hibernation. Individual buttercup plants are pretty scrawny so I didn’t think they’d last long.

I would have taken a picture but after six days they are all gone.  I guess she liked them.


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## RosemaryDW

So after four years my Russian has finally gotten the taste of filaree. You’ve likely seen this weed, even if you don’t know the name. It starts out as a round, lacy looking plant. It stays pretty scrawny in my dry area but elsewhere gets quite green and lush.




It’s a member of the wild geranium family, which you might be able to tell from the small pink/purple flowers. But I bet most of you would recognize the sword-looking seed pods. When we were little, we’d pull off the individual seeds one at a time and watch them curl into these tiny corkscrews.






Four years! Just goes to show it’s worth it to keep trying different foods.


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## Toddrickfl1

I'm on a two week vacation and here is what I left for my "Tort sitter" to feed til get back. It's romaine, turnip greens, dandelion greens, Papaya, mushroom, mango, mulberry leaf, Mazuri, squash, and crushed egg shells.


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## SweetGreekTorts

Toddrickfl1 said:


> I'm on a two week vacation and here is what I left for my "Tort sitter" to feed til get back. It's romaine, turnip greens, dandelion greens, Papaya, mushroom, mango, mulberry leaf, Mazuri, squash, and crushed egg shells.
> View attachment 270433


Two weeks? NICE! Have a great vacation!


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## Toddrickfl1

Last fall I dried out some hibiscus flowers and stored them in Mason jars to feed during the winter.

It wasn't as much of a hit as I thought it would be. My torts didn't seem to like them as much as much as they do fresh. They did eat some though. This next year I plan on picking several different kinds of edible flowers (including hibiscus) and drying them. I'm then going to grind them up fine with a coffee grinder and store them the same way. I'll use this to mix a few spoonfuls into their food I've prepared. Kind of like the zoomed flower topper. I'll add some pics and start a thread in a couple months.


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## RosemaryDW

We had some good rain again this year so I am taking advantage of weeds. Seems like she’s eaten everything that’s out there in the last ten days: prickly lettuce, smooth and prickly sow thistle, mallow, bindweed, bristly ox-tongue, wild mustard, wild radish, burr clover, sweet clover, filaree; three wildflowers that are precious enough I rarely pick them: one California poppy, one common lupine, one miniature lupine. Plus everything I purchased from the farmers market, plus the usual devastation she makes of the yard. Oh, and one random green onion someone had culled from the community garden. She’s also had some plants on the “do not feed” list that I’ll post about later.

I can’t pick her up with one hand anymore and am confident she’ll weigh three pounds by the end of next month.  She’s a monster! I’ve been watching her for the thirty minutes and she hasn’t stopped eating the entire time.

Oh, ha, I planted some cilantro in the yard thinking she might eat it if she was grazing and found it. As usual, a big fat nope. One tiny nibble.


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## KarenSoCal

RosemaryDW said:


> Oh, ha, I planted some cilantro in the yard thinking she might eat it if she was grazing and found it. As usual, a big fat nope. One tiny nibble.



And you'll never get me to eat brussels sprouts, either! [emoji2] 

Some things just aren't meant to be..


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## LaLaP

Hi all!

It was a long dark, rainy winter here in Portland and the tortoises and I are are really glad to be seeing signs of spring. @RosemaryDW asked me what I fed this winter. Thanks for thinking of us Rosemary! It was my first winter with tortoises and I wasn't sure which weeds would stick around. In early winter the sow thistle, dandelions, cat's ear and artichoke (leaves, not fruit) persisted as other plants and weeds died out. 
I had bought a weed seed mix from tortoisesupply which was growing well in a whole flat of 2 inch pots. The torts would mow a pot down and then I'd swap it and the weeds would come right back. It was great until my indoor garden got infested with aphids and I tossed it out. 
In late January I noticed the tortoises stopped eating the dandelions and I wondered if they got bitter or tough. Then the chickweed and bittercress came up and soon after the dead nettle. 
I was concerned that there wasn't much variety so I supplemented with some store bought greens and discovered that Diego loves Belgian endive and Pops loves radicchio. Of course... the fancy greens from the expensive grocer that I never go too!
I also mixed in Mazuri once a week. Diego had been trying to hibernate in early winter and therefore not eating so much but he loves the mazuri so I was glad he ate well once a week. Pops doesn't like the mazuri so after a couple months I stopped trying to force it on him since he eats well without it. 
Finally plants and weeds are sprouting everywhere and there is abundance again... clover, galant soldier, geranium, campanula, holly hock, plantain. And the boys have been spending a little time in their outdoor enclosures where they can graze.


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## Sleppo

We've got 5 star restaurants in Philly that would sell that salad for $$$


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## RosemaryDW

I don’t think I have ever heard of gallant soldier. Do they like it? My Russian isn’t onboard with plants in the daisy family, even though she would have eaten a ton of them in the wild.


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## LaLaP

RosemaryDW said:


> I don’t think I have ever heard of gallant soldier. Do they like it? My Russian isn’t onboard with plants in the daisy family, even though she would have eaten a ton of them in the wild.


They do like the gallant soldier. The tortoise table groups it with another similar weed called Shaggy soldier. I guess I'm not totally sure which soldier it is but gallant sounds nice! I have a lot of it and it's a favorite. Funny how they have such individual opinions on foods.


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## RosemaryDW

Finally, some sun here down by the coast. 

Since it’s still pretty cool I can leave a leafy stir fry mix outside without it withering: young red amaranth, mizuna, tatsoi, pea shoots. Not much fiber here but a good mix of different plant types to toss out without much thought.

The first of the bitter melon leaves are for sale, a massive bundle for $2. The cheaper stuff isn’t her favorite, more hard stems than the $$$ stuff but too bad.

Some grape leaves, a couple of bok choy and a zucchini stem or two. 

She is eating so much of the yard even when I leave out a bucket of food; it’s unnerving. Our yarrow is eaten down to the ground and the primrose isn’t looking much better. Even when it’s cloudy she’s outside several times a day, chewing when she seems barely awake. Like this kid.


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## RosemaryDW

Another one of those market days when a seller recognizes my husband and remembers he has a pet tortoise. Off she went to the discard bags where she produced a fair amount of mustard and the red tinged amaranth in the top middle. Amaranth is never a favorite but she will eat some if she’s been running around all day.

Those large leaves on the right I’ve never seen before. The vendor said they were bean leaves but the only bean I can think of they sell is an extremely expensive pod bean I believe they refer to as King Bean. It’s a great fresh bean but I have a suspicion it’s just a close relation to regular old Scarlet Runner Beans. I love any fresh beans—limas too—but these just cost way too much to eat often. Free leaves though? She likes long bean leaves so we’ll take them! Plenty of fiber and the tortoise enjoyed them.

We got a tough piece of gai lan where some happy bug had chomped down, as well as those small bits of choy sum just above it. These are both close to broccoli, she probably won’t eat them.

Daikon radish leaves and a bit of Napa cabbage finished off the “donations.”





I’ve traveled twice this month; went to a funeral one market day ; and will be gone again in a couple of weeks, which means she’s been getting a steady diet of friseé and squash leaves from my husband. Healthy but a little less varied than I would like. I went into the farmers market ready to let the dollars fly, lol!

I added celtuce and some ong choy (water spinach), along with cactus.

