phebe121
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Wow! That's amazing!
Ya she cool would sit on the steps with you and one day she.stopped comming i just assumed she passed away
Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫
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Ya she cool would sit on the steps with you and one day she.stopped comming i just assumed she passed away
Prairie Mom
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awww...that's probably true, but what a great story!
Prairie Mom
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Trying out Huckleberries
Well, I have to admit that I've never actually eaten Huckleberries. I hope we're in for a treat.
The main reason I'm trying them out is that I've been on the lookout for plants that can produce fruit/food in part shade. I have so much shade in my yard and really want to make the most of my growing space. I hope these won't disappoint. We LOVE picking berries. It sounds like I'll need to add lots of organic matter (not a problem because I mulch with free bark from the chopper at the city dump.) It sounds like I'll also need to acidify my alkaline soil a bit---also not a problem because I have some acidifier that I use on hydrangeas.
I ordered from a company that I've never heard of before... http://www.forestfarm.com/ They were willing to ship during times when I can't typically have plants sent to me and their selection is amazing for hard to find berries. Blue Mountain Huckleberries don't seem easy to come by.
They shipped them in these tubes that I've never seen before and gave me a free plant-Yay!
They're obviously really small, but since these were hard to find...beggars can't be choosers.
Despite their small size, the roots are really strong. I abused these plants horribly and left them sitting in these tubes WAAAAY LONGER than I'd like to admit
I'm going to move them under my grow lights shortly and hope they'll grow bigger and stronger for my Spring planting...
Well, I have to admit that I've never actually eaten Huckleberries. I hope we're in for a treat.
The main reason I'm trying them out is that I've been on the lookout for plants that can produce fruit/food in part shade. I have so much shade in my yard and really want to make the most of my growing space. I hope these won't disappoint. We LOVE picking berries. It sounds like I'll need to add lots of organic matter (not a problem because I mulch with free bark from the chopper at the city dump.) It sounds like I'll also need to acidify my alkaline soil a bit---also not a problem because I have some acidifier that I use on hydrangeas.
I ordered from a company that I've never heard of before... http://www.forestfarm.com/ They were willing to ship during times when I can't typically have plants sent to me and their selection is amazing for hard to find berries. Blue Mountain Huckleberries don't seem easy to come by.
They shipped them in these tubes that I've never seen before and gave me a free plant-Yay!
They're obviously really small, but since these were hard to find...beggars can't be choosers.
Despite their small size, the roots are really strong. I abused these plants horribly and left them sitting in these tubes WAAAAY LONGER than I'd like to admit
I'm going to move them under my grow lights shortly and hope they'll grow bigger and stronger for my Spring planting...
phebe121
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Good luck
Prairie Mom
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What's the phrase?...
"Reduce, Re-use, Recyle" -Gotcha! Thanks, Bill Nye
Right now, there's a layer of potting soil dusting everything and various weird objects around my kitchen and dining room, as I continue to plant seeds, seeds, and more seeds for both tortoise food and summer gardening. It took me a short time to notice and kind of laugh at myself about how half the stuff I'm using to plant in is garbage. I thought I'd share some of my favorite garbage---I MEAN: "RE-PURPOSED GARDENING MATIERIALS"---and ask what everybody else does?
This is just a tiny bit of what I'm working with today. I'm not showing you the piles of junk in various stacks through out the room In this photo, you can see that I'm re-using older planters, various kitty litter supplies, take-out food containers from Appleby's (thanks hubby, the rib-lets were delicious) , an unsafe water dish that makes a pretty enclosure planter, and empty butter & dishwasher tablet containers. You can also barely make out a box of Jiffy pellet refills that I've come to depend on for a lot of my seed starting.
Favorite "garbage" Seed Starter Trays
(I'll keep anything "flat-ish" with a lid)
-*Re-use Jiffy grow kits and buy the refill pellets every year
-Restaurant take out platters
-Vegetable tray party platters from the grocery store
-Plastic cake/cupcake containers from the grocery store
-Clear berry containers
-Butter and dishwasher tab containers make great little sprout planters
-Re-used planters from the flower nursery
Also, there's another thread right now where planting inside eggshells is being discussed: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/planting-in-egg-shells.109629/#post-1021029
This take-out box is full of peat moss pellets and is about to be seeded and have the lid put on for a nice green house effect.
This poor choice of a water dish will look great in a corner stuffed with grass, weeds, and edible flowers
Soda bottles:
The vessels for these sweet nectars of death are so useful!
-As pots for seedlings (earlier in the thread @Turtulas-Len posted an even better way to use soda bottles for seeds)
-Frost cloches (to cover young plants in bad weather)
-Insect shields (push them down in the dirt to keep away cut worms and other pests that find your veg at night)
Panty hose:
<WHI-WHEEW!!!!!>
-Plant ties (they expand safely for the growing plant)
-Rinse sprouts - (haven't done this yet) A friend just told me that she puts old pantyhose over the lid of her glass jars full of sprouts (wheat, barley,etc) and uses it as a no-hassle way to fill and strain water from her sprouting jars.
