On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 00:50:16 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:

"Pan Ohco" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 01 Jan 2005 23:16:18 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:


I live in the Sunset Zone 5 (not sure what that is in the USDA system) in
the Pacific Northwest, which is similar in climate to the UK.

Try this to see what USDA zone your in.
http://www2.dicom.se/fuchsias/eurozoner.html

That'd be cool if I lived in Europe.

Sorry Claire , It was my fault in assuming.

Pan Ohco



The Earth is degenerating these days. Bribery and corruption abound.
Children no longer mind their parents, every man wants to write a
Book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching.
--Assyrian stone tablet, c. 2800 B.C.

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 00:50:16 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:

"Pan Ohco" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 01 Jan 2005 23:16:18 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:


I live in the Sunset Zone 5 (not sure what that is in the USDA system) in
the Pacific Northwest, which is similar in climate to the UK.

Try this to see what USDA zone your in.
http://www2.dicom.se/fuchsias/eurozoner.html

That'd be cool if I lived in Europe.

Sorry Claire , It was my fault in assuming.

Pan Ohco



The Earth is degenerating these days. Bribery and corruption abound.
Children no longer mind their parents, every man wants to write a
Book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching.
--Assyrian stone tablet, c. 2800 B.C.

"Claire Petersky" writes:
thinking carrots -- do the pigs eat the tops as well as the root? Beets
maybe? I like beets and beet greens, but we could share these with the pigs.

They love both tops and roots of homegrown carrots, I know that!

Lettuce maybe for sure,

Sure, lettuce, too,

Radish tops? Spinach always seems to bolt on me, but

Not sure about radish tops, but try them. You can grow radish in the
Winter? Ours got the outside leaves of cabbage, too. They eat cut up
pieces of fruit such as apples, including the peelings.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

"Claire Petersky" writes:
thinking carrots -- do the pigs eat the tops as well as the root? Beets
maybe? I like beets and beet greens, but we could share these with the pigs.

They love both tops and roots of homegrown carrots, I know that!

Lettuce maybe for sure,

Sure, lettuce, too,

Radish tops? Spinach always seems to bolt on me, but

Not sure about radish tops, but try them. You can grow radish in the
Winter? Ours got the outside leaves of cabbage, too. They eat cut up
pieces of fruit such as apples, including the peelings.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

I often refer to this web site:
http://experts.about.com/q/1574/3427919.htm

I have been told that Alfalfa is bad for piggies but I have never heard
about beans being bad. I was once told that dried beans are not good
but I haven't heard about green beans. Can anyone confirm that?

Thanks!
Matthew Hanna

Claire Petersky wrote:
Since we got our guinea pigs a couple of weeks ago, I've been feeding them
most of their greens from what I have in the winter vegetable garden:
collard greens, chard, and parsley. I also some sugar pea volunteers (that
came up from the peas I planted this spring), and since there's not enough
of them to really have peas for the winter, I've been pulling up the vines
and feeding them to the pigs too.

Just this limited experience so far makes me think that it would make a lot
of sense to plant things this spring that the guinea pigs would enjoy. I'm
thinking carrots -- do the pigs eat the tops as well as the root? Beets
maybe? I like beets and beet greens, but we could share these with the pigs.
Lettuce maybe for sure, but I have to be vigilent to prevent the slugs from
getting to it first. Radish tops? Spinach always seems to bolt on me, but
maybe the guinea pigs wouldn't mind bolted spinach. Other ideas for the
garden?

I live in the Sunset Zone 5 (not sure what that is in the USDA system) in
the Pacific Northwest, which is similar in climate to the UK.

I often refer to this web site:
http://experts.about.com/q/1574/3427919.htm

I have been told that Alfalfa is bad for piggies but I have never heard
about beans being bad. I was once told that dried beans are not good
but I haven't heard about green beans. Can anyone confirm that?

