Growing Weeds for CDT

[gabby.santana]

Hello Everyone I want to begin growing weeds for my tortoise. My backyard and other places around town have a great supply of weeds that are naturally growing and I wanted to know which types of weeds are safe?? I have checked online sources and other threads but so far all I have been able to gather is that dandelions are great for them and I was hoping there would much more other types of weeds that would be safe. Thanks.

 

[Kenno]

Dandelions are your best bet! Easy to grow and apparently delicious!
I grew a couple of kinds of Sonoran weed mixes, but the desert torts didn't really like them and preferred grass.

 

[keepergale]

This time of year Mallow is popping up all over the place. Tortoises love it. Sow Thistle is also a favorite winter weed.

 

[elzie77]

This time of year Mallow is popping up all over the place. Tortoises love it. Sow Thistle is also a favorite winter weed.

Hi there, do you mean the thistle with the purple flowers and the pricklies or sharp stickers? Do they eat the entire plant or just some of it?

 

[keepergale]

The Sow Thistle has yellow flowers. A little like a Dandelion flower. Do a quick Google search. There are lots of photos.

 

[Tom]

Here is a short starter list of some of the SoCal weeds I use and grow all over my ranch:

mallow
dandelion
sow thistle
milk thistle
regular thistle (AKA spear thistle)
broadleaf plantain
narrow leaf plantain
filaree
hawk bit
hawk beard
fiddle neck (only before it goes to seed)
assorted clovers (be sure its not oxalis)
wild mustard
wild onion
wild garlic

And there are a bunch more that I know by sight, but can't remember the names.

Also look into planting gazania, nasturtiums, grape vines, lavatera, regular and blue hibiscus, roses, rose of sharon, cape honeysuckle, spineless opuntia cactus pads, fruitless mulberry trees, alfalfa, petunias, pansies, hollyhock, anything in the squash family, peas, carrot tops, and so many more.

And this one is super good here too: "Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes

 

[Lyn W]

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk will help you ID plants by name/pictures and tell you which are tort safe. Some think they are over cautious but as a beginner gardener/weed harvester I have found it to be a good guide.

 

[Ciri]

You might like to check out this list of healthy foods for hatchlings. "The hatchling diet should contain about twice the protein and half the fiber content of the adult diet until the third year." See:
http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/hatchling.shtml

Native foods for desert tortoises (California and Sonoran desert tortoises are cared for the same):
http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/documents/NativePlantsforDesertTortoises_2008.pdf

A good source of seeds (they even have a desert tortoise wildflower mix):
http://shop.nativeseeds.org/pages/seeds

As mentioned in a previous post, mallows are great too.

 

[Kenno]

Here's an update on my Sonoran weed garden:
I used two separate commercial Sonoran weed mixes last summer. They grew in very quickly and my three desert torts seemed to enjoy tasting each new thing as it grew in, but eventually they went back to the regular weeds and grass here (south of Los Angeles).
Over the winter the weed patch grew to be a foot or two tall, so we cut it back to ground level. Now it's growing in again, and the first CDT out of hibernation has been grazing through the new growth. I'll add some seeds and see what is the most popular.

 

[Yelloweyed]

@Kenno What is the seed mix called that you used?

I have three CDTs and would like a wider variety of plants. I currently use Tortoise Supply broadleaf weed mix.