These can be frozen, thawed, and retain good texture!

Prairie Mom

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Just giving a brief update...

I can't tell you guys how pleased I am to have begun freezing these foods! Winter comes quickly where I live and my tortoise has been living off of food that I preserved for her for quite some time now.

She is eating like a QUEEN! So many of the grass and flowers I've frozen and discussed in this thread have been thawing so close to the fresh food! It is wonderful! The chopped and frozen squash vines are a big hit and she loves having bags of frozen grass after eating my own dried hay lawn clippings after a few days.

I mentioned in my first post that I was uncertain about the Sunflower leaves, and I do think those are not good when thawed. Yes, they retain their texture, but they change color and have an odd smell. My tortoise isn't going for them and she is NOT PICKY whatsoever. I bet they would be fine dried though.

Hooray for preserving for winter!!!:D Free healthy varied tortoise food!
 
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Oxalis

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Thanks for putting this together. Great work! :D I swear I've seen some Viola spp. that are actually perennial but I can't seem to find them. I'm partial to shopping on Prairie Moon Nursery since they have so many native species available. Where do you shop for your plants, @Prairie Mom?
 

Oxalis

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Thanks for putting this together. Great work! :D I swear I've seen some Viola spp. that are actually perennial but I can't seem to find them. I'm partial to shopping on Prairie Moon Nursery since they have so many native species available. Where do you shop for your plants, @Prairie Mom?
I did find some good ones on Prairie Moon Nursery that share a native home in Michigan, so I'll probably just order a bunch and seed bomb the yard. Woo! XD
 

Prairie Mom

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Where do you shop for your plants, @Prairie Mom?
Ya know, I'm afraid my answer is pretty boring...I shop everywhere:D -I have a few local nurseries that my family takes me too for my birthday every year:), gardening sections of stores like Walmart and Home Depot, and If I'm looking for something really specific, I've been known to simply type: "buy <name of plant>" into google and check prices on whatever shows up. I've bought quite a few of my garden seeds from "Jung" catalogue and "Gurney's". -They're cheapo catalogues that come in the mail every winter, but their seeds always work for me. I'll have to poke around the website you linked. Thanks!
 

Oxalis

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Ya know, I'm afraid my answer is pretty boring...I shop everywhere:D -I have a few local nurseries that my family takes me too for my birthday every year:), gardening sections of stores like Walmart and Home Depot, and If I'm looking for something really specific, I've been known to simply type: "buy <name of plant>" into google and check prices on whatever shows up. I've bought quite a few of my garden seeds from "Jung" catalogue and "Gurney's". -They're cheapo catalogues that come in the mail every winter, but their seeds always work for me. I'll have to poke around the website you linked. Thanks!
Hey, that's great -- convenient location and a good price! We've bought lots of seeds from Lowe's too; in fact, we call it "the toy store" because we're up there almost once a week (at least it seems like that), since there's always something to fix or alter around the house, right? Oh, home-ownership...! :rolleyes: We have a pretty good nursery nearby, but it can be expensive at times. I was SUPER excited to get my native Michigan Hibiscus moscheutos there last summer! Anything for my spoiled tort! The reason I'm interested in Prairie Moon is because the fiance is getting some native ornamental grasses from there. Apparently some seeds for it from another company were the wrong seeds! :eek: He may have tried another source too, so he's getting a bit frustrated with that. Anyway, I'm not the best judge on which of these plants websites are legit. Awesome, I'll take a look at Jung and Gurney's too. ;) Thanks!
 

amcgath04

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Just giving a brief update...

I can't tell you guys how pleased I am to have begun freezing these foods! Winter comes quickly where I live and my tortoise has been living off of food that I preserved for her for quite some time now.

She is eating like a QUEEN! So many of the grass and flowers I've frozen and discussed in this thread have been thawing so close to the fresh food! It is wonderful! The chopped and frozen squash vines are a big hit and she loves having bags of frozen grass after eating my own dried hay lawn clippings after a few days.

I mentioned in my first post that I was uncertain about the Sunflower leaves, and I do think those are not good when thawed. Yes, they retain their texture, but they change color and have an odd smell. My tortoise isn't going for them and she is NOT PICKY whatsoever. I bet they would be fine dried though.

Hooray for preserving for winter!!!:D Free healthy varied tortoise food!
Thanks for all the useful info! Has anyone tried clover or hosta leaves?
 

Linhdan Nguyen

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I have a lot of broadleaf plantain growing here. I think im going to try freezing these once i do some research on them.
I didn't see this as part of the plants you've frozen. Before i try, has anyone else tried broadleaf plantain ?
 

Prairie Mom

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I have a lot of broadleaf plantain growing here. I think im going to try freezing these once i do some research on them.
I didn't see this as part of the plants you've frozen. Before i try, has anyone else tried broadleaf plantain ?
Please test it out and post your results here! I have some plantain growing in my lawn. I've been drying them along with my grass clippings, but would be curious if they freeze well too.
 

Oxalis

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Please test it out and post your results here! I have some plantain growing in my lawn. I've been drying them along with my grass clippings, but would be curious if they freeze well too.
I doubt it; the leaves I pull from mine seem to go bad within minutes! But maybe if you get them in the freezer super quickly it could work? I'd love to read your findings if you have the time to do the research! :D
 

Linhdan Nguyen

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I doubt it; the leaves I pull from mine seem to go bad within minutes! But maybe if you get them in the freezer super quickly it could work? I'd love to read your findings if you have the time to do the research! :D
Really? Mine are fine. Ive put them in the fridge and theyre 97% the same as in the ground. Slightly flimsy is all.
 

Linhdan Nguyen

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Broadleaf Plantain. So i thawed 4 leaves on June 29. Yesterday i took one out ( July 7) and the color darkened alot. I let it thaw some and the texture is almost the same. Its a bit more elastic-y than a fresh plant. Max and Khaleesi had no problem eating up the thawed leaves. The frozen plantain dried up much quicker than the fresh one. But i will definitely freeze these before winter comes.
ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1468000305.358332.jpgon the left, a fresh plantain, on the right, a frozen then thawed one.
 

Oxalis

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Broadleaf Plantain. So i thawed 4 leaves on June 29. Yesterday i took one out ( July 7) and the color darkened alot. I let it thaw some and the texture is almost the same. Its a bit more elastic-y than a fresh plant. Max and Khaleesi had no problem eating up the thawed leaves. The frozen plantain dried up much quicker than the fresh one. But i will definitely freeze these before winter comes.
View attachment 179620on the left, a fresh plantain, on the right, a frozen then thawed one.
Awesome! Maybe I should start freezing some greens for the winter. I think I need a larger freezer though... ;)
 

Prairie Mom

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Broadleaf Plantain. So i thawed 4 leaves on June 29. Yesterday i took one out ( July 7) and the color darkened alot. I let it thaw some and the texture is almost the same. Its a bit more elastic-y than a fresh plant. Max and Khaleesi had no problem eating up the thawed leaves. The frozen plantain dried up much quicker than the fresh one. But i will definitely freeze these before winter comes.
View attachment 179620on the left, a fresh plantain, on the right, a frozen then thawed one.
Hooray! Thanks for posting your experiment! This is a great addition.:D
 

Prairie Mom

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Awesome! Maybe I should start freezing some greens for the winter. I think I need a larger freezer though... ;)
Not a bad idea actually. I'm already drying lawn clippings for next winter. I also do have a freezer in the garage that I filled with frozen tortoise food last year. Right now, it's full of popsicles:D , but is seriously handy for freezing good food for the beasties.
 
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