Because I’m always pushing the limits, I bought a bundle of some kind of tiny eggplant leaves. The leaves are supposed to be toxic as they are in the nightshade family. Perhaps they are but how are people eating them in that case? Maybe they cook something out of them? Reading the Tortoise Table it seems like she’d have to eat quite a lot of this to be problematic. Additionally, other owners on the forum sometimes feed tomato leaves, also nightshades. I gave her one small branch; she ate some of it but it wasn’t a big hit. That said, the warnings on this plant are strong enough I wouldn’t encourage it to new owners. I’m unconvinced it’s a problem for tortoises but I can’t see myself offering more than a rare small amount; I won’t go out of my way to buy it again.

As always, never feed your tortoise anything you don’t feel comfortable with.


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## Toddrickfl1

I've started my winter supply of food goodies for my Redfoots. I've been picking dandelion flowers and hibiscus flowers and leaving them to dry out. When I've got a good bit I plan on grinding them up slightly in a coffee grinder and using it to mix it in their food.


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## xMario

Toddrickfl1 said:


> I've started my winter supply of food goodies for my Redfoots. I've been picking dandelion flowers and hibiscus flowers and leaving them to dry out. When I've got a good bit I plan on grinding them up slightly in a coffee grinder and using it to mix it in their food.
> View attachment 275298
> View attachment 275299


Nice idea [emoji1]


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## RosemaryDW

I’ve been waiting for this one to come into season: snake gourd. Part of the squash family although it tasted more like cucumber to me. Popular in various Indian cuisines and not surprisingly shaped like a snake.




Cooking instructions say to wash off the white powdery looking stuff and also to peel it if is an older squash, due to bitterness. This one was young so I offered it with and without the white stuff; I didn’t peel any of it.

So far she hasn’t gone for the unwashed bit but was happy with the other. I tasted a washed piece and while it didn’t seem bitter at first it quickly developed an after taste that was almost like a burn, a cucumber chili? 

I’ve never seen them sell the vines of this plant and can only assume they are so bitter as to be inedible.

It’s popular as a curried side dish but I think I will just peel it and eat it raw, like you would a cucumber.


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## Toddrickfl1

Toddrickfl1 said:


> I've started my winter supply of food goodies for my Redfoots. I've been picking dandelion flowers and hibiscus flowers and leaving them to dry out. When I've got a good bit I plan on grinding them up slightly in a coffee grinder and using it to mix it in their food.
> View attachment 275298
> View attachment 275299


Finished up the first batch of goodies for winter. I've still got a lot of flowers drying I haven't decided what im going to do with yet.


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## RosemaryDW

@Toddrickfl1, those ground up really nicely.


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## Toddrickfl1

RosemaryDW said:


> @Toddrickfl1, those ground up really nicely.


I let them dry out a lot longer this year. Last year I didn't grind them either and they smelled kind of funky after a few months. I hope they turn out better this way.


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## Toddrickfl1

Also added a couple packets of desiccant inside the jar to absorb any moisture that might remain.


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## RosemaryDW

I don’t know about anything this week. My charming husband purchased one giant bundle of “vines” at the market; he thinks they are chayote, given that they aren’t being eaten I’m not so sure. I suspect zucchini.

I went to the Korean market hoping to make up the slack but Monday’s shelves were a sad mess. I found daikon radish leaves and dandelions, both looking a little peaked but she’ll eat them. I thought I might have grabbed the last package of sweet potato leaves but ended up with Taiwanese spinach, not a favorite.

I took a couple of chances on mystery greens and came home with something that turned out to be butterbur—a rhizome that’s too iffy even for me to feed—and something marked as dul weed. Dul weed turned out to be a sedum—stringy stonecrop—so at least it’s safe. She’s not much for sedums but she was willing to eat some of this one. Stonecrop is a “limited time only!” wild plant that is eaten (by humans) in the spring, sauteed, seems like. I will add it to a Korean rice bowl (bibimbap).

Given yet another round of purchases I wasn’t sure she’d eat, I pulled some bindweed out of a field on the way home and a mallow that had somehow found enough water to survive a warm June.


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## RosemaryDW

Malabar spinach this week and some bittermelon—the fruit, not the leaves. She ate some, with hesitation. I tasted it and the name is more than appropriate.

Malabar spinach isn’t her favorite so we got some okra leaves and fruits as well.


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## RosemaryDW

Out of hibernation and while she didn’t jump into eating as quickly as usual, I found her, face down, in the primroses while it was 52 degrees on day four. The strawberry plants we’d coaxed into putting out new leaves got gnawed down pretty quickly. I was traveling some but went weed picking ASAP. We had some rain this year but not a ton and my community is mowing down weeds like crazy to limit fire damage; the season won’t be long so I’m going to feed as many as I can. 

There is plenty of mallow and prickly sow thistle; a little bristly ox tongue. I found early shoots of sweet clover and some bindweed. There is a lot of filaree but when I went to pick some I noticed bees were in the tiny flowers. Bees aren’t having the best time on the planet right now so I left them.


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## RosemaryDW

@Toddrickfl1, how did your dried flowers turn out over the winter?


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## RosemaryDW

Another one of my favorite trips, shopping at different grocery stores: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/trip-to-a-mexican-market.180123/.


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## Toddrickfl1

RosemaryDW said:


> @Toddrickfl1, how did your dried flowers turn out over the winter?


It worked great actually. I ran out a few weeks ago so next winter I'll do more.


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## Toddrickfl1

Breakfast Redfoot style, this morning they had Kale, Green leaf lettuce, arugula, dried mulberry leaf and plantain weed (from @Kapidolo Farms ), mango, papaya, banana, mashed Mazuri, and sprinkled with a little Repashy SuperVeggie. I use the Repashy every couple weeks for some added nutrients.


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## Yvonne G

I'm impressed. was it very hard teaching him to use the spoon? ?


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## Toddrickfl1

Yvonne G said:


> I'm impressed. was it very hard teaching him to use the spoon? ?


Murphy won't use the spoon. He has no manners lol


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## Kapidolo Farms

looks like i'd like to try it myself.


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## Toddrickfl1

If it's barely even spring yet and your already gathering goodies for next winter does that mean you have a problem? I think I need an intervention.....


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## Maro2Bear

Toddrickfl1 said:


> If it's barely even spring yet and your already gathering goodies for next winter does that mean you have a problem? I think I need an intervention.....
> View attachment 288475



What kind of tree blossoms? Good on you, but I often wonder if there really is any nutritional value in tree blossoms like that? Maybe @Kapidolo Farms has some insight? At least no lawn spray on them.


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## Toddrickfl1

Maro2Bear said:


> What kind of tree blossoms? Good on you, but I often wonder if there really is any nutritional value in tree blossoms like that? Maybe @Kapidolo Farms has some insight? At least no lawn spray on them.


These are pear tree blossoms.


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## Maro2Bear

Toddrickfl1 said:


> These are pear tree blossoms.



Right...we have tons of blooming Bradford Pear trees & everything else blooming as well. Kind of a month early. Cherry Blossoms at the DC Tidal Basin are at peak this week. Spring is here....dandelions blooming too.


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## Toddrickfl1

Maro2Bear said:


> Right...we have tons of blooming Bradford Pear trees & everything else blooming as well. Kind of a month early. Cherry Blossoms at the DC Tidal Basin are at peak this week. Spring is here....dandelions blooming too.


Yep we've got everything blooming here early too. Starting to see dandelions and my hibiscus are already putting out leaves when they don't usually start till May.


