Anyone try growing forage during Winter?

[Secuono]

Has anyone attempted to build a low, wide and long green house to grow grasses or weeds during winter?
I'm out of grass and hoping making a greenhouse low to the ground will be able to grow at least grass.

 

[wsmoak]

I'm growing oats -- just plain old Racehorse Oats from the feed store. I go out with scissors and cut the oat grass, and it re-grows all winter. (I found out by accident that as long as you don't let it form a joint in the stem, it'll keep growing. After that, it will want to form a seed head.)

You're quite a bit further north so I'm not sure it would work, but they seem to tolerate freezing temperatures pretty well.

This would likely be a project for next year though... I'm not sure there's enough heat and light to get them to germinate and sprout right now.

-Wendy

 

[Oceanrose]

Try a hoop house. Just PVC with some plastic sheeting. You could probably grow it, then move it, if you could figure out a way to anchor it to the ground. You can google PVC hoop house or PVC row covers for lots of different ideas. I didn't build any this year, but will be building a couple to get tomatoes off to a good start. We are averaging 50 for a high, and 40 for a low, and my grass is green but not growing at all. The clover I planted for a nitrogen fix is about 1/2 inch high without any help.

 

[Secuono]

Never seen Racehorse Oats at TSC, will any of their other oats sprout/work?


Man, I wish I had an old wood bed boxframe! Could strip it, paint/seal the wood and then cover it with thick clear plastic...

 

[wsmoak]

Never seen Racehorse Oats at TSC, will any of their other oats sprout/work?

It's just plain whole oats. Nutrena labels them "Racehorse Oats" but they aren't anything special.

As long as they are not crimped/steamed/rolled or otherwise processed, it should sprout just fine. Other grains like barley ought to work as well, but I've never tried anything else.

The oat grass was an accident last year when I found some mold in a bag, so just tossed them out in the garden. They grew great and I had grass for the rabbits all winter, so I did it again this year.

-Wendy

 

[MaggieJ]

Actually, barley or wheat is easier to sprout than oats. Nutritional values are comparable. Check out the Fodder Sprouting thread, CnB... lots of great info there!

fodder-sprouting-systems-anyone-t10317.html

 

[3mina]

Man, I wish I had an old wood bed boxframe! Could strip it, paint/seal the wood and then cover it with thick clear plastic...

Old wooden windows work well to make a hot frame. It's basically a box made of windows with windows across the top side as well, hinged so you can get into it, no bottom necessary. Fill it with horse manure about 2/3 full. Plant what you like and the composting horse manure will heat enough to grow it, even in winter. It'll work better where you are than where I am
Google Victorian garden hot frame.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I actually have some'weeds' growing in flower pots in my south facing bay window, and a large flower pot outside, covered with plastic, that has swiss chard and red clover in it. Something else to try growing is some bird seed...and there are people who grow wheat grass in their kitchens to juice...
Where there is a desire, there is a way...

 

[ZRabbits]

Have pans of wheat grass in my grow room. Very, very easy to grow. And even use bunny berries, just like in my garden.

Karen

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Never seen Racehorse Oats at TSC, will any of their other oats sprout/work?

I have bought "racehorse oats' from a couple feed mills-- I found the individual grains to be larger and heavier than the run-of-the-mill products. WEll worth the price difference of a 50 pound bag.

 

[velacreations]

I grow wheat fodder in my dining room, takes about 2-3 square feet of space for all of my rabbits.

 

[wsmoak]

I've tried sprouting the oats under my grow lights, but I always end up with mold. I gather it's necessary to rinse them regularly? That just never happens after the first few days! -Wendy

 

[skysthelimit]

I've tried sprouting the oats under my grow lights, but I always end up with mold. I gather it's necessary to rinse them regularly? That just never happens after the first few days! -Wendy

Pretty much everyday, one of the reasons I lost interest.

 

[wsmoak]

... and here are the oats growing in the fallow garden. I just go out there with scissors and cut what I want for the rabbits. No rinsing needed, the rain takes care of it!

(Which is not to say you can't get mold growing them outdoors, but I haven't had a problem.)


121221_7226 by wsmoak, on Flickr

-Wendy

 

[mystang89]

Growing winter wheat in the living room. having problems with mold though