New goose owner, have questions

[Kriskat77]

What's your growing zone?

I’m in South Texas. We are marked at a 9 but it should really be 10.

 

[Kriskat77]

How about Lavender? It grows well here. I know the British are famous for keeping geese and their gardens are full of all the no-no plants. What about honey suckle?

 

[CindyinSD]

Will grapes grow where you are? If not tame ones, I'll bet wild ones will. They'll even grow here--well, almost. They'll grow 20 miles south and 3000 ft lower. People can eat grape leaves so I think geese could, if they wanted to.

What geese mainly want to eat is grass--lots and lots of grass. If you can, fence off a nice big area and keep it neatly mowed. They like the tender new growth.

Oh, okay. Just saw your post. Probably a warm weather cultivar, then. Or kiwi--that would be nice. But as to your gal, she's most likely not going to be into eating your vine. You can probably teach her to eat nice things besides grass, but grass is her natural diet.

 

[CindyinSD]

Honeysuckle is wonderful. I believe it's poisonous (the foliage), but I could be mistaken. When we were kids we used to pull the stamens to get the little drop of sweet nectar. Plant honeysuckle if you love it.

The thing about birds is that we can mess with their natural diets and get them to eat all sorts of things they wouldn't ordinarily eat. Like manufactured feed (nothing bad there--buying them bagged food is fine, and insures that they're getting what they need if the feed is good and appropriate to their species.) It won't necessarily harm them, but it's not what they would instinctively eat.

What I'm trying to say here is that your goose knows what she should not eat. My geese--I don't worry about them. I turn them loose and they eat whatever they want. And what they want is nice fresh green grass.

 

[CindyinSD]

Or lavender--but it's not a vine. Also a very lovely plant that I cannot grow.

 

[Kriskat77]

Will grapes grow where you are? If not tame ones, I'll bet wild ones will. They'll even grow here--well, almost. They'll grow 20 miles south and 3000 ft lower. People can eat grape leaves so I think geese could, if they wanted to.

What geese mainly want to eat is grass--lots and lots of grass. If you can, fence off a nice big area and keep it neatly mowed. They like the tender new growth.

Oh, okay. Just saw your post. Probably a warm weather cultivar, then. Or kiwi--that would be nice. But as to your gal, she's most likely not going to be into eating your vine. You can probably teach her to eat nice things besides grass, but grass is her natural diet.

Thank you so much! Yes, grapes grow well here. Tons of vineyards around here. I’ll try that. I have a nice grassy area for her. I just wanted her hut to be nice and shady so that’s why I wanted a vine. Not really for her eating pleasure but something that definitely wouldn’t harm her if the urge to nibble kicks in. Grapes! What a great idea! Much appreciated! I’ll have to post a pic when it’s all done. We start building tomorrow

 

[Kriskat77]

Or lavender--but it's not a vine. Also a very lovely plant that I cannot grow.

Thanks! i loved to do that with honey suckle too when I was little. i really like your grape idea. Off the subject, why can’t you grow Lavender? It’s tolerable to cold and heat. I worked in a garden center/ flower shop for years and there are several varieties you could try. French Lavender works better here but a colder climate would be great for the English Lavender. You should give it a go. Just plant, water and ignore. I want to use Lavender on the left and right side of the entrance. I’m making Wilhelminia a cottage style pen. You have a great night! Btw, what’s your planting zone?

 

[Kriskat77]

oh and Lavender repels mice, some vet says

 

[CindyinSD]

Zone 3-4... you can find cultivars of lots of plants nowadays if you look long enough, but it's not just the temps. Our frost-free days are 80-85, so even if a given plant can survive the winter it may produce fruit only in unusual years. Last several winters it's been getting colder and lasting longer.

 

[Kriskat77]

Zone 3-4... you can find cultivars of lots of plants nowadays if you look long enough, but it's not just the temps. Our frost-free days are 80-85, so even if a given plant can survive the winter it may produce fruit only in unusual years. Last several winters it's been getting colder and lasting longer.

Holy cow! You’re in a cold zone! Our winters are in the 80’s! Most of the people around here have never seen snow and we think a cold front is 50*, haha! I’m sure you can grow beautiful things that we never could. We are stuck with drought tolerant plants. I did however buy a grape vine yesterday and a blueberry bush. And cucumbers too. I’m excited to see how they’ll grow. Only the frame of Wilhelminia’s goose house is up. I’m hoping it will be done soon. She’s going to love it! She stays inside now and outside with supervision. We have a giant Red Shouldered Hawk that hangs around so I won’t let her roam without a cover. I’ll send pictures when we are done. Thanks again for your help. I never would have thought of grapes