What do you grow?

[ladysown]

oh, with sunflower... I generally just pluck off the bottom leaves until about two feet tall, and then I feed the entire plant.

 

[Albert]

It seems like lots of people are dabbling with willow. We always grow our own from cuttings. Incase anyone would like to know how here's how we do it.

Go for a stroll by the river with some cutters. Find some willow and take pieces of recent growth 12" long and the width of a pencil.

Pop those either straight in the ground about 6" deep where you want to plant it or in a tub for transplanting later. Then just keep its feet wet. When you plant it just make sure the buds or nodules are facing up.

We took these cuttings in December and they're already starting now.

 

[Zee-Man]

Sunchokes Helianthus tuberosus is the only thing that I've planted deliberately for the rabbits. There is a lot of wild forage on my lot. The sunchokes are a favorite both fresh and dead/dry.

 

[MuddyFarms]

It seems like lots of people are dabbling with willow. We always grow our own from cuttings. Incase anyone would like to know how here's how we do it.

Go for a stroll by the river with some cutters. Find some willow and take pieces of recent growth 12" long and the width of a pencil.

Pop those either straight in the ground about 6" deep where you want to plant it or in a tub for transplanting later. Then just keep its feet wet. When you plant it just make sure the buds or nodules are facing up.

We took these cuttings in December and they're already starting now.

View attachment 29071

Thanks for sharing this- I had wondered about how willow rods would take to being rooted in a pot and trans-planted later! Do you know how they have done being trans-planted from pots? How long have you had them in a pot before transplanting? I am guessing it might be easiest on the new roots to be planted together instead of separated... One willow nursery's website said that the roots are pretty fragile and that the new plants shouldn't be uprooted, so I'm just curious. It sure seems like they could be fine with transplanting, though.

 

[HTAcres]

Thanks for sharing this- I had wondered about how willow rods would take to being rooted in a pot and trans-planted later! Do you know how they have done being trans-planted from pots? How long have you had them in a pot before transplanting? I am guessing it might be easiest on the new roots to be planted together instead of separated... One willow nursery's website said that the roots are pretty fragile and that the new plants shouldn't be uprooted, so I'm just curious. It sure seems like they could be fine with transplanting, though.

I think careful transplanting from a pot would do fine. I would maybe just do one per pot but it all depends on your resources. I buy them just to get a headstart and also because rooting stuff can be tricky here with the extreme dryness.

 

[HTAcres]

Sunchokes Helianthus tuberosus is the only thing that I've planted deliberately for the rabbits. There is a lot of wild forage on my lot. The sunchokes are a favorite both fresh and dead/dry.

Is that also called Jerusalem artichoke? I just noticed someone else talking about how much their rabbits love it. I hope it is easy to grow!

 

[Albert]

Thanks for sharing this- I had wondered about how willow rods would take to being rooted in a pot and trans-planted later! Do you know how they have done being trans-planted from pots? How long have you had them in a pot before transplanting? I am guessing it might be easiest on the new roots to be planted together instead of separated... One willow nursery's website said that the roots are pretty fragile and that the new plants shouldn't be uprooted, so I'm just curious. It sure seems like they could be fine with transplanting, though.

We find they are pretty robust if you wait until they properly get going with some leaf on them. One per pot would be best to avoid damaging them during transplanting but we are planning a living willow hedge so we have about 30 of them on the go at the moment.

 

[MuddyFarms]

We find they are pretty robust if you wait until they properly get going with some leaf on them. One per pot would be best to avoid damaging them during transplanting but we are planning a living willow hedge so we have about 30 of them on the go at the moment.

Great; thanks! That sounds good.

 

[Cindy in SD]

Speaking of hay fields like @Albert mentioned, a TON of my property has grass that grows really long, so we have people come and cut it down to make hay bales out of it (We call them tractor turds :] ). After they're done cutting, whether the bales are gone or not, we take trash bags out and collect the hay that was left on the ground and didn't get picked up. Pretty sure we do this in the fall, possibly in the spring.

