Guinea pig garden

spikes mom

Post   » Thu Apr 07, 2005 4:35 pm


Parsley is great once it is established. I noticed that it is coming back this year which made me very happy.

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smiley
Just Do It

Post   » Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:26 pm


Thanks RB, we shall see if I want to go through all the trauma again. There are other bugs that are even more effective than the ladybugs. I took a class on all the varieties, too bad we can't buy in bulk.

You are right about baby ladybugs, they go through like 3 or 4 moltings until they become the 'real' thing. Those little buggers eat a TON of nasty aphids though. Had a great time watching them one year.

aqh88

Post   » Thu Apr 07, 2005 11:14 pm


You can order ladybugs and other bugs online in bulk.. I just don't remember the site. I'm planting peppers, looseleaf lettuce, cilantro, a little parsley, basil, chives, and catnip this year. Along with a wildflower, columbine, and fox glove patch. I'm hatching out guinea fowl to eat the bugs. They don't scratch the dirt like chickens and absolutely love bugs as well as weed seeds. Can't wait for my cute little guinea keets to hatch and keep my garden bug free. The only down side is they are somewhat noisy and also enjoy eating some veggies. They especially like tomatos, so I have to watch what I grow. Hopefully the peppers won't be in danger. The lettuce and peppers have made their appearance in the seed box inside. Haven't even started digging up the garden outside to plant them yet but I start with working in some horse manure off the pile and the used carbon from my fish filter. Aquarium carbon is wonderful fertilizer especially after soaking up the excess phosphates and nutrients in the water. I've been dumping the guinea pig bedding/droppings from cage cleaning on the garden area since last fall.

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lisam

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 12:20 am


Here's a recent thread on gardening in general, but it has lots of good ideas for stuff for the pigs.

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SmileyAli
Supporter in '05

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 3:43 am


Grass.

My lawn is just one big veggie supply to the pigs. I've given it an early spring top dressing of guinea pig poop and it's growing like you would not believe.

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Webs
Cavies 'n Cobwebs

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:34 am


Me too, but my grass was cut at the weekend and fed this week so the pigs are sulking as they're not getting any at the moment! I grow parsley in tubs too, but after the ideas here I may branch out!

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SmileyAli
Supporter in '05

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 7:47 am


I'm growing cucumbers this year. I have two female variety seedlings on my kitchen window ledge awaiting weather warm enough to go out in my greenhouse. Not sure what the pigs will make of these, home grown cucumbers have a thicker skin and somehow taste different to the supermarket brands.

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pevensiev

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:19 am


I had a huge amount of cucumbers last year and my pig was resistant to eat them at first. Because I had so many I would just keep throwing in a bit until he finally ate them (begrugingly or not, I will never know). I am crazy and remove the skin and seeds.

aqh- I didn't know that about the aquarium filter. What about aquarium water? I remember stumbling across something about using that in the garden last year but I didnt' have an aquarium then.

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Alicia Corey

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 10:57 am


I suck at keeping any plants alive, but I would love to try gardening now that I have seven piggies. How do you separate the Aspen bedding from the poop, or do you just throw it all in the garden? Also, my pigs don't really seem to like parsley, but they love cilantro, do they have the same nutritional value? Have you all heard about spinach being bad for piggies? I have heard that it builds up some sort of toxin in their body and they can die, is this true? And with veggies like Kale, do we just give them the leafy part or is it okay to give the stem too? I have been giving all of it.

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smiley
Just Do It

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 11:32 am


I throw all of it in. I was told too much sawdust can remove the nitrogen out of the soil....but it is also a great mulch. Too much spinach is bad, everything in moderation. Some of mine like the stems of kale, some don't.

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lisam

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 11:33 am


Yes, you can give the stem, too.

As for the aspen bedding: Wood takes awhile to decompose, and it also needs nitrogen for that. So, while it is decomposing, it takes away nitrogen that your plants desparately need to grow. It would be better to compost it beforehand. Start a compost bin or pile. Add your soiled bedding, grass clippings from the lawn, and any fruit or vegetable waste from the kitchen. Turn it from time to time, and eventually it will be decomposed enough for the garden.

Or, you could use it as mulch instead, in the pathways of your garden, or around the flowers in your flower bed.

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pevensiev

Post   » Fri Apr 08, 2005 12:59 pm


Spinach contains alot of calcium. My guinea pig gets sluge in his urine from too much calcium so I stay away from it. Always keep a check on your pigs' urine for gritty deposits, white or dark colored. I would say spinach shouldn't be a staple for pigs.

You should try gardening. I find it much easier (though more work if that makes any sense) than houseplants. I kill those left and right. Lettuces are great to put in. Get those little peat pellets that expand when you add water and sprinkle lettuce seeds. You'll get sprouts in no time and then after they get bigger, put them in your garden.

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