Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that.
Thank you for telling me.The Tortoise Chef
- Thread starter Kapidolo Farms
- Start date
Thank you for telling me.
It doesn't feel quite right to post without jsheffield here but I will do it now and again to bump the thread, as it has so much info in one place.
I went to pick weeds by the community garden and while it's fairly green from recent rain, there aren't many large weeds in the field next to it. Common mallow was there, it's always the first plant in the spring. A little wild black radish starting to grow and not much else. No sweet clover, no burr clover, no thistles, no ox-tongue. What's going on here? I finally realize I'm looking at tons of regular white clover. OH MY GOD, we don't get that here, it's too dry so it only grows in heavily watered and mowed lawns. WHAT IS HAPPENING? After some consideration, I decided that having been heavily mowed down here for years (fire risk), the field is now close to a lawn after the rain. It must have migrated over from a cultivated yard. I know most of y'all can find clover anywhere but not me; my tortoise has only had it a couple of times, I was EXCITED and pulled a bunch out by the roots. I wasn't sure she'd eat it so got plenty of mallow as well. Still no thistles so I see what has escaped from the garden that she might eat. Things are tiny but I find a sprout of purple mizuna, an Asian brassica; nasturtium; wood sorrel (oxalis); a couple of beet leaves. I also find a sprig of alyssum, it's that little white flower in the middle. This is a sweet smelling brassica and supposedly a native food from her homeland so I take it to try. There is some arugula that's so peppery I can smell it from a distance and, what's this? A very small head of some kind of red leaf lettuce. She never gets lettuce unless we are clearing out a bag of salad mix but I figure why not give her a treat. I take a little of the wild black mustard as well. She's gotten too spoiled to eat this strong flavored plant but I try it anyway.
I have zero expectation she'll eat the nasturtium or the beet leaf and am correct. The radish, no thanks. The mizuna isn't at all interesting, which surprises me but I'm not the one in charge. She loved the alyssum and ate it down to the root, no hesitation whatsoever; I hope it keeps growing a while longer. She also loves the arugula, even the flowers which she has never cared for.
The clover that I carefully cleaned off and stored? Meh, it didn't change her life. She's like this with most legumes so I won't try again.
I went to pick weeds by the community garden and while it's fairly green from recent rain, there aren't many large weeds in the field next to it. Common mallow was there, it's always the first plant in the spring. A little wild black radish starting to grow and not much else. No sweet clover, no burr clover, no thistles, no ox-tongue. What's going on here? I finally realize I'm looking at tons of regular white clover. OH MY GOD, we don't get that here, it's too dry so it only grows in heavily watered and mowed lawns. WHAT IS HAPPENING? After some consideration, I decided that having been heavily mowed down here for years (fire risk), the field is now close to a lawn after the rain. It must have migrated over from a cultivated yard. I know most of y'all can find clover anywhere but not me; my tortoise has only had it a couple of times, I was EXCITED and pulled a bunch out by the roots. I wasn't sure she'd eat it so got plenty of mallow as well. Still no thistles so I see what has escaped from the garden that she might eat. Things are tiny but I find a sprout of purple mizuna, an Asian brassica; nasturtium; wood sorrel (oxalis); a couple of beet leaves. I also find a sprig of alyssum, it's that little white flower in the middle. This is a sweet smelling brassica and supposedly a native food from her homeland so I take it to try. There is some arugula that's so peppery I can smell it from a distance and, what's this? A very small head of some kind of red leaf lettuce. She never gets lettuce unless we are clearing out a bag of salad mix but I figure why not give her a treat. I take a little of the wild black mustard as well. She's gotten too spoiled to eat this strong flavored plant but I try it anyway.
I have zero expectation she'll eat the nasturtium or the beet leaf and am correct. The radish, no thanks. The mizuna isn't at all interesting, which surprises me but I'm not the one in charge. She loved the alyssum and ate it down to the root, no hesitation whatsoever; I hope it keeps growing a while longer. She also loves the arugula, even the flowers which she has never cared for.
The clover that I carefully cleaned off and stored? Meh, it didn't change her life. She's like this with most legumes so I won't try again.
