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.
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.