Guess what season it is in the Northern Hemisphere?! - Its FODDER Season! 🍀

[Sally PB]

Well, I went to the store to grocery shop earlier than planned, and the dollar store wasn't open yet. I think I'm going to sprout alfalfa in a jar. The third try of chia on terra cotta is still in the "it could work, maybe" stage. I'll let you know if the third time is the charm, or if it turns into goo again. I'm wondering how the Chia Pets work...? Maybe the stuff you mix that has the seed in it has some kind of goo inhibitor. I might try watering with some vinegar water too. We'll see...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Well, I went to the store to grocery shop earlier than planned, and the dollar store wasn't open yet. I think I'm going to sprout alfalfa in a jar. The third try of chia on terra cotta is still in the "it could work, maybe" stage. I'll let you know if the third time is the charm, or if it turns into goo again. I'm wondering how the Chia Pets work...? Maybe the stuff you mix that has the seed in it has some kind of goo inhibitor. I might try watering with some vinegar water too. We'll see...

Were you able to buy uncoated Alfalfa seeds? - Here they have only the coated seeds and it is too hard to wash that coating off. My ducklings went bananas over the alfalfa sprouts last spring.
Btw, that goo from the Chi chi chi Chia-seeds can be used to your advantage outside: You mix five parts alfalfa and one part chia seeds, sew it out on bald spots and water it with a spray nozzle. The goo from the chia seeds will keep the alfalfa seeds in place until they have anchored themselves to the ground. Also that goo prevents the little singing birds from picking up the seeds and even the ducks don't like it on their feet and avoid the area.

 

[Sally PB]

The alfalfa seeds I use for sprouting are sold as that, seeds for sprouting, so no coating. Of course, they are much more expensive, but a little goes a long way. I got them from Sow True Seeds, a seed company in Asheville, NC, that I buy garden seeds from every year.
https://sowtrueseed.com/collections/sprouting-seeds
I haven't checked the health food store near me, but they might have some too.
I want to try sprouting/foddering BOSS as well, since I have a 20# bag of that for the bird feeder.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

The alfalfa seeds I use for sprouting are sold as that, seeds for sprouting, so no coating. Of course, they are much more expensive, but a little goes a long way. I got them from Sow True Seeds, a seed company in Asheville, NC, that I buy garden seeds from every year.
https://sowtrueseed.com/collections/sprouting-seeds
I haven't checked the health food store near me, but they might have some too.
I want to try sprouting/foddering BOSS as well, since I have a 20# bag of that for the bird feeder.

Nice company, but 125 grams of Alfalfa seeds is not enough for even one dinner for my 40 ducks…

 

[Sally PB]

Yeah, our needs are a bit different. I have four chickens.

 

[Sally PB]

I'm pretty close to saying the chia was a total bust. I see a few green sprouts and some root sprouts that look like they have grown and died. Grrr.

Soooo... What's the opinion on sprouting rice? As sprouts or fodder? Ditto with BOSS?

I do plan to get some barley, if I can get it locally, and untreated.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

BOSS has a lot of debris but sprouts well. Debris means mold, but it also filters out on the first soak moderately well. The better filtered it is the less mold.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I'm pretty close to saying the chia was a total bust. I see a few green sprouts and some root sprouts that look like they have grown and died. Grrr.

Soooo... What's the opinion on sprouting rice? As sprouts or fodder? Ditto with BOSS?

I do plan to get some barley, if I can get it locally, and untreated.

My Chia bin looks like frog-eggs, some of the bird seeds have sprouted, but everything is moving slow. I will start feeding that stuff to the duck, mixed with some real fodder, just to avoid wasting it. But Chia, not anymore.
Rice? Sounds interesting! You can try whatever grains you can get for a reasonable price and please tell us about the results.

I tried BOSS last year, apart from it takes a long time for the seeds to sprout and they produce a lot of terribly dirty water it was a great hit with my ducks! I was thinking about using the stackable Dollar-Tree bins below to grow some extra BOSS sprouts :

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[Sally PB]

Chia as fodder is so far a total bust. But I did read that chickens can eat the raw seed, so I will have a use for that three pound bag from Costco.

I have some rice sprouting for me (I usually sprout it before cooking it) and I'm going to save some to keep growing for the chickens. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

[gtaus]

I went into town town today and stopped by at the Dollar Tree. They had a shelf full of plastic dish bins stocked. So I bought a couple more just as extras. I don't know if the resupply chain from China has been reestablished, but our local store had the shelves restocked from somewhere.

BTW, I use the Dollar Tree plastic dish bins for lots of stuff around the garage. I put my oil cans and anything else that may leak in those bins. I use them as totes to carry loose tools to a worksite because it is easier for me to just look into the plastic bin then to have to rummage around in my tool bag. We use them to hold gardening items, such as seeds, string, markers, etc... but also they are good for mixing up small amounts of potting soil. Lots of other uses too, and, of course, for growing fodder.