Growing Veggies & Flowers for the Rabbits

[Boz]

I'd really like to grow (or try to grow) some veggies and flowers for the bunnies! My biggest problem is finding them! :twitch:

I was at the store looking at seeds and theirs Lettuces with names I've never heard of! Can't they just have Roman Lettuce? Or Basil... there's different ones! Same with Dill! And Sunflower!

This is what I found:

Lettuce:
Vivian
Litter Cesar
Black-Deeded Simpson
Green Ice
Lollo Rossa
Simpson Elite

Basil:
Lemon
Mammoth
Sweet
Genevieve
Plain (Package just says Basil)

Dill:
Fernleaf
Mammoth

See? It's all these named I'm never heard of!

 

[Hazel-Mom]

But they're all good! There's actually a lot more kinds of Basil, and of lettuce, but it doesn't really matter.

All Basils are good, just ask Hazel She loves all 10 kinds we've grown over the years

All lettuces you mention are leafy lettuces, many related to Romaine, or the green-leaf kind. So those are ok too.

Both dills are good as well, the mammoth is just what it implies: Huge. It grows into a big bush, but is just as edible as the "regular" dill. We had some growing at the school/daycare where I used to work, and I couldn't keep the kids away from it, they liked it so much they killed it!

So try any of those, or try them all. The more variety the better

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Great post and good reply, Hazel-Mom.

We have to get started on our bunny garden this year. I think I will find some Dill & Basil to plant! Never thought of that before...

Emily

 

[Dublinperky]

I started a garden for my bunnies! That is helpful to know what all those names are they confuse me so much. So far in my garden I have dill, lemon balm, mint, parsley, and basil.

Aly!

 

[Boz]

Awesome! I just didn't know if different ones were safe or not.

I did see more different types of Basil at another store today. I was like... jeez!

Can rabbits have spearmint or rosemary? :?

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Yes, both of those. You'll have to see whether yours like rosemary, Hazel doesn't. She only eats the flowers of it.
Also oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram, and different kinds of mint: regular mint, peppermint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, apple mint, orange mint, and basil mint.

Hazel has her own "candy garden", with Pineapple sage, pineapple mint, apple mint, orange mint, peppermint, lemon thyme, cinnamon basil, lime basil, lemon basil, sweet basil, licorice basil, "licorice mint" (anise hyssop).

She loves her treats, flowers and all

 

[Boz]

Thanks!
I need to make a huge list of all of this and print it out so I have it all when I go shopping!

 

[BethM]

Hazel-Mom wrote:

Hazel has her own "candy garden", with Pineapple sage, pineapple mint, apple mint, orange mint, peppermint, lemon thyme, cinnamon basil, lime basil, lemon basil, sweet basil, licorice basil, "licorice mint" (anise hyssop).

She loves her treats, flowers and all

Hazel is a lucky girl, to have such a delicious garden, and a human to tend it for her!


My bunnies like basil (I usually get the Globe basil) and peppermint.
I usually eat the rosemary before they can get any. :blushan:

I never thought to give them thyme, I might see if they like it this year.


When you're planting your seeds, make sure you read the back of each packet to make sure you're planting them in the correct sun, and they get the correct water.

 

[DeniseJP]

I love dill and basil - we did pickles last year from the most successful garden I have had in nine years on a hill in upstate NY with soil that would make great mud houses....

I always grow basil as I like homemade pesto sauce...

Axel, Juno and my future Checkered Giants are going to love the produce here!

I started letting my potbelly pigs into the garden to clear any weeds and weed seeds and to turn the soil over... while hubby was not happy I got them, he could not argue that 2008 was our best garden ever, thanks to Fern & Cider!

Denise

 

[mouse_chalk]

Ooh I wish I'd seen this thread sooner!

We were at the garden centre today and I got some pots of thyme, rosemary, curly and flat leaf parsley, mint and coriander. I got the regular peppermint, but they also had apple mint and spearmint as well. I wasn't sure if they were ok, but now I know they are I might get some when we next go back!

The thyme and the rosemary probably wont make it to the bunnies either I use them a lot in cooking so it was mostly to save money buying them all the time but the others are all (mostly) for the bunnies!

I have terrible luck growing plants though, I'm not entirely sure what to do with these lol.... :?

 

[hartleybun]

:nicethread:bunnydance:an inspiring thread. im going to look into what can be grown in pots and tubs. i think the produce will stand a better chance that way what with buns and dogs.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

Hazels mom has been a big help in the garden area for me.

I have to go buy more pots she has helped me so much. I have a lot of the ones she has. Just started but it will help the budgcta lot and give storm more of a variety. Cause I will be able to give him more.

 

[BethM]

Today I went to the store where I found beautiful potted herb starts last week, but I couldn't find the herbs anywhere. Despite the fact that there were garden center staff milling around everywhere, no one asked to help me.

I did swing by the seed section, though. I did pick up arugula and carrot seeds. Hooray! Arugula is sold mostly in the herb section, in tiny, expensive, useless packages. (How are you supposed to make a salad with 4 leaves?) The carrots are supposed to be very small, and I just want the green tops for bunnies to eat.

Last year, I grew basil, rosemary, spearmint, chives, oregano, and sage, all in pots, but I didn't use the last two very often. So I will be putting the arugula and carrots in the biggest pots I have, and hoping for the best.
(My chives came back this year, and are growing like crazy! Next nice day, I plan on harvesting them, chopping them up, letting them sit just until dry, and putting them in a dry, empty water bottle, then tossing in the freezer. Just shake out to use.)

It was cold and rainy today, but potting soil is on my list to get next week. It is still too cold to plant the rosemary and mint, but I can start the seeds. (The last frost date her is mid-May.)