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## RosemaryDW

Today was interesting. After a week’s closure due to COVID-19, we learned our farmers market would be open again so I walked down. Turns out they have switched it to a drive-thru! They give you a list of what’s available; you mark down what you want and they bring it back to you. I didn’t feel like returning to wait in a very long line for three dollars worth of tortoise food so went back up the hill to the community gardens to find weeds and anything that might have blown over the fence and reseeded itself. I found what are either turnip or radish leaves and that was about it. For weeds there was plenty of mallow and wild lettuce. I felt like I’d hit the lottery when I found a plant of what looked like stinging nettles, I’ve only found them once before. I tested to make sure that’s what they were (ouch!), then used my sleeve to grab a handful. My pain seems to have been for nothing, she doesn’t care for them so far. Fine with me, they cook up great with pasta.


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## waretrop

I have been feeling like a chef these days and when I found this topic I coundn't control myself. I hope I am not overstepping my boundary but I want to share. I have enjoyed Little Alice, my Sulcata, very much while she stays with me. I am in Pennsylvania and we are still in winter. I never really know much about different veggies before so I wanted to let others know what I have learned. With the help of my ethnic store that I visit every Monday, I have found so many great foods for Alice to enjoy. I am still not happy with her serving trays and I will create something better soon. I have been using the front of the tray for it seems to keep her from laying and flattening the food at the front. First I give her pellets that I keep out all the time. She grazes at will and has not overdone it over the years. 

Here is now I start.

She has her own fridge. We share our hot tub room with her.



Her tray which I am not happy with because she has sat and flattened her food and drags it off when she is done eating.



I give her pellets to keep her occupied while I load up her second tray. Otherwise when she hears the bags rustling she hangs out under my feet.



Next I layer her fresh food. It changes each week but you get to see what's going on this week.



Dandelions



banana leaves, I buy in full leaves and take out the center vein.



Next endive



kale on the side



parsley I only do leaves, no stems



bok choy leaves only, we eat the bottoms



broccoli rabe




swiss chard



napa cabbage



prickly pear cactus leaves that I have burned the thorns off at my gas stove



aloe that I have skinned and soaked and rinsed 3 times to get the poison off, I store it in a plastic container and rinse it every day



alas, Alice is eager to eat



She dives into it and loves everything. 

Now every week it changes for the stores may not have everything. I have not been able to get mustard greens lately but she loves them. I might also tell you that I rinse off all the food I buy and let it dry mostly before rebagging it.

Hope seeing what I do will help others. Also in summer I save as much as I can from outdoors, and go into the fall using all those wonderful things. Some things I freeze and some things I dry.

I get so much joy in feeding her.


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## MichaelL

RosemaryDW said:


> Wow, thanks for asking @Will !
> 
> I don't know that I'm a chef, just someone with time on my hands and a great location in Southern California.
> 
> There are a couple of threads I made about shopping at farmers markets, particularly those with Asian or Indian produce. Small and large Asian markets are in many cities, for those wanting to poke around at new foods.
> 
> This is one from when I was first feeling comfortable with our market; I have since found several more plants (chayote and bitter melon vines are frequently available). I've also gotten more comfortable with throwing in the occasional random Asian greens, as her diet is so varied. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...pecializing-in-asian-or-hmong-produce.140654/ It's interesting how often people tell me of a tortoise or turtle they owned or cared for; usually they've been feeding it wrong, alas.
> 
> This is one from a trip I took to the market where I got well more than I needed for $2 and change: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/cheap-freebie-day-at-the-farmers-market.146540/
> 
> I did another recently that I hoped would help new owners figure out if the weeds they are picking are "safe" from pesticides: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...ng-if-your-weeds-are-safe-photo-heavy.153035/
> 
> Not an individual thread but I always like to tell new members to check their hispanic markets for spineless cactus, marked "nopales."
> 
> As for this week's offerings, it has been a phenomenal year for rain so we still have weeds galore; yesterday I picked wild sunflower, mallow, bindweed (she's a Russian!), bristly ox-tongue, sow thistle, prickly lettuce, wild geranium, naturalized nasturium. These weeds won't stay green for long so I like to load up while I can. Also on the menu for this week are some daikon radish leaves and fifty cents worth of bitter melon vines and amaranth from the farmers market. Amaranth is a "no" food on the Tortoise Table list because of oxalates; I personally don't worry about oxalates, partially from what I've read here from @Will !
> 
> She's also eating yarrow, evening primrose, and sage from the garden, along with whatever flowers drop from the abutilon plants (Indian Mallow.) When we aren't looking, she's trampling clumps of iris to get to the flowers.
> 
> This sounds like a ton of food for one week but she's in a very large area and her appetite has been enormous this spring. I don't have anywhere near the experience our multiple tortoise owners do but I've been really impressed at her willingness to try new foods after a full year of being fed by us. She's finally slowing down, this should be more than enough for the week! Should we somehow run out, I've got plenty of chicory and frisee in the human fridge to share.
> 
> View attachment 204368


Your tortoise is so beautiful!!! How long have you had her? Somebody knows how to take care of their tortoise?


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## Seb

We've been for a walk in the countryside around our house today and managed to forage a feast for our little tort!

Here's his salad ? Hope he likes it because there's enough for a week. Although he'll probably just pick out the dandelions and forget-me-nots, the fussy bugger.


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## RosemaryDW

Seb said:


> We've been for a walk in the countryside around our house today and managed to forage a feast for our little tort!
> 
> Here's his salad ? Hope he likes it because there's enough for a week. Although he'll probably just pick out the dandelions and forget-me-nots, the fussy bugger.


That’s awesome. I love seeing what grows in different places. Yours is much greener than mine.


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## RosemaryDW

waretrop said:


> I have been feeling like a chef these days and when I found this topic I coundn't control myself. I hope I am not overstepping my boundary but I want to share. I have enjoyed Little Alice, my Sulcata, very much while she stays with me. I am in Pennsylvania and we are still in winter. I never really know much about different veggies before so I wanted to let others know what I have learned. With the help of my ethnic store that I visit every Monday, I have found so many great foods for Alice to enjoy. I am still not happy with her serving trays and I will create something better soon. I have been using the front of the tray for it seems to keep her from laying and flattening the food at the front. First I give her pellets that I keep out all the time. She grazes at will and has not overdone it over the years.
> 
> I get so much joy in feeding her.



This is the thread in which to share all the things you feed. Your Alice is very lucky but I know you feel you are the lucky one.


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## RosemaryDW

MichaelL said:


> Your tortoise is so beautiful!!! How long have you had her? Somebody knows how to take care of their tortoise?


Technically five years but the first year we picked her up off the road and she hibernated while we were looking for her owners. We were hopeful but still surprised when she popped up in the spring. It’s only the four years we’ve overseen her entire year that “count.”

She certainly enjoys her food and has gotten large enough to be a true force of destruction. Today I took my lunch “break” outside and watched her break down the fencing around some delicate buckwheat. She’s been testing it for days and finally made it through. Then immediately started to break her way back out. Lol


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## MichaelL

RosemaryDW said:


> Technically five years but the first year we picked her up off the road and she hibernated while we were looking for her owners. We were hopeful but still surprised when she popped up in the spring. It’s only the four years we’ve overseen her entire year that “count.”
> 
> She certainly enjoys her food and has gotten large enough to be a true force of destruction. Today I took my lunch “break” outside and watched her break down the fencing around some delicate buckwheat. She’s been testing it for days and finally made it through. Then immediately started to break her way back out. Lol
> 
> View attachment 292245


Love it!! ?