-Insect barrier for cauliflower and broccoli
Litter box buckets:
The magical poop buckets with so many uses!!
-Soaking coco coir bricks
-Sturdy pots if you drill holes in the bottom
-Hauling manure, soil, & other organic matter
-Storing kitchen compost under sink
These red spray-painted litter buckets do a great job growing my sugar snap peas every year
And check out this cool video on how to make upside down tomato planters from
kitty litter buckets----->
I'm curious what do other people repurpose for their gardening and
tortoise food?
"Reduce, Re-use, Recyle" -Gotcha! Thanks, Bill Nye
Right now, there's a layer of potting soil dusting everything and various weird objects around my kitchen and dining room, as I continue to plant seeds, seeds, and more seeds for both tortoise food and summer gardening. It took me a short time to notice and kind of laugh at myself about how half the stuff I'm using to plant in is garbage. I thought I'd share some of my favorite garbage---I MEAN: "RE-PURPOSED GARDENING MATIERIALS"---and ask what everybody else does?
This is just a tiny bit of what I'm working with today. I'm not showing you the piles of junk in various stacks through out the room
In this photo, you can see that I'm re-using older planters, various kitty litter supplies, take-out food containers from Appleby's (thanks hubby, the rib-lets were delicious) , an unsafe water dish that makes a pretty enclosure planter, and empty butter & dishwasher tablet containers. You can also barely make out a box of Jiffy pellet refills that I've come to depend on for a lot of my seed starting.Favorite "garbage" Seed Starter Trays
(I'll keep anything "flat-ish" with a lid)
-*Re-use Jiffy grow kits and buy the refill pellets every year
-Restaurant take out platters
-Vegetable tray party platters from the grocery store
-Plastic cake/cupcake containers from the grocery store
-Clear berry containers
-Butter and dishwasher tab containers make great little sprout planters
-Re-used planters from the flower nursery
Also, there's another thread right now where planting inside eggshells is being discussed: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/planting-in-egg-shells.109629/#post-1021029
This take-out box is full of peat moss pellets and is about to be seeded and have the lid put on for a nice green house effect.
This poor choice of a water dish will look great in a corner stuffed with grass, weeds, and edible flowers
Soda bottles:
The vessels for these sweet nectars of death are so useful!
-As pots for seedlings (earlier in the thread @Turtulas-Len posted an even better way to use soda bottles for seeds)
-Frost cloches (to cover young plants in bad weather)
-Insect shields (push them down in the dirt to keep away cut worms and other pests that find your veg at night)
Panty hose:
<WHI-WHEEW!!!!!>
-Plant ties (they expand safely for the growing plant)
-Rinse sprouts - (haven't done this yet) A friend just told me that she puts old pantyhose over the lid of her glass jars full of sprouts (wheat, barley,etc) and uses it as a no-hassle way to fill and strain water from her sprouting jars.
-Insect barrier for cauliflower and broccoli
Litter box buckets:
The magical poop buckets with so many uses!!
-Soaking coco coir bricks
-Sturdy pots if you drill holes in the bottom
-Hauling manure, soil, & other organic matter
-Storing kitchen compost under sink
These red spray-painted litter buckets do a great job growing my sugar snap peas every year
And check out this cool video on how to make upside down tomato planters from
kitty litter buckets----->
I'm curious what do other people repurpose for their gardening and
tortoise food?
Last edited:
phebe121
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I do the same thing the plants in my torts cages are in Chinese food containers lol you have to reuse people pollute the earth enough lol
phebe121
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Some of my plants
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Rick's Sullivan
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@phebe121 I couldn't get the thumbnails to enlarge for me. What's in the fishbowls? And are any of the plants you're showing tort friendly?
phebe121
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There glass domes for air plants and some of the plants in the pics are tort friendly like the purple heart wandering jew and spider plant i heard the desert rose and bougainvillea plant are also ok for some torts
phebe121
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And the mother in laws tounge is aswell
I like to plant seeds in the empty spring mix containers...or strawberry containers. Those clear plastic containers that the grocery store calls "clam shells." (Mini greenhouses)
phebe121
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Me, too! Plus the litter buckets. Old pails, dishpans, litter boxes, a metal mop bucket with wheels, an even an old coffee pot.
I think #1 is in the haworthia family. #17 might be Japanese aralia (??)
phebe121
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Yes 17 is that Japanese aralia i know its been on this site before
Prairie Mom
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Shannon, you have quite an impressive variety of houseplants. I'm a sucker for cute little things in terrariums. I think that is the only way I could ever have indoor plants that survive my cat onslaught. You have some cute inventive little planters too
Great fun! Keep showing off your stuff, Orchid Goddess (that's your new nick-name, by the way! ha ha ha!)
You may want to compare it to Philodendron siloum. I think that is what it is... If that is the case, torts may nibble on it. It has a very high oxalate concentration.
Prairie Mom
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I love that you said it's okay to be "nibbled on" and gave the explanation about the oxalates rather than just treating it like it is a poison plant of death
I'm new at this, but I strongly suspect tortoise diets could be a lot more varied and nutritious if we just relaxed a bit and monitored the portions of the types of foods we offer our little beasties.