Never underestimate the power of spring sunshine. After getting past her normal cycle of trying to crawl over a six -foot "blackout gate" (no light gets through) for a week, she opened her palate up and ate the beet, nasturtium and mustard. She hasn't eaten nasturtium for three years... Embraced the beet leaf like it was an old friend. Decided she likes the clover as well. I had to grab some sow thistles to get her through the week. Snuck a little sweet clover in, maybe she'll change her mind on that as well.
I can see it's going to be one of "those" years feeding wise so I went to the nearby field prepared with two grocery bags. Alas, I forgot my scissors and had to kick half the plants free with my foot. Mostly prickly lettuce and mallow, although I did find a few lamb's quarters. It was the rare trip in which I found stinging nettles, which I planned to blanch to remove the prickles. For my sake, not hers. But when I unloaded the bags I found little of what I picked. Hmm. I tell my husband not to rummage through the fridge and hope for the best.
How much food do I bring home? ALL OF IT.
Seem like overkill? Look at this afternoon meal, which had already been removed from the bunch when I took the photo:
Three hours later. The main stem on this plant is at least a half inch thick. Again, this is only some of what she ate today:
Wish me luck for the rest of spring.
How much food do I bring home? ALL OF IT.
Seem like overkill? Look at this afternoon meal, which had already been removed from the bunch when I took the photo:
Three hours later. The main stem on this plant is at least a half inch thick. Again, this is only some of what she ate today:
Wish me luck for the rest of spring.
Trip to a "regular" grocery store: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/trip-to-a-normal-grocery-store.226072/. Go back to the earliest posts on this thread to see how multiple-tortoise owners also use grocery greens as the base of a broad diet; you will note the similarities.
A trip to a fancy Mexican market: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/trip-to-an-“upscale”-mexican-grocery.227000/.
Early summer community garden scraps
We had a college graduation to attend this weekend (yay), so missed our own farmers market. We tried another market on our way back and while it was wonderful, it was more suited to finding BLT fixings than feeding a tortoise. I drove to our community garden to see what might be available.
It was a lucky day for this tortoise. A massive squash plant was somehow hanging on in the heat with no obvious source of water. I picked a handful of male flowers (no baby squash attached), several leaves and stems, and for the heck of it, one immature squash. It took time but I eventually determined it would be a red winter Kuri squash when mature. Like this.
The leaves on the lower right are from some kind of bean. The neighbors mostly grow hyacinth bean and color looks right. She’ll love these.
The small frilly leaves are some kind of wild geranium. Unlikely to be of interest but we’ll try it.
I found a trio of related plants, all in the Ipomoea family. The one with the pink leaves, circled in aqua, is a bindweed. The one in blue is a morning glory. (Yes, morning glory is safe.) And the top plant on the left, circled in red, needed a bit of review, as the camera identified it as both cowpea and then vaguely Ipomoea, no specific plant. I consider what the neighbors might be growing and what they look familiar to. Hmm, my neighbors likely grow both! I finally decide they are some kind of sweet potato. She likes all three of these already, we’ll see what she chooses this week. Most of what I took was bindweed, as there is no doubt she’ll be interested in it.
I took a few random weeds, not worth a picture.
We had a college graduation to attend this weekend (yay), so missed our own farmers market. We tried another market on our way back and while it was wonderful, it was more suited to finding BLT fixings than feeding a tortoise. I drove to our community garden to see what might be available.
It was a lucky day for this tortoise. A massive squash plant was somehow hanging on in the heat with no obvious source of water. I picked a handful of male flowers (no baby squash attached), several leaves and stems, and for the heck of it, one immature squash. It took time but I eventually determined it would be a red winter Kuri squash when mature. Like this.
The leaves on the lower right are from some kind of bean. The neighbors mostly grow hyacinth bean and color looks right. She’ll love these.
The small frilly leaves are some kind of wild geranium. Unlikely to be of interest but we’ll try it.
I found a trio of related plants, all in the Ipomoea family. The one with the pink leaves, circled in aqua, is a bindweed. The one in blue is a morning glory. (Yes, morning glory is safe.) And the top plant on the left, circled in red, needed a bit of review, as the camera identified it as both cowpea and then vaguely Ipomoea, no specific plant. I consider what the neighbors might be growing and what they look familiar to. Hmm, my neighbors likely grow both! I finally decide they are some kind of sweet potato. She likes all three of these already, we’ll see what she chooses this week. Most of what I took was bindweed, as there is no doubt she’ll be interested in it.