Around here, if people hay your property they will usually pay, sometimes for a percentage of the hay; sometimes in money.

 

[opossumparable]

Thread 'The New Safe Plants for Rabbits List'
The New Safe Plants for Rabbits List

This thread is a great place to look if you want ideas for planting a rabbit food garden!

 

[user8584]

Where I live in west Texas, it is easier for me to grow trees and bushes for rabbit forage. I didn't know that I was preparing for rabbits when I planted my first weeping willow lol.

I think the "garlic is required" was a French Funny.

I am interested in a technique called “Pollards “, it is pruning trees for forage. To pollard is to prune the tree to produce tender green shoots from the tree at a level convenient to grazing stock.
however these shoots could be gathered like loose hay.
This is as I understand the process.

 

[Albert]

I am interested in a technique called “Pollards “, it is pruning trees for forage. To pollard is to prune the tree to produce tender green shoots from the tree at a level convenient to grazing stock.
however these shoots could be gathered like loose hay.
This is as I understand the process.

It's very popular in France nearly all trees in public places are pollarded but for ornamental reasons. I have a couple of trees that were pollarded in the past but have since grown out and I'm terrified of doing it again in case I get the timing wrong.

 

[user8584]

Understand

 

[eco2pia]

It's very popular in France nearly all trees in public places are pollarded but for ornamental reasons. I have a couple of trees that were pollarded in the past but have since grown out and I'm terrified of doing it again in case I get the timing wrong.

I do something like this. We have a variety of ornamental plants like flame willow and red twig dogwood that are grown for their colorful winter bark on new growth. I wait until it leafs out in spring (Now, for us) and then I cut back to a scaffold about 8-18 inches off the ground--the point being about an inch above last seasons cut--leave a few new buds below each cut. To make it pretty, you start with a scaffold at the height you want to maintain or just below that with a young plant. on an older tree you can just whack back to the main scaffold at will. Then all summer it will throw up new growth, fresh whips. We want to see those in the garden in the winter so I take them off the next spring when they leaf out. You can make the scaffold whatever fits in your yard on a new plant, but once it is set you shouldn't try to go lower really.

 

[HTAcres]

I am interested in a technique called “Pollards “, it is pruning trees for forage. To pollard is to prune the tree to produce tender green shoots from the tree at a level convenient to grazing stock.
however these shoots could be gathered like loose hay.
This is as I understand the process.

Yes, I don't do that myself yet, I simply heavily prune. Some I feed fresh, other goes into feed bags to dry for the winter. It is very dry where I am so that works. But yes, "tree hay" is a real thing!

I think coppicing is cutting off at the ground and Pollarding is cutting up higher.

 

[user8584]

Yes, as I read about Pollard, that is true with the height depending on animal being grazed, if the tree is being used for hay. Pretty cool!

 

[user8584]

@HTAcres , Like your profile picture, I miss those little guys, so valuable for our environment systems. Had many for pets when I was a kid.

 

[Zee-Man]

Coppicing is done with the intent of growing firewood and building materials like withies for wattle and daub. Pollarding is, as @Albert has pointed out, for ornamental reasons. Either way the pruning takes advantage of dormant nodes to promote new growth. Some trees are better for these techniques than others. Since each removes a vast amount of canopy the plant is greatly stressed. Some trees will send out suckers instead of make branches.

Mulberry is a good tree for growing fodder. It is very hard to kill. I let them grow to about waste height gathering fresh stems as wanted for the rabbits. In the spring I cut them to the ground. They are a species that will send out suckers, so I have to watch out lest they become weeds.

 

[HTAcres]

@HTAcres , Like your profile picture, I miss those little guys, so valuable for our environment systems. Had many for pets when I was a kid.

Haven't had a sighting in a while but we do all we can not to hurt them as we do have them here. Lovely creatures. Against advice we do pick them up. I had anoles for pets where I grew up in Florida. We put them back where they were, don't spray ants (thank God no fireants here). The baby ones are particularly adorable.