Growing my own bunny herbs and fertilizing with their droppings!

[dlscanne]

I started growing my own bunny herbs and veggies this summer and wanted to share my experience with everyone.  

Every time I go to my parents house in Vermont I pick the most wonderful, completely organic herbs and veggies for my bunnies, and I feel so great giving them to Frank and Winston.  Plus they are free except for the seeds!  

I live in an urban area now, but decided to make the most of it.  I planted mint, cilantro, sage, 4 kinds of basil, green peppers, lettuce, dill, and arugula.  I tested the soil in my little yard but there were traces of heavy metals (common problem in cities!) so I used containers.  I was working at a garden center, so I just took the big black nursery pots they used for big trees.  If people want to try this i recommend going to your local garden center, they are usually more than happy to give them away!  I also used some terra cotta for the smaller containers. 

I know that mint is a big favorite for members here.  It is SO easy to grow, although invasive so don’t plant it in a garden.  My parents had theirs in a compost pile in the woods, but I used pots I’ve already had to divide mine.  Its also a perennial and will come up every year if you put it in the ground, even in super cold climates like mine!  

Also, I did some research and found bunny poo is the best manure to use in gardens.  It has the highest concentration of nitrogen of all animal waste, and is also very dry.  I take it from my bunnies litter boxes every morning and sprinkle it on my new perennial garden.  My boyfriend thinks I am completely crazy, but my flowers LOVE the stuff and worms do too!  If you want to use it on veggies just make sure you compost it for at leastt three weeks.

I know fall is coming up so its a little late for some of this stuff in the North, but I am just so happy to have this little self-sustaining system going on here in a city, and thought other people might like to give it a try!

oh and not to mention its nice having the herbs for cooking and mojitos too

here is a pic of some herbs sprouting up in the spring…please ignore the peeling paint! my porch is a work in progress.

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[Barbie]

That looks great! I have a little bitty sage plant that I’ve been trying to grow. Someone at work gave me a cutting. And as soon as it gets big enough, I’m going to give the leaves to Leroy. But I don’t have any outside space – not even a balcony, so I’m fairly limited on space and light indoors for potted plants (I’d have to put the pots up out of Leroy’s reach and I only have so much counter space). I don’t think I’ll be able to start a whole garden, but I do like having my baby sage plant in my window. I also bought some random plant from Walmart’s garden section – I have no idea what kind of plant it is, I just thought it was pretty – it’s a bush like plant with very vibrant green, broad, heart shaped leaves – so I have that in a pot on the windowsill too. I know bringing unidentified “things that look good to eat” into a home with a mischievous bunny is dangerous, but I’m being very careful with it and Leroy – the windowsill is much to high for him to reach, even if he tried, and there’s nothing in the vicinity that he could climb onto to get to the plant. That probably will be the extent of my attempt to “bring the outdoors in” because I’m a TERRIBLE gardener. I want to try to grow some mint because I love the way it smells and because I’m sure Leroy would love it, but I don’t know how to start it – seeds, clippings, do I have to find a mint plant and dig it up, roots and all, can I buy a small on at a gardening store? As you can tell from my lack of gardening knowledge, I most definitely have two black thumbs and two black toes I’m honestly very surprised the sage plant has been hanging on and has survived 2 months with me! It’s actually growing – the stem has gotten thicker and it’s sprouting new leaves!

I just thought of something… I bought some fertilizer to help my sage plant along… I haven’t given Leroy even so much a taste of the leaves yet, so it’s no big deal if the answer is no… but… do you think the plant’s leaves would be safe to feed Leroy after growing in the fertilizer? I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier… Hmph. Though I’m sure the veggies and herbs Leroy and I get from Walmart have been grown with non-organic fertilizer… They’re these: http://www.backyardstyle.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-25657 I don’t know why that site has them listed for so much, I got a 24 pack for a buck.

[Deleted User]

You even have a rabbit statuette…

[FluffyBunny]

Hey, I also grow herbs & veggies with bunny poop! I have a variety of herbs – lemon balm, basil, mint, parsley, rosemary, etc. that I feed the rabbit and fertilize with his help and even grew carrots & radishes just for him this year. I use the poop directly on my houseplants without composting and have no troubles.

[jerseygirl]

Good to know on composting a bit before use on veggies. It’s beginning Spring here so the time is right. We should all be bagging the bunny droppings and selling it. Help pay for food, vet, toys etc    If you take in more bunnies, you get more poop to sell.  It’s a win-win.  :o)

[Author]

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