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## Seb

RosemaryDW said:


> That’s awesome. I love seeing what grows in different places. Yours is much greener than mine.


One of the joys of living in the English countryside! Having a tortoise has definitely changed our walks - we can't go a few steps without trying to ID another plant.
I think Esio's happy anyway, straight to the food after his bath


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## jsheffield

I live with five tortoises: a Redfoot, an MEP, a Homes Hingeback, and two Russians.

Although they have differing nutritional needs, I try to multitask when putting together their meals.

The Redfoot (meal pictured) gets a bit of everything this Saturday: greens, mazuri, butternut squash, some sprouted microgreens, mushrooms, and my dry mix of flowers and weeds and herbs and seaweed shaken over everything.

The MEP and the Hingeback get less mazuri and more mushrooms, but get everything else.

The Russians get mostly greens, don't get mazuri, and only get a tiny bit of squash and mushroom, but get the rest.

The Redfoot, Darwin, is the biggest, oldest, and incredibly omnivorous, so his is always the last meal I make... he gets whatever's left after I've made the meals for the others.

Jamie


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## RosemaryDW

The pandemic is making itself known even here in mild and sunny California. I think we are done with any real rain for the season, meaning we won’t have weeds for long. All the sow thistles are done. We have wild lettuce and bristly ox-tongue, which will not interest my Russian for much longer this year but I grabbed a bunch of it. I found a giant stem of something that might have ended up as a prickly sow thistle? Black mustard? I honestly don’t know but can tell it’s safe and take it. There is still lots of bindweed so I rip out hunks of it as well.

My community association seems to have made a commitment to RoundUp this year. Most of our mallow looks suspiciously brown at the base, indicating it’s been sprayed. I find a tiny bit that looks safe while roaming around and ignore the rest. 

I take a couple of stems of the cardamom plant I randomly found last week, just in case. Finally, without shame I snag a giant zucchini leaf that’s been culled and left in the community garden green waste area. She doesn’t really like this one but I’m hoping for the best.

It’s been iffy so far. The cardamon got sniffed at, which is more than I thought would happen; she’s never interested in anything in this plant family. She ate some zucchini leaf, that’s a relief. She has eaten all the mallow and the giant stem of whatever it was. Let’s hope that wild lettuce and bindweed will be adequate for five more days.

Next weekend I will either have to commit to the two-hour drive thru farmers market or see what our Korean market is offering.


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## Kapidolo Farms

A daily 'small tortoises' prep of salad includes enough to fill a 2 foot by 3 foot cement mixing tray. Another salad is made for outdoor Manouria, and a third for 'medium' sized tortoises (large redfoots, teen Manouria, and Forsten's).

This (the picture) is for the 'small' tortoises, under four pounds. This particular day included 15 heads or green leaf lettuce (top 3/4 of each leaf), 2.5 pound of spring mix, 2 cups of chopped grape leaves, 2 cups of chopped fresh hibiscus flowers, 2 cups of moistened ZooMed Forest tortoise food, two cups of dried loose leaf moringa, 2 cups of grated green summer squash, and about one cup of grated sweet potato.





The outdoor Manouria got six heads of green leaf, 8 green summer squash - ripple cut, a whole sweet - potato ripple cut, two frozen bananas - ripple cut and then thawed, two cups of whole green beans, two large opuntia pads - ripple cut, two cups of layer crumbles. The banana and opuntia make the layer crumbles stick to everything else.

The medium size tortoises get the bottom 1/4 of each head of green leaf lettuce. Half a sweet potato - fries cut, four green summer squash - fries cut, a single banana - fries cut, and a smaller whole opuntia - fries cut, 1/2 cup green beans, half cup of okra, 1/2 cup of layer crumbles, 1 cup of moringa, and any small tortoise diet that is not already fed out.

Total prep time about a hour, feed out time about an hour. When you do something frequently you can get pretty quick. Some days the time is more limited. Frozen - thawed gel diet can be a great time saver if made ahead.


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## RosemaryDW

Kapidolo Farms said:


> A daily 'small tortoises' prep of salad includes enough to fill a 2 foot by 3 foot cement mixing tray. Another salad is made for outdoor Manouria, and a third for 'medium' sized tortoises (large redfoots, teen Manouria, and Forsten's).
> 
> This (the picture) is for the 'small' tortoises, under four pounds. This particular day included 15 heads or green leaf lettuce (top 3/4 of each leaf), 2.5 pound of spring mix, 2 cups of chopped grape leaves, 2 cups of chopped fresh hibiscus flowers, 2 cups of moistened ZooMed Forest tortoise food, two cups of dried loose leaf moringa, 2 cups of grated green summer squash, and about one cup of grated sweet potato.


I immediately wondered “Why not the bottom of the lettuce?“ but naturally you are feeding it to your bigger tortoises and not letting any go to waste.


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## RosemaryDW

I’m trying to be responsible but I’m feeling really “done” with quarantine. I didn’t have the energy to spend ninety minutes at the drive-thru farmers market for two dollars worth of jute leaves, nor did I want to make a trip to our Korean grocery store for the tortoise, as I can’t get my full human shopping list there. So I did another pass at the community garden. Some regular weeds hanging on at the periphery of the garden; a random stalk of overblown arugula, a very healthy amaranth (she won’t eat it but worth a shot); a super random brassica I think *might* be yellow cress but why anyone would grow it I don’t know; and finally some of what I think are spaghetti squash leaves from the green waste area. I couldn’t be a crazier looking old lady if I tried. It’s super hot right now so fortunately she‘s not very hungry.


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## Toddrickfl1

Look at all this free deliciousness, hibiscus and hosta flowers.


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## waretrop

So I try this every spring without success. I have tried to get Alice to eat orchard grass, dried and from local farmers freshly cut and dried and baled. She will have nothing to do with it. I have cut it in an small pieces, soak it and serve it wet and just moist. She actually opens her mouth and shakes it out. No kidding......So my organic farmer friend has what he calls orchard grass. He told me he cut it last night and this morning and that I may go get a few bags if it. It is mostly green and some dried things. Alice ran over to it and loved it. I hae now cut it to 8 or 10 inch lengths. At the beginning she was taking it into her mouth as one long big gob of spaghetti that was going to last the while pile that I placed in front of her.

I am not sure if this is only orchard grass or something else in it and how much should I let her have at the beginning without harming her.???? I am hoping to keep giving it to her until it slowly dries out and maybe she will continue eating it that way. 

What do you all think??? Any advice...?


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## Yvonne G

Silly creature! In my opinion let her eat as much as she wants, and hope she'll continue to love it as it dries.


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## waretrop

OMGosh!!! Alice has not stopped eating all day...but now she is laying on her piglet heating pad in her horse tank. That's a good thing. She will sleep until the morning.. My local farmer only makes gigantic bales. My hubby says they are 1800 pounds...I don't think I can do that... NOW, maybe Alice could eat that all winter but I don't think I can get it to my house....LOL


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## Toddrickfl1

Anybody know if my Redfoots can eat this? First time seeing it


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## method89

I don't see why not but they do have a pit in them ( if I remember correctly)

Similar to the lychee


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## waretrop

I think that is a lychee and I believe they do have a nice bIg nut in it. BTW YUM .


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## Kapidolo Farms

Not lychee but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan
Lychee is different https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee

They are related but different tree species. They both have a floral smell and flavor. 

