Planting your own food question..

[KaraJ]

Good afternoon. We were looking at planting some items for our hatchling Sulcatas and hopefully the plants will grow as they do. I was wondering, does anyone have an opinion on seeds/roots vs. plants that are already established? Other than the obvious time consideration

Also, if we were only going to buy just a few off of Tom's list in "For those who have a young Sulcata" (At Least to start with) which ones would you suggest?

One other thing, in the list on that thread it says "Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc..." this may sound silly but our the "blooms" the actually vegetable e.g. the pumkin itself?

Thank You in advance!

 

[Yvonne G]

Squash/pumpkin vines actually start with a pretty yellow flower, which the bees then go inside of and in that process, get the pollen on them. As they go from flower to flower, they pollinate the plant and subsequent 'fruit' or squash or melon or whatever, develops.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/senior/vegetabl/pumpkin4.htm

You can actually plant the seeds you clean out of a pumpkin or squash and they will grow.

 

[lismar79]

Mulberry tree leaves are a great food option and mulberry saplungs are easy to come by and grow. Pasture grass mixes are good too.

 

[Tom]

The problem with buying plants that are already started is that all nurseries nowadays use systemic pesticides to keep the bugs off the plants. These pesticides are absorbed into the plant and it takes a year for them to dissipate. In most cases I prefer to grow my own from seeds, even though it takes longer.

Yvonne did a great job explaining. When I said "blooms" I was referring to the flowers. If these flowers are properly pollinated by the bees, moths, hummingbirds or bats, they can develop into the actual squash that is typically eaten by people. Any part of these plants is edible for tortoises at any time.

 

[rearlpettway]

Here Re the seeds that we grow.
1. GRASSES
Grasses -- either fresh or as grass hay -- should make up at least 75 percent of your sulcata tortoise's diet. You should try to supply as many different grasses or grass hays as you can from the following list:

Tortoise Supply:
This is the grasses seed mix that we like the most for hatchlings and young Sulcata.
This grass mix grows to a short height. After it is clipped it grows very very slow.
http://www.tortoisesupply.com/AfricanGrazerMix

Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html

Sulcata Food:
It grows extremely fast.
The picture is 9 days of growth.
In our hands when this mix is grown in a pot it doesn't regrow very well after it is clipped.
http://www.sulcatafood.com/Seeds.html

Carolina Pet Supply:
The Grazing Tortoise Seed Mix.
This is good for hatchlings, yearlings and adults. http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=41&products_id=179

 

[Juan V]

I personally go with white clover,which is a very cheap kind of grass which is very edible for the animals --> https://www.google.es/search?q=trebol blanco en inglés&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=955&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=gCqkVLPDBoLtUv7YgbgC&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=trebol blanco&imgdii=_

I also like to give them dandelions and Hibiscus flowers which they devour. In winter my hibiscus isn't flowering but in spring and summer it constantly gives me like 2 or 3 flowers per day.

you can find any of these seeds in gardening stores and shops, i don't know the name of any of these place's names in the us