Container Garden for Bunny

[Lindsayjgunn]

Hi Everyone, Each summer I have a big container garden on my rooftop in Brooklyn. With the addition of Mowgli to our family, this year I’m planting a bunny garden. Ive planted Bok Choy, Watercress, Carrots, Radishes, Lovage, Dandelions, Borage, Peppermint, Rosemary, Lemon Thyme, Pineapple Sage, Kale, Arugula and a variety of lettuces.
Unfortunately my garden is being attacked by aphids and caterpillars are munching up the greens. In the past I have used safer brand and natural pesticide and insecticides but I’m scared to do so this year. I can’t find any good information on what is safe for buns. Please let me know if you have any experience or recommendations. I also wanted to make sure that there aren’t any soil additions that are bad for buns. Typically I use an organic fertilizer and fox farm, worm castings, bat guano, Azomite, oyster shell flour and bone meal for calcium, Epsom salt, etc. I was concerned that the bone meal could hurt rabbits due to its calcium.

I also was concerned that planting marigolds which may not be bunny safe next to my veggies would make them unsafe. Can that happen?

Lastly, I really want to grow plantain for my bun but want to confirm which type and where to buy seeds/seedlings. If anyone has any advice of recommendations it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

[Q8bunny]

Mix three parts water with one part alcohol and a tablespoon or two of dish soap in a spray bottle. Spray generously after the worst of the sun has passed to prevent leaf scorch. It should take care of the aphids at least.

[Bam]

Natural pyrethrum is approved for organic culture of vegs and greens, but you’d of course have to find it and use the correct dosage. Organic greens are bunny safe. Try to use insecticides that are not systemic-acting. Systemic acting compounds can’t be rinsed off.
Q8’s tip will get rid of the aphids though. As for caterpillars you often have to remove them manually.
Growing marigolds next to veg won’t spoil the veg. It’s debated if marigolds (calendula) are edible for buns or not, mine won’t eat them. But the plant isn’t crazy toxic, so they won’t contaminate the rest of your crop.
The type of plantain I feed my buns is plantago major. Sometimes plantage lanceolata (ribworth) is sold dried as a bunny snack, but my buns won’t eat it and I’m not sure it’s that great for bunnies, cattle can get tummy trouble if they graze on pastures with a high percentage of ribeorth. I’d go for the plantago major. It’s supposedly very healthy for humans as well as buns, but I can never pick so much that there’s any left for the humans.

[Lindsayjgunn]

Thank you so much for your informative replies and in so sorry for the delay in response. I’ll definitely try your suggestions. It seems there is some sort of caterpillar or other prat munching up and creating holes in the Bok Choy and kale. I’ve tried looking for the pests but can’t seem to find them. Any additional thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Bam]

Cabbage worms i.e. the caterpillars you’re seeing and cabbage moth larvae can make considerable damage to all cabbage (brassica) plants. They seem to be common all over the USA nowadays. The best thing for a small garden is to hand-pick them and drench them in a bucket of soapy water. The cabbage caterpillars come from the eggs of white butterflies with black spots on their wings, cabbage moths look like regular small moths.
I have built a tent of mosquito netting for my cabbage plants, but you of course need to do that early in the season. What you can do now is probably just pick the caterpillars and larvae. Look on the underside of young leaves for the larvae. They will consume all the soft parts of the leaves if you let them be.

[Author]

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