If you notice in the nutirent content part of the wiki pages, lower right hand side, you'll notice the Rambutan has a good C: P ratio, where as the Lychee does not. Also notice the Rambutan analysis is for 'packed in syrup', while the lychee 'raw'. This should not have a bearing on the C: P ratio as far as I am aware?


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## RosemaryDW

Yay! Our farmers market finally returned to “regular” walk-in status, compared to the drive-thru model. As regular as standing in groups six feet apart while wearing masks can be. I think we’ll be back in lock down status fairly soon in California so made the most of it for human purchasess—the tortoise benefited as well. *Finally *we procured some squash vines (chayote); it’s been so long it took her a minute to remember she loves them. Hedou (Tiny) bok choy; the leaves of a Daikon radish; a few squash blossoms; and a piece of what I eventually figured out was some kind of large pole bean.

My husband asked what would happen if he accidentally dropped a bite of one of his peaches in the yard and she found it. “Nothing,” because if you drop fruit out there you darn well better pick it up!


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## RosemaryDW

Wow, you definitely can’t sleep in at our farmers market right now. I don’t know if it’s hungrier people or fewer choices but you can expect to find few Indian plants at that booth if you aren’t early. Jute mallow that was on the table when I got in line was gone by the time it was my turn. Sourleaf (gongura) was practically gone and the moringa was running low as well.

The early birds were taking wagons of food away. Who needs multiple cartons of moringa? And this wasn’t all this family bought. My husband suggested they might own a restaurant, which would make sense. You can’t easily buy this stuff at the grocery store.


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## Kapidolo Farms

I have tried the fresh when I found it, it tastes sorta like chew-able vitamins or Gin - take your choice. 



RosemaryDW said:


> Wow, you definitely can’t sleep in at our farmers market right now. I don’t know if it’s hungrier people or fewer choices but you can expect to find few Indian plants at that booth if you aren’t early. Jute mallow that was on the table when I got in line was gone by the time it was my turn. Sourleaf (gongura) was practically gone and the moringa was running low as well.
> 
> The early birds were taking wagons of food away. Who needs multiple cartons of moringa? And this wasn’t all this family bought. My husband suggested they might own a restaurant, which would make sense. You can’t easily buy this stuff at the grocery store.
> 
> View attachment 301240


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## RosemaryDW

Kapidolo Farms said:


> I have tried the fresh when I found it, it tastes sorta like chew-able vitamins or Gin - take your choice.


I researched it and it is apparently very common in Indian dal. Maybe it is better cooked. Tortoise isn’t in love with it this year so I’m going to give it a shot! What else do I have to do? If nothing else I’ll just pretend it’s gin.


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## RosemaryDW

We dragged ourselves down to the market right at opening today and managed to get a bundle of jute mallow, which is one of her summer favorites.

We have several native holly leaf cherry bushes in our yard and for the first time they finally set fruit. The fruit is almost entirely seed, about the size of large a hazelnut with a very thin layer of sour fruit and skin around it. Even with that little fruit on them, it’s more sugar than she should have so when the cherries started to drop I got in the habit of shaking the bushes in the morning and putting anything that fell up where birds could get at it. The fruit ripened nearly all at once and so it was only about a week that I had to keep an eye on things. 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling great on what I thought would be the last day and didn’t get to the yard. The next morning I went out to give the biggest bush a shake. No cherries fell? I looked down at the ground for them and slowly realized there was only a pile of seeds left.  She’s perfectly fine but next year we’ll figure out a better method.


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## KarenSoCal

RosemaryDW said:


> I looked down at the ground for them and slowly realized there was only a pile of seeds left.



I've looked closely at a tortoise's mouth. I wouldn't think that they would be adept at pitting, then eating a cherry, and spitting out a perfectly clean seed. I'm also amazed at how skillfully they maneuver huge pieces of greens only using their mouths. Then the occasional arm use to shove it in better.

How beautifully made they are!


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## RosemaryDW

KarenSoCal said:


> I've looked closely at a tortoise's mouth. I wouldn't think that they would be adept at pitting, then eating a cherry, and spitting out a perfectly clean seed. I'm also amazed at how skillfully they maneuver huge pieces of greens only using their mouths. Then the occasional arm use to shove it in better.


Oh, it’s not anything like a cherry we see at the store, it really is almost all pit, more like a plum. I ran into her eating one when they first started falling. She basically gummed and licked off what little fruit there was; it took quite a while. A big tortoise would just swallow the whole thing and let nature sort it out, I think.


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## RosemaryDW

Tried feeding bittermelon for the first time today; a gourd that is (unsurprisingly) on the bitter side when it gets older but similar to a zucchini when it is young. It was a hit except for the center, which is the most bitter part. We’re on a (very remote) vacation so I won’t be sampling any of it myself. A kind neighbor gave me some escapee bittermelon leaves and hyacinth bean leaves from her garden (neighbor doesn’t eat either) so she’ll be in good shape while we’re gone.


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## DawnVaughn

Stuart S. said:


> This is great. Being that I'm in Alaska, the store is my go to until we make our transition this fall!
> 
> This morning our little Sully had a breakfast of chopped romaine, arugula, endive and bok choy; topped off with some shredded grassland pellets.


How do you get yours to eat the pellets? I have a Sulcata and a Herman’s tortoise and they won’t touch them. They mostly get their leafy greens.


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## Kapidolo Farms

I flavor them with different things. The first thing was Aloe juice (100% pure juice). Then I tried mashed opuntia cactus. In both cases enough to thoroughly moisten the pellets so they break up readily.

Some time later I started using cold brew hibiscus tea. The hibiscus used for tea is a different species than the one commonly found in gardens. I put some hibiscus in a yogurt container or other small plastic tub, pour cold water over it, just enough to cover, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, then use that water to moisten/soften the pellets. Now it's both colored and flavored. Rose hips work well too. 









Soakers (three items 4 oz each) - Kapidolo Farms


Variety pre-pack: Soakers. Includes 4 oz each of Cactus Chips, Rose Hips, and Hibiscus, 12 ounces total. Each item can be used twice - water from soaking and the item itself. Price includes shipping and taxes.




kapidolofarms.com







DawnVaughn said:


> How do you get yours to eat the pellets? I have a Sulcata and a Herman’s tortoise and they won’t touch them. They mostly get their leafy greens.


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## DawnVaughn

Thank you for your advice. I will try that. I have softened some with water and put it in a blender with Romain and bell peppers. It hasn’t been touched. I’ll try it like that.


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## Kapidolo Farms

I have never tried blender-ing things, I see it's not so uncommon. You loose some of the fiber effect. Not too weird a thing to do for just hatched tortoises, but still seems un-necessary. They are living off yolk for awhile even after hatching. Many babies will eat solid food right away, and even their egg shell, in a few cases, while still not fully hatched.

Soaking can be a double edge sword of a habit in preparing foods. Many nutrients are water soluble, and if you use too much water some of the nutrients can be lost to the 'extra' water. I have gotten pretty good at estimating how much water is needed. I also manually break the pellets up and mix with greens - chopped to the size that works for the tortoises.




DawnVaughn said:


> Thank you for your advice. I will try that. I have softened some with water and put it in a blender with Romain and bell peppers. It hasn’t been touched. I’ll try it like that.