 

[Hazel-Mom]

BethM wrote:

Hazel-Mom wrote:

Hazel has her own "candy garden", with Pineapple sage, pineapple mint, apple mint, orange mint, peppermint, lemon thyme, cinnamon basil, lime basil, lemon basil, sweet basil, licorice basil, "licorice mint" (anise hyssop).

She loves her treats, flowers and all

Hazel is a lucky girl, to have such a delicious garden, and a human to tend it for her!

Yes, Hazel is lucky to live here, in the Central Valley in California
Ther's something green growing for her in our yard most of the year. She can't wait for summer though, when the basils really start growing .
We already have several mints, (I forgot to mention chocolate mint in her candy garden), and most of the herbs are growing like crazy too.

Jen, you'll love the apple mint, your bunnies too! It has very big, soft leaves. It's Hazel's favorite. You can make tea from it for yourself, and candy the leaves. I just found a recipe for that that I'm going to try soon.

Word of warning, though. If you do plant mint, plant it in a pot. Otherwise, it will take over your garden! My husband made the mistake last year to roto-till over our chocolate mint, and now I'm pulling it out everywhere, LOL. But it will spread like crazy without tilling over it too, so put it somewhere it can be contained .

 

[mouse_chalk]

Luckily (or unluckily maybe lol) we rent, so we have to plant stuff in pots, so it will have to be contained! I guess I'll be going out buying bigger pots soon though lol!

What is the regular kind of mint that you can buy in supermarkets? Because I'm more likely to use that for cooking myself, as well as feeding the bunnies, so it'll have a double use. And could I grow more than one type of mint in the same big pot?

And (sorry for all the questions lol) when you pick it, where do you cut? For example, with Basil, I read somewhere that you should pick the new leaves, then I read somewhere else that if you cut it right down it just grows back again? :expressionless I don't have Basil yet, but was wondering about the parsley and coriander etc...

 

[BethM]

mouse_chalk wrote:

What is the regular kind of mint that you can buy in supermarkets? Because I'm more likely to use that for cooking myself, as well as feeding the bunnies, so it'll have a double use. And could I grow more than one type of mint in the same big pot?

And (sorry for all the questions lol) when you pick it, where do you cut? For example, with Basil, I read somewhere that you should pick the new leaves, then I read somewhere else that if you cut it right down it just grows back again? :expressionless I don't have Basil yet, but was wondering about the parsley and coriander etc...

My supermarket sells spearmint and peppermint. I prefer spearmint, but that is personal taste. You probably could grow two different ones in the same big pot, just make sure they're different enough you can tell them apart to harvest.

For mint and basil both, you can cut the stems pretty far down the stalk. When I do pesto, I'll let my basil grow to about two feet high, then cut all the way back so it's only 8 inches or so. When you cut it, you want to cut right above some leaves. New branches will grow out from where those leaves are. You can shape your plant and make it bushier this way, too. I try not to go down so far as to get the woody part. (Cut stems early to get lots of branching later on.)

For mint, I sometimes give mine a summer "haircut," and just go straight across the whole plant, only leaving a few inches. It usually comes back from there. (Mine don't overwinter, so if it doesn't come back for me it's no big deal.) I don't know if you'd want to be this drastic with it, but you can cut the stems pretty far down.

Not sure about parsley and coriander, though.

 

[Boz]

Yay for all the info!

I can't wait to start growing! My dad is always grows green beans and tomatoes but since this year since he doesn't have the house to work on he wants to try other stuff. So I'll have him to help me!

I have some dill seeds already from last year when my mom bought dill for the bunnies at the farmer's market. I'll try those first!

Does anyone have any hints to help with the growing?

Oh and I lucked out! We have Raspberries here! When we moved here the patch was a little, but now it's huge! We have so many raspberries! My dad picks them every couple of days. The rabbits will love to have those as treats and the leaves are great too! We also have an apple tree. We don't spray either of those with anything. My rabbits get apple branches often.

 

[mouse_chalk]

I don't know why I've never thought of this before. My parents have a big apple tree in their garden!!!!

We used to climb in it when we were kids, it's never had pesticides or anything on it and they prune it regularly!

I'm so dumb for not realising... :foreheadsmack:

We're round there on Sunday for dinner... I'm going to take some trimmers to the tree :biggrin2:

 

[Boz]

I got some seeds today! I found Endive, Romaine (it was called something else but in parentheses it said Romaine), and Parsley. I wanted to try and pre-grow some plants before planting them outside and see how that goes.

Marley has had all three veggies without problems too (she's got a stomach of steal ). The other three bunnies are currently not getting veggies (except as a rare treat) until I bond them all together. Dolla and Domino used to get them but after Dolla's gas episodes I stopped all together! Once they are all bonded I'll slowly start introducing veggies. Especially with Dolla. REALLY slow for her!

 

[naturestee]

Hey Boz, you can feed the raspberry leaves too! Just scratch off any thorns. Mmm, mmm good. Same with apple leaves.

Bunny poop is the world's best fertilizer. Seriously. I use a small waste basket and scoop the poops into it, then dump the wet litter in the garbage like normal. You can compost the wet litter if you want, it's just not the greatest idea to put it directly into the garden.

If you like radishes, radish greens are a favorite around here. Other plants where we eat one part and the buns can have the other are kohlrabi, carrots, broccoli, and peas (I give my buns the empty shells as a treat, lol!).

Caan's has a fantastic selection of plants. It's a good place to find, say, just one plant of pineapple sage or chocolate mint if you want to try them.

When I trim my most of my herbs, I usually leave 2 nodes or so. Nodes= where leaves come out of stems. The plants will regrow from buds in those nodes. Regular trimming should make them more bushy instead of one tall, single stem. With parsley and cilantro, I take several stems from each plant but make sure to leave several also. They usually grow back really well for me.