I took a few random weeds, not worth a picture.
Time for an annual bump, as she came out of her fridge Friday.
Given she was eating five minutes after her first soak (girl, what!), the handful of weeds I had on hand didn’t last the day. It was too windy to enjoy the idea of a field expedition the next day so we drove to the farmers market, where I took my time to find and purchase small portions of multiple foods. No need to overdo the first week, right?
She got a bit of several things: water spinach; a Snow White bok Choy; pea shoots; zucchini blossoms; edible chrysanthemum (she doesn’t like it but I try anyway); radish leaves; one thick Asian chive; a bit of choy sum the vendor handed me at checkout. At that same vendor I saw a bundle of something that I knew was safe but couldn’t recall exactly what it was. I picked it up, thinking I’d figure it out when I got home. No need, it was stinging nettles! Ouch.
I added in a slice of cucumber from one that is on its last legs; the bottoms cut off from a bundle of asparagus; and a bit of fleshy stem from a fennel bulb. She’s not usually a fan but, eh, why not.
The nettle was the largest portion and didn’t take long for her to reject it. She did okay with some of the other foods but I found her ripping down our beautiful and limited primrose this morning; only her third day awake. Looks like a weed walk will be happening anyway. That, and I’ll be enjoying a nettle frittata. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
Given she was eating five minutes after her first soak (girl, what!), the handful of weeds I had on hand didn’t last the day. It was too windy to enjoy the idea of a field expedition the next day so we drove to the farmers market, where I took my time to find and purchase small portions of multiple foods. No need to overdo the first week, right?
She got a bit of several things: water spinach; a Snow White bok Choy; pea shoots; zucchini blossoms; edible chrysanthemum (she doesn’t like it but I try anyway); radish leaves; one thick Asian chive; a bit of choy sum the vendor handed me at checkout. At that same vendor I saw a bundle of something that I knew was safe but couldn’t recall exactly what it was. I picked it up, thinking I’d figure it out when I got home. No need, it was stinging nettles! Ouch.
I added in a slice of cucumber from one that is on its last legs; the bottoms cut off from a bundle of asparagus; and a bit of fleshy stem from a fennel bulb. She’s not usually a fan but, eh, why not.
The nettle was the largest portion and didn’t take long for her to reject it. She did okay with some of the other foods but I found her ripping down our beautiful and limited primrose this morning; only her third day awake. Looks like a weed walk will be happening anyway. That, and I’ll be enjoying a nettle frittata. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
It’s a good week to be a tortoise: plenty of weeds on the walk to the farmers market, then some interesting things there.
They were selling fresh alfalfa at one stand, which I haven’t seen in years. Alfalfa is fed to livestock; humans usually only see the sprouts? What is a human supposed to do with it? I searched around and found a recipe for cooked greens in bacon grease, like collards. Seems extreme, but I guess if you’re hungry enough. Also used for tea. She liked this legume, which is all that matters.
French dandelions, huge daikon radish leaves, zucchini blossoms, and some leftover Enoki mushrooms are also on the menu. Odds and ends from human food. I’ll throw out some dill, why not.
I’m having to leave things in a lump on the patio as there is a mama hummingbird guarding most of the tiny yard. Five more weeks until everyone leaves the nest!
They were selling fresh alfalfa at one stand, which I haven’t seen in years. Alfalfa is fed to livestock; humans usually only see the sprouts? What is a human supposed to do with it? I searched around and found a recipe for cooked greens in bacon grease, like collards. Seems extreme, but I guess if you’re hungry enough. Also used for tea. She liked this legume, which is all that matters.
French dandelions, huge daikon radish leaves, zucchini blossoms, and some leftover Enoki mushrooms are also on the menu. Odds and ends from human food. I’ll throw out some dill, why not.
I’m having to leave things in a lump on the patio as there is a mama hummingbird guarding most of the tiny yard. Five more weeks until everyone leaves the nest!
Similar threads
New Posts
-
-
-
-
Considering purchasing my wife a tortoise, and I have some noob questions please :-)
- Latest: The_Four_Toed_Edward
-
-
-
-