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## JeffR

Kapidolo Farms said:


> This is a thread about what you actually feed out. @Yvonne G , my 'tortoise wife', posted this scrumptious fare with a description here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-19#post-1472245
> 
> View attachment 204330
> 
> 
> Other wonderful meals by other members are @Anyfoot here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-11#post-1371343 TFO said the file was too big to repost your image.
> 
> I started a thread some time ago about 'grocery store greens good' here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/grocery-store-greens-good.81609/
> 
> I do "get it" that free range/graze is great for a few tortoises in a very large outdoor enclosure. But I have more tortoises than outdoor enclosure, so the grocery store is the tortoise food life for me.
> 
> I buy at Restaurant Depot and some wholesalers who will sell COD to some weird guy that wants to buy case quantities for tortoises. Sometime Costco and Smart and Final have better prices. H-Mart a limited national grocery chain (Korean foods, bigger than most grocery stores though, their produce section is bigger than a small grocery store) has many wonderful things for a tortoise chef.
> 
> I don't know if Julia Child would approve of the title "tortoise chef" but that's okay.
> 
> This thread is about grocery store greens prepared to be a good diet.
> 
> @RosemaryDW please share your culinary tortoise talent.


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## RosemaryDW

DawnVaughn said:


> Thank you for your advice. I will try that. I have softened some with water and put it in a blender with Romain and bell peppers. It hasn’t been touched. I’ll try it like that.



I don’t think sulcatas or Hermans should be eating bell peppers regularly, they are pretty high in sugar. Did you get that feeding advice from this forum? I’m no sulcata expert so I will hope an experienced owner will speak up.


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## ALICENWNDERLND

I soak the dried dandelion or hibiscus overnight in extra water and poor it off to soak a mixture of laying crumbles and zoo med pellets. My Herman’s have learned to love it (months of offering) but I’m still working on my leopard to love it. It Sure adds to variety. But so darn hard to get them used to things. I have experimented with a lot of things at kapidolo farms and enjoy the options. (Even if the torts don’t)


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## Salspi

Sorry if you have already covered this, but are my jade plant leaves safe to feed to my tortoises?


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## KarenSoCal

Salspi said:


> Sorry if you have already covered this, but are my jade plant leaves safe to feed to my tortoises?



From the Tortoise Table, 




__





The Tortoise Table - Home


The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners



thetortoisetable.org.uk


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## Salspi

Thanks


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## Kapidolo Farms

The tortoise table is suggesting feed modestly due to oxalates. Oxalates are NOT an issue. 
As long as the tortoise has free choice of foods, no 'moderation is needed. I have found most tortoises do not seem to find this plant appetizing. Many sedums seemed to be preferred. Or opuntia cactus, which also has a good fiber profile and a great deal of calcium. 



Salspi said:


> Sorry if you have already covered this, but are my jade plant leaves safe to feed to my tortoises?


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## Salspi

thank you - so if i just put a few plants in the enclosure and let them decide if they want to eat it, that should be an ok idea? Or can they over indulge on their own?


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## KarenSoCal

Salspi said:


> thank you - so if i just put a few plants in the enclosure and let them decide if they want to eat it, that should be an ok idea? Or can they over indulge on their own?



You can just put the plants in and let them decide, within reason. You don't want them to eat so much jade plant that they don't want dinner. But I don't think that happens very often.


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## Kapidolo Farms

Over indulge on their own, is possible. Like people and donuts, it comes down to the individual. If some is available among a wide range of things to eat, and a tortoise goes nuts for it, maybe once in a while that is okay, but also informative. That tortoise is thinking it needs something that's in the jade plant. 

There are several sorta obscure references to this genus of plants being fodder. I have requested some through research gate.

here is one about rhinos eating it in a blog. https://trees.org.za/feeding-rhinos-and-offsetting-carbon/

Further, I can't see into the the future. Your tortoise will tell you something through its behavior and the outcome of it's eating the jade plant. It's on you to tell us, TFO readers, what your tortoise tells you.




Salspi said:


> thank you - so if i just put a few plants in the enclosure and let them decide if they want to eat it, that should be an ok idea? Or can they over indulge on their own?


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## RosemaryDW

Soooo this tortoise needed about five minutes to snap out of hibernation and start on her path of destruction. I wasn’t expecting such a speedy awakening and had to run to the weed patch.

Wow, looks like my community isn’t playing when it comes to keeping the weeds down this year, probably because there were some fires on the far side of town. Look at all this mulch!




Not just that but when I got to the shrubby tree that nasturtiums grow under it had been taken out. 

After a few days everything I brought home was gone so I took another pass at it, this time seriously.




I’ve been trying to find a way to show her growth over the past five years; she looks the same, just bigger so it doesn’t really work well in photos. I took a new approach this year. Here she is her second year with us, in early spring. And a couple from today.

Then:




Now:


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## RosemaryDW

She’s a bit grumbly, due to overcast weather but I’m still excited because our move to “orange” level COVID risk means we can shop more freely at the farmers market. 

Didn’t matter to her: radish leaves, watercress, chayote vines are not in favor, only okra leaves.

Perhaps I shall make myself some fancy watercress tea sandwiches.


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## RosemaryDW

*Famine to Feast*

Last week was very pell mell. With new freedoms I took a quick trip to visit my family and ended up searching through empty stores for a dress after my niece’s prom was announced with a week’s notice! We succeeded, though saddened to see how many stores had closed, perhaps for good. Food shopping was interrupted and the tortoise had a scruffy week of some small endives saved for tortoise emergencies; odd pieces of romaine; grape leaves; a couple of paddles from our very small cactus; and a little snapdragon we found to snip. Much of the yard was eaten as a result of these paltry offers.

Back at the farmers market this week I was disoriented to find we were actually allowed to touch and choose produce ourselves. As the virus progressed we had experienced a closed market; a drive-thru; another closed marked; a “you point“ and they bag it model; and now back to something approaching normal. As a born hermit the tortoise hasn’t noticed a thing over the last fourteen months but isolation has left me tentative. Turns out tortoise shopping is like riding a bike, I had my hands full in a few minutes. Our second Indian produce vendor has returned, along with several other farmers. I grabbed massive bundles of bittermelon and chayote vines; squash blossoms; okra; too much ong choy. Fortunately I had only one shopping bag or I would have bought even more. Naturally the tortoise was very “eh” about most of it. Bittermelon not organic? No thanks. She *was* enthusiastic about the very large fava bean pod I gave her (I kept the beans for myself).

Who knows what next week will bring but it feels pretty good so far.


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## RosemaryDW

For heaven’s sake. Left the house today—because we can!—and came back to find she hadn’t eaten a single thing I’d left. Can’t imagine what she destroyed while we were gone. :/


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## RosemaryDW

We set off last week for my niece’s high school graduation. When we made our reservation months ago we weren’t sure if the state would be allowing more than a drive-by event and found a house rental far from town, in a woody canyon.

When we got there we were in (temporary) ownership of a real live meadow; not our usual scrawny scrub. We had driven so I took the opportunity to see what plants I might take back with me. It was already fairly dry there but I was able to find plenty of narrow leaf plantain; two different wild peas; what I think is small head clover; and a very slight miniature lupine. I would have taken mallow but what I found was full of ladybugs and bees so I left it for them. I had no such qualms about grabbing some mustard, as it’s invasive here.

Plantain only grows in maintained lawns around here so I’ve never fed her any. She ate this with no hesitation, leaving me wondering if she’d been keep out in someone’s grass yard before we found her.

She ate the clover too, despite some difficulty with getting the leaves stripped from the stems. She liked the peas but the stems on those were too difficult, or at least not worth the bother when there were other foods available. Not even the seed pods were worth the effort.

