I grow basil, mint, and thyme for my bunnies. I’m really hesitant to pick stuff from my yard since our dog is all over the back yard and we gave deer in our front yard alot. My veggie bill does get up there — this must not be the year for green leaf and red leaf lettuce because I have to buy a bunch to get enough usable lettuce to feed the buns. This week I had to buy packaged baby romaine at $3.99 for one package!

Yes, we grow our own food for rabbits (mostly though we just harvest the volunteer dandelions, grass and weeds). This time of year he gets lots of carrot tops because we love to eat fresh carrots out of our garden. Do you have a farm stand or something like that around where you live? Ours gives away free boxes of trimmings. They just put them out back for anyone with animals to take. That’s how we get most of our bunny veggies during the winter. I never would have know about it if I hadn’t asked when I saw them peeling off outer lettuce leaves one day.

JackRabbit, why are you worried about the deer? We don’t have a dog, but we have lots of wild rabbits and deer. This morning we discovered the gate to our garden was left open and a mama deer with two fawns was happily munching our roses and strawberries. So cute, but argh!

I’m always afraid the deer will have some type of parasite, etc. And will have pooped on whatever I might pick. I know it can be rinsed well, but yuck! Also, my husband put fertilizer on our front years ago and used to be Round-Up happy. I’m not convinced all of that has cleared out. Plus, if the deer eats vegetation that has been sprayed and then poops it in my yard . . .
There are some things I just let my imagination go crazy on!

Makes sense! We don’t spray and haven’t since we bought our property 8 years ago, so I think we are safe on that account. Otherwise, I figure no produce is safe. Even what is at the grocery store was in a field once and likely pooped, peed or sprayed on by something! I do worry a bit about pests or diseases from the wild rabbits, but I also feel like I can only do so much, and the health benefits of fresh hopefully cancel out the risks. We let him out in our well fenced garden area sometimes, and he’s seen wild bunnies from a distance but not expressed any interest. He prefers to follow us around and nibble on clover blossoms. He loves it so much I’m reluctant to ban it, but if he ever picks up something that will definitely change.

I would love to have a garden where I could keep everything else out!

I agree about grocery store produce. I’m pretty picky about produce and if I wouldn’t eat it I’m definitely not going to give it to my babies.

Do you have a farmers market nearby? There are a lot of organic farmers that frequent ours. Stuff tends to be cheaper, but it is whatever is in season.

Just to be clear – we cannot keep the wild young bunnies out (adults can’t fit). Those guys are acrobatic and skinny, and can squeeze through the tiniest spaces that our bunny couldn’t even dream of. Which is why giving him produce and letting him roam around our yard still makes me nervous, and I would never, ever have an unsprayed or neutered bunny. Actually, the wild bunnies have never gotten up in our garden beds (they are about 2 feet tall) but they certainly eat the grass and clovers. My husband and I have occasionally argued about whether this makes the risk of letting our rabbit out when we are with him too high.

I have ‘t been to any of our local fruit/veg stands since I got the buns (I’m not a Saturday morning kind of person!). The actual farmer’s market here is a little different — people set up stands and some sell veggies that have been purchased wholesale and shipped in from many states away from here and prices are far from cheap.

I’ve “scouted” around here for produce and found, for example, green leaf lettuce for anywhere from 99 cents to $2.49 per “head” in grocery stores. The 99 cent ones are at Kroger and are generally unwashed and crammed into shipping crates. At Giant, it’s $1.99, but there’s a guy there who picks out the best quality and freshest they have and brings it out to me when I go in there on the weekends (he knows its for the bunnies). He’ll even tell me if it’s not looking very good. It costs more there but he goes out of his way for me (and none of that “they’re only rabbits” attitude) and I have alot less waste because of him. I know I’m paying for customer service but around here that’s pretty hard to find.

I grow 4 different kinds of lettuce, kale, collard greens, mint, orange mint, cat mint, lavender, cilantro, hyssop, marjoram, parsley, strawberries, lemon balm, and wheatgrass, all in pots, for my two. I also feed them tons of wild goodies gathered from my yard and on hikes. Yup, it’s probably been pooped on by bear, moose, and who knows what else, but it’s no worse than what you buy in the stores. Think about how many dirty, germy hands touch your grocery greens every day….

Mossling — how big are your pots? -I’ve got pots that are about 16″ across the top. Basil is doing good, thyme was lagging but now doing great, the mint started out going crazy but now seems to be really thinning out. I have spearmint and peppermint in the same pot. Could it be rootbound already in that big of a pot? I’d love to do more.

Do you grow them inside in the winter too? I need to find some things that will grow well in artificial light inside. Any ideas?

I have 6 different lettuce plants (2 each of 3 kinds) growing very well in one giant pot (along with 2 cilantro). They’re doing well enough to provide salads for myself every few days m as well as the buns! Everything else I have is growing in between 6-10 inch terracotta pots, whatever I happened to have on hand. My lemon verbena looks a little small, but everything else is doing well. This is the first time I’ve *ever* managed to keep anything green alive so long! I live in Alaska. Soon, as we start losing warmth and light, I’ll set up grow lights and start moving things inside. Don’t know if any of it will survive the winter, but I gonna try!

I occasionally give the bunnies mint, basil, wheatgrass, dandelions, strawberry, apple and blackberry (leaves and fruit for the last three) from the garden, but there is never enough there for a whole meal, so I buy organic veggies from Costco, supermarkets, and farmers markets.

Growing it on your own is a good way to go for cheap organically grown greens.

Do you have any farmers markets in your area? I can get a larger amount for much less at farmers markets.