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Post by fred on Jan 15, 2012 15:41:04 GMT
I recently discovered that Poundland have a huge range of seeds and other stuff that could be of interest to those who want to grow some plants as degu feed this year. For anyone as useless at gardening as I am, these products may be an excellent starting point – at one pound a pop there isn't much lost if it doesn't work out.
For example I had a marigold starter kit with seed tray, compost and 130 seeds. The first batch had a 100% germination rate though I somehow managed to kill off all seedlings when I transferred them to a bigger pot. Hopefully more luck with the next batch.
At the moment, I am also growing from the Bee and Butterfly as well as Wild Flower seed mixes. These are supposed to contain enough seeds for 15 square meters and this seems about right. So far it looks very good.
I'd definitely recommend to have a look at their website what is available.
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Post by davx on Jan 15, 2012 17:00:23 GMT
Sounds good. What is Poundland?
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Post by fred on Jan 15, 2012 17:36:55 GMT
Sounds good. What is Poundland? Poundland is a chain of shops were every item costs just one pound www.poundland.co.uk/ Lots to find for degu cages |
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abirose
Burrowing Degu
Forum Helper
Posts: 276
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Post by abirose on Jan 15, 2012 18:33:03 GMT
Ooo I love this idea Fred! What sort of seeds would be the best (and easiest) to plant? On the hayexperts website they sell dandelion seeds which I'm planning to do, do you think that you could put a plant pot with soil in the degu cage once the plants had grown? It would be nice to give them a little garden to dig in but I would be worried they'd eat the soil.
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Post by fred on Jan 15, 2012 19:13:25 GMT
To be honest, I am absolutely the wrong person to ask which seeds are best/easiest  However, I will try to find out which of those they have in the shops now (far less than on their website) are suitable for degus. Dandelion seeds are great, I am just growing from seeds which I collected last summer. I am also growing from the seed mix that I feed and these grow really nice and fast. You need to cover the plant pot with wire mesh if you put in the cage. It's not suitable to dig but they can graze from it. Will put up a picture soon. |
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Post by degualot on Jan 15, 2012 19:38:35 GMT
Sounds interesting, Is it not too cold to plant stuff, just wondering.
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Post by fred on Jan 15, 2012 19:42:11 GMT
That's all indoors at the moment. I am mainly interested in what I can grow over the winter months. (Except for the grazing pots, if that works out)
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Post by davx on Jan 15, 2012 23:55:20 GMT
You can buy dandelion seed? That is weed, thus hard to find here! LOL
Well I collected some seed for my outdoor enclosure. It is in fact easy in care. Plantain is also good.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2012 0:13:58 GMT
I wonder.. has anyone tried giving their degus garden cress (Lepidiumus sativum)? If it is edible for degus, it would be great for planting as it needs almost nothing to grow, just a cotton pad and a little water. And it grows really fast, too  Parsley is quite easy to grow, as are many other herbs such as basil and sage. They do well in winter if they can stand in a draught-free window with a little sunlight. |
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Post by fred on Jan 16, 2012 0:22:52 GMT
I wonder.. has anyone tried giving their degus garden cress (Lepidiumus sativum)? If it is edible for degus, it would be great for planting as it needs almost nothing to grow, just a cotton pad and a little water. And it grows really fast, too Yes, it's great. My girls get a batch every fortnight: deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=blogs&thread=9042&post=69543That's good to know. They are also available from Poundland here, I'll see whether I can find them in a local shop. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2012 0:27:23 GMT
I did some googling on garden cress after I posted.. Many sites says it's a part of the cabbage family and therefore should not be given to degus - is this yet another myth about degu diet? If yours get it regularly, I don't see that it could be a problem |
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Post by Ady on Jan 16, 2012 9:04:02 GMT
Need to schedule a visit to poundland then :-D
It's funny what we would do for our degus. I really much dislike anything gardening related but has just bought some basil, dandelion etc. seeds from Shelled warriors on ebay (i think Kat suggested this shop) so hopefuly I'll grow something.
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Post by fred on Jan 19, 2012 0:26:17 GMT
I had mentioned the other day that I am also growing from the seed mix I am normally feeding my girls. Today I thought it was time for a first taster and it was a great success. I will now grow this in terracotta pots with a wire mesh top so that I can put it into their cage. It takes abut two weeks to grow to a nice size, so I'll have two pots to give this once a week.    |
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Jan 19, 2012 0:42:45 GMT
Fred ! This is fabulous !
They really do seem to enjoy it. The photos you took are wonderful.
The idea of growing the greens from a pot and covering it with mesh is not new to me, but I never went through with it.
I would like to use some of your photos and post about your latest project on the website.
This is a great way to introduce degus to fresh greens and grasses.
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