Despite my telling her many times she would like the lupine if she just tried it, she did not. Again, not even interested in the seed pods. No point in hanging onto any seeds to plant next year.


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## jsheffield

Yesterday was an unintentional fasting day for the torts, so today they all started off the day with a big handful of greens, followed by a mixed plate of yum:



Forest Tortoises: raw dog food, butternut squash, mango, banana, egg w/shell, mushroom, shrimp, avocado; all dusted with powders of pumpkin seed, opuntia cactus, hibiscus flower, and wakame seaweed



Grassland Tortoises: butternut squash, mushroom, Mazuri dressing; all dusted with powders of pumpkin seed, opuntia cactus, hibiscus flower, and wakame seaweed

Jamie


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## RosemaryDW

jsheffield said:


> Yesterday was an unintentional fasting day for the torts, so today they all started off the day with a big handful of greens, followed by a mixed plate of yum:
> 
> 
> Forest Tortoises: raw dog food, butternut squash, mango, banana, egg w/shell, mushroom, shrimp, avocado; all dusted with powders of pumpkin seed, opuntia cactus, hibiscus flower, and wakame seaweed
> 
> 
> Grassland Tortoises: butternut squash, mushroom, Mazuri dressing; all dusted with powders of pumpkin seed, opuntia cactus, hibiscus flower, and wakame seaweed
> 
> Jamie


What purpose does the pumpkin powder serve? Also are you really telling me your Russians eat seaweed?!!


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## Yvonne G

Ground up pumpkin seeds are supposed to be anthelmintic.


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## jsheffield

RosemaryDW said:


> What purpose does the pumpkin powder serve? Also are you really telling me your Russians eat seaweed?!!


Pumpkin seed powder is an anti-parasitic that I add occasionally.

I feed a tiny bit of wakame once in a while with the idea of adding some micronutrients, notably iodine.

I feed for variety....

J


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## RosemaryDW

jsheffield said:


> I feed for variety....
> 
> J


Definitely!


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## RosemaryDW

I need to get in the habit of hanging on to *all *the food I buy; sometimes I dispose of half of the huge bundles we get of the farmers market when we get home but I realize now she’ll usually eat most of it. This week I saved it all.

We were late to the market so it was one of those times when you couldn’t take a leasurely stroll to see what was available; we made purchases of whatever was available at several markets, only to find out the last one we could have purchased many of the same things at once. Oh well. At any rate we brought home a big bag: sourleaf, moringa, ong choy, beautiful sow thistle ($6 per organic pound, hilarious), jute mallow. One vendor gave us a tiny lemon cucumber which indeed looks like a lemon when you cut it and smells slightly of citrus; took her a minute but she got into it pretty fast after that. One green bean for protein. Not pictured is a piece of a green onion top, not okay on the Tortoise Table blah blah blah. She LOVED it and ate it before anything else, weird. She likes her occasional bit of chives or green onions but not like this.


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## Yvonne G

RosemaryDW said:


> I need to get in the habit of hanging on to *all *the food I buy; sometimes I dispose of half of the huge bundles we get of the farmers market when we get home but I realize now she’ll usually eat most of it. This week I saved it all.
> 
> We were late to the market so it was one of those times when you couldn’t take a leasurely stroll to see what was available; we made purchases of whatever was available at several markets, only to find out the last one we could have purchased many of the same things at once. Oh well. At any rate we brought home a big bag: sourleaf, moringa, ong choy, beautiful sow thistle ($6 per organic pound, hilarious), jute mallow. One vendor gave us a tiny lemon cucumber which indeed looks like a lemon when you cut it and smells slightly of citrus; took her a minute but she got into it pretty fast after that. One green bean for protein. Not pictured is a piece of a green onion top, not okay on the Tortoise Table blah blah blah. She LOVED it and ate it before anything else, weird. She likes her occasional bit of chives or green onions but not like this.
> 
> View attachment 329060


You're so lucky to have a market close by that sells these sort of food items.


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## RosemaryDW

Yvonne G said:


> You're so lucky to have a market close by that sells these sort of food items.


One hundred percent. I’ve had to learn to ask questions and look things up to figure out some plant names in different languages but that’s it. 

At this point if someone asks me how to use something in a human recipe I know the answer!


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## Tim Carlisle

Fresh Repashy muffins. Mmmmm


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## Maggie3fan

Tim Carlisle said:


> Fresh Repashy muffins. Mmmmm
> View attachment 329935


? What kinda muffins? And they don't rise???


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## ArmadilloPup

Tim Carlisle said:


> Fresh Repashy muffins. Mmmmm



Is it just the powder or do you mix it? This reminds me of "herbivore biscuits" for my guinea pig using Emeraid/Critical Care and pumpkin (he has a form of osteoperosis so his teeth are always falling out and I have to get creative making soft foods)


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## Tim Carlisle

Armadillogroomer said:


> Is it just the powder or do you mix it? This reminds me of "herbivore biscuits" for my guinea pig using Emeraid/Critical Care and pumpkin (he has a form of osteoperosis so his teeth are always falling out and I have to get creative making soft foods)


Just mix with hot water and refrigerate.


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## jsheffield

Mixed greens for all of the torts today... I chop the greens and dust them with opuntia flour and powdered hibiscus blooms and wakame seaweed to enhance the vitamin and mineral content.

The crunching in my office right now is nearly deafening....

Jamie


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## RosemaryDW

Are you sure that wasn’t one of your own dinner courses?!


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## RosemaryDW

I am more or less able to contain myself at the market now. Sourleaf; sow thistle; methi which she will occasionally deign to eat; what I think is jute mallow; one green bean; a tiny lemon cucumber a vendor gave me. Not pictured: wild island snapdragon; some yellow bells (tacoma stans) leaves and tons of its fallen flowers.

I just learned this snapdragon is in the plantain family! I’ve always been a little bummed we don’t have any common mallow around here but it turns out she’s had a fancier variety all this time. 

Jute mallow was of no interest once she found the sourleaf; it’s interesting how she was not interested in this plant for years and now she’ll eat it even if it’s dried up in the heat. Particularly as she normally loves the other mallow.


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## jsheffield

Breakfast Feast for my tortoises today:




Mixed greens and my dried flower/herb/seaweed topper






Chopped salad of various fruits and veggies

Jamie


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## RosemaryDW

Finally! Spring is here, or close enough. Addy came out of her fridge last night and is currently resting after a long soak.

I was traveling for a month and came home to a yard with no weeds! Drought and climate change. :/ So I can't take a risk of her self feeding so soon without also losing "real" plants.

There are some weeds at least in our open area so there is the usual black mustard, mallow, and bristly ox-tongue. I didn't get a lot of anything, as I doubt she'll have much appetite right away.

I ended up getting called into the physical office this week so won't get to watch her wake up. Boo.


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## RosemaryDW

It was an odd week for feeding. I came home from a work trip without much time to get to the farmers market; just ran in and out. I was excited to buy the squash shown below, thinking they were some kind of weird varietal as they had pointy ends. After exhaustively searching the internet for heirloom summer squashes I finally had to accept they were simply misshapen ones that somehow didn't start off right. The skins were very thick and while I didn't think they were bitter she was not particularly interested: a first for summer squash. I ate the majority of it myself and didn't find it bitter at all. That's a tortoise for you.