Thanks!
Matthew Hanna

Claire Petersky wrote:
Since we got our guinea pigs a couple of weeks ago, I've been feeding them
most of their greens from what I have in the winter vegetable garden:
collard greens, chard, and parsley. I also some sugar pea volunteers (that
came up from the peas I planted this spring), and since there's not enough
of them to really have peas for the winter, I've been pulling up the vines
and feeding them to the pigs too.

Just this limited experience so far makes me think that it would make a lot
of sense to plant things this spring that the guinea pigs would enjoy. I'm
thinking carrots -- do the pigs eat the tops as well as the root? Beets
maybe? I like beets and beet greens, but we could share these with the pigs.
Lettuce maybe for sure, but I have to be vigilent to prevent the slugs from
getting to it first. Radish tops? Spinach always seems to bolt on me, but
maybe the guinea pigs wouldn't mind bolted spinach. Other ideas for the
garden?

I live in the Sunset Zone 5 (not sure what that is in the USDA system) in
the Pacific Northwest, which is similar in climate to the UK.

I often refer to this web site:
http://experts.about.com/q/1574/3427919.htm

I have been told that Alfalfa is bad for piggies but I have never heard
about beans being bad. I was once told that dried beans are not good
but I haven't heard about green beans. Can anyone confirm that?

Thanks!
Matthew Hanna

Claire Petersky wrote:
Since we got our guinea pigs a couple of weeks ago, I've been feeding them
most of their greens from what I have in the winter vegetable garden:
collard greens, chard, and parsley. I also some sugar pea volunteers (that
came up from the peas I planted this spring), and since there's not enough
of them to really have peas for the winter, I've been pulling up the vines
and feeding them to the pigs too.

Just this limited experience so far makes me think that it would make a lot
of sense to plant things this spring that the guinea pigs would enjoy. I'm
thinking carrots -- do the pigs eat the tops as well as the root? Beets
maybe? I like beets and beet greens, but we could share these with the pigs.
Lettuce maybe for sure, but I have to be vigilent to prevent the slugs from
getting to it first. Radish tops? Spinach always seems to bolt on me, but
maybe the guinea pigs wouldn't mind bolted spinach. Other ideas for the
garden?

I live in the Sunset Zone 5 (not sure what that is in the USDA system) in
the Pacific Northwest, which is similar in climate to the UK.

Claire Petersky wrote:
Since we got our guinea pigs a couple of weeks ago, I've been feeding
them
most of their greens from what I have in the winter vegetable garden:
collard greens, chard, and parsley. I also some sugar pea volunteers
(that
came up from the peas I planted this spring), and since there's not
enough
of them to really have peas for the winter, I've been pulling up the
vines
and feeding them to the pigs too.


I have extensive experience with this. They will eat anything green,
including many edible weeds like violet and clover, but when given a
chance between different greens they will always choose bitter greens,
that is dandelions and chicory. In fact, given enough of these they
will eat nothing else, leaving apples, clover, cabbage, and carrots
untouched. If given whole plants, they will eat the root as well. They
spend months at a time eating nothing but bitter greens, and modest
amounts of oats and pellets. They are abviously very healthy. For
dandelions, I just pull the weeds that grow in places my mower won't
reach.

In your area chicory will grow year round (in my area it just survived
-5F under minimal cover, and I picked some yesterday as the temperature
went above feeezing. Some types of chicory have grown substantially
since Thanksgiving). If you want to garden primarily for the pigs, get
the wild chicory selection at Territorial. It makes large, very bitter
plants that will grow a rosette only if cut in september. The seed for
self-heading chicories (radicchio) is somewhat pricey in the US, but
cheaper in Canada. If you want to garden primarily for yourself, they
will eat the outer, tougher leaves while you enjoy the radicchio's
heart.

It is just about the easiest vegetable to grow, unfussy about soil and
drought-resistant, but it prefers to be seeded when the ground is warm
(May through august). Next year in May it will start to go to seed and
that is when you pull it and start anew (pulling it is backbreaking. I
actually cover it with cardboard and compost, and punch holes for the
plants that are taking their place).