Indoor Gardening!

This is the time of year that always gets me going -- Spring has sprung and I want to grow and plant everything! Looking at all the great seeds available at the stores gave me an idea -- why not plant a garden for my little fuzz faces? I do feed them fresh veggies and fruits every day, and yet they are always trying to get into my flower pots. A ratty garden is a match made in heaven!

Ever get those pre-washed salads at the grocery store that come in big plastic containers? I’ve been recyling them, but decided they would make perfect planters.
All you need to do is:
1. Wash the container and lid out well.
2. Poke holes in the bottom with a knife or something. Be careful!
3. Put some good sterile (don’t want germs!) potting soil in the container.
4. Dampen the soil, add some seeds and add a dusting of soil over them. I would stick to greens (kale, chard, etc) and lettuce since we know they’re 100% edible. Wheat berries make delicious wheat grass.
5.Put the lid back on, loosely, and keep in a warm place until they start to grow. They don’t need sunlight until they start growing.
6.Once they’ve sprouted, remove the lid and use it as a water tray under the container.
7.When the plants look large enough, let the ratties climb around and snack--UNDER YOUR CONSTANT SUPERVISION. You may enjoy snacking too!
8. PLEASE don’t let them eat too much, especially if they’re not used to eating fresh veggies. You could give your rats a wicked stomach ache and diarrhea if you let them eat as much as they want.

The garden on the left (above) contains lettuce, arugula, chard and kale, has been growing for about a month. The one on the right is about a week along.

I’m going to stock up on seeds and keep growing my rattie garden throughout the winter!

Here’s Mocha of the Jungle checking out his rattie garden of eatin'!