I noticed her creeping about the yard in a yarrow patch without eating the yarrow itself, which is one of her favorites. She kept pushing her face through the plant and down to the ground, which was odd. At first I thought she had found some kind of snail (she loves snails) but eventually realized she was eating berries that had dropped off our Toyon bush; a treelike plant that we planted to feed local birds years ago. We don't have enough birds of the right kind to eat every berry and so a ton drop on the ground every year. I was initially worried about the sugar but noticed she is very particular about the ripeness of the ones she chooses so it's not overkill. Yet another plant in the yard that she got interested in much later than we found her: six years!




I believe she got mostly endive from Trader Joe's until we had our next chance to go the market.


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## jsheffield

Breakfast for the omnivorous tortoises:

Fresh greens
Zucchini blossoms
Rosehips
Cucumber
Carrots
2 types of Mazuri (tort & croc)

I picked a bunch more of the greens from the raised bed, and gave some to each of the Russians, as well as another handful to the two omnivores.

Jamie


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## Sarah2020

Looks excellent. I also grow and use the zucchini flowers as well as hybiscis flowers.


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## Tim Carlisle

jsheffield said:


> View attachment 347309
> 
> Breakfast for the omnivorous tortoises:
> 
> Fresh greens
> Zucchini blossoms
> Rosehips
> Cucumber
> Carrots
> 2 types of Mazuri (tort & croc)
> 
> I picked a bunch more of the greens from the raised bed, and gave some to each of the Russians, as well as another handful to the two omnivores.
> 
> Jamie


Nice! I've not seen a post made here in quite a while. I'd love to post another delectable dish, but the best yall will get from me this time of year is a tasty yard full of weeds. lol


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## Maggie3fan

Bell pepper

Rose of Sharon

and grape leafs


and the easiest tort to feed ever...


lol...my way to feed...


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## yaycolin

RosemaryDW said:


> I need to get in the habit of hanging on to *all *the food I buy; sometimes I dispose of half of the huge bundles we get of the farmers market when we get home but I realize now she’ll usually eat most of it. This week I saved it all.
> 
> We were late to the market so it was one of those times when you couldn’t take a leasurely stroll to see what was available; we made purchases of whatever was available at several markets, only to find out the last one we could have purchased many of the same things at once. Oh well. At any rate we brought home a big bag: sourleaf, moringa, ong choy, beautiful sow thistle ($6 per organic pound, hilarious), jute mallow. One vendor gave us a tiny lemon cucumber which indeed looks like a lemon when you cut it and smells slightly of citrus; took her a minute but she got into it pretty fast after that. One green bean for protein. Not pictured is a piece of a green onion top, not okay on the Tortoise Table blah blah blah. She LOVED it and ate it before anything else, weird. She likes her occasional bit of chives or green onions but not like this.
> 
> View attachment 329060



Where is this farmers market you purchased these plants from? I am located in Huntington Beach and would love to check it out!


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## RosemaryDW

yaycolin said:


> Where is this farmers market you purchased these plants from? I am located in Huntington Beach and would love to check it out!


It's the Irvine farmers market located in the Mariner's Church parking lot just off the 73; best market in the county. Saturdays from eight a.m. to noon. Take a walk around the entire food side (not the side with prepared food and doo dads) before buying anything. Or don't; you never know what will be sold out by the time you get back. Worst thing that can happen is you end up out of $30, which isn't that bad for a morning's worth of activity. Watch the five percent roll off with hundreds of dollars worth of organic meat, just for one week. 

The really long line is for one of the egg vendors. Avocados and citrus from Jimmy are excellent. Frog's Bakery on the prepared foods side is legit French. Somewhere between Frog's and the fish place is a legit French cheese monger who will drain you dry but you'll die happy!

Okra leaves are now in season and very popular at our house. $2.50.


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## RosemaryDW

jsheffield said:


> View attachment 347309
> 
> Breakfast for the omnivorous tortoises:
> 
> Fresh greens
> Zucchini blossoms
> Rosehips
> Cucumber
> Carrots
> 2 types of Mazuri (tort & croc)
> 
> I picked a bunch more of the greens from the raised bed, and gave some to each of the Russians, as well as another handful to the two omnivores.
> 
> Jamie


How do the rose hips go over? I can't get any interest here but I don't have an adventurous omnivore!


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## jsheffield

RosemaryDW said:


> How do the rose hips go over? I can't get any interest here but I don't have an adventurous omnivore!


There were clean plates in Casa Sheffield, but my RFT and my MEP are serious eaters... I just saw the rosehips, glowing there on the rosebush and thought I'd try.

Jamie


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## Cathie G

RosemaryDW said:


> It's the Irvine farmers market located in the Mariner's Church parking lot just off the 73; best market in the county. Saturdays from eight a.m. to noon. Take a walk around the entire food side (not the side with prepared food and doo dads) before buying anything. Or don't; you never know what will be sold out by the time you get back. Worst thing that can happen is you end up out of $30, which isn't that bad for a morning's worth of activity. Watch the five percent roll off with hundreds of dollars worth of organic meat, just for one week.
> 
> The really long line is for one of the egg vendors. Avocados and citrus from Jimmy are excellent. Frog's Bakery on the prepared foods side is legit French. Somewhere between Frog's and the fish place is a legit French cheese monger who will drain you dry but you'll die happy!
> 
> Okra leaves are now in season and very popular at our house. $2.50.


Do they actually sell okra leaves? I'll have to try and grow some okra. Sapphire will eat okra but it's hard to find fresh ones here. Possibly he would enjoy the leaves too.


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## RosemaryDW

Cathie G said:


> Do they actually sell okra leaves? I'll have to try and grow some okra. Sapphire will eat okra but it's hard to find fresh ones here. Possibly he would enjoy the leaves too.


Oh shoot, I should have said bush okra; not the okra we think of here. It is a relative of okra, in the mallow family. It does have an edible fruit but the leaves—which have the okra slime—are more commonly eaten. One puts it in stews and such as a thickener.

Bush okra is also known as jute mallow, dried jute being used to make twine among other things. But it is sold at this market as okra.

But yes, he would likely enjoy regular okra leaves as well, mine does. They look closer to hibiscus leaves, which are mallows as well. Some of our neighbors grow okra in the community garden and will sometimes have plants going as late as December.


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## Cathie G

RosemaryDW said:


> Oh shoot, I should have said bush okra; not the okra we think of here. It is a relative of okra, in the mallow family. It does have an edible fruit but the leaves—which have the okra slime—are more commonly eaten. One puts it in stews and such as a thickener.
> 
> Bush okra is also known as jute mallow, dried jute being used to make twine among other things. But it is sold at this market as okra.
> 
> But yes, he would likely enjoy regular okra leaves as well, mine does. They look closer to hibiscus leaves, which are mallows as well. Some of our neighbors grow okra in the community garden and will sometimes have plants going as late as December.


Thank you so much. I personally love okra myself . And so does Sapphire  I'll have to check out the jute mallow too. Seems to me if the vines can be dried for jute, the leaves have to be pretty high in fiber also. If he doesn't like it more for me


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## RosemaryDW

Cathie G said:


> Thank you so much. I personally love okra myself . And so does Sapphire  I'll have to check out the jute mallow too. Seems to me if the vines can be dried for jute, the leaves have to be pretty high in fiber also. If he doesn't like it more for me


They are definitely fibrous but not as much as "real" okra leaves. Much thinner leaves although she eats the smaller stems as well. Regular okra looks more like its hibiscus cousin to me and perhaps less likely to wilt? All mallows are good so I'm happy with any I can get!


----------

