I was going to ask this very same question!
We have a pretty large garden, the horses don't care for much in it. Last year we planted apple trees, carrots, and WATERMELON! They love them and so do we!
Wish they would eat squash, I've always got a plenty of extra.
Watermelon would be nice. I don't think I would be able to grow them though. Ditto to most fruit trees. So I'm stuck with carrots, celery and spinach. Not sure that they would eat spinach but it grows really well here.
I used to grow carrots for my horses. I just moved to NY, but my landlord has given me permission to plant one of their small gardens with carrots for my boys who I board 15min away.
I usually plant a cantaloupe plant for my guys. They like the rind and everything. A coworker of mine says that something in the cantaloupe seeds works like a natural dewormer and a half a fruit should be enough to "deworm" an average horse. Not sure about that, but they sure seem to like the flavor!
FURBABY toss some watermelon seeds at the back of your manure pile or make a seperaste pile and watch just how easy it is to grow those suckers as well as pumpkins. Roses tomatoes cucmbers all love that stuff lol
I grow all kinds of vegies and tons of carrots. I toss my horses corn husks and cobs as well as beet tops watermelons dandy lions ( weeds ) I dont grow those lol they just move in. Maragold tops Bananas ( I dont grow those But my horses love them peels and all )
My problem is that growing season is about 3 months for us. lol I feel lucky when my corn gets knee height with the bloody wind we have. grr. Onions grow well though.
Man I got to stop typing fast **** I got typos like I got horses lol. Plus this tiny dang thing causes fat finger syndrom lol
Start your corn indoors just use CowPots they are recycled cow manure compressed into starter pots helps in preventing transplanting shock. Most corn only takes between 74 to 80 days so starting them indoors 4 weeks before last frost ( Not sure your area ) I started mine yesterday.
I was going to suggest the same thing with the watermelons!
Normally they don't transplant well, so use the biodegradible peat pots and make sure you acclimate them to the sun before planting. Shouldn't have a problem!
Not that I planted them for the horses, but lets see, I've had all my petunias eaten, hanging baskets eaten to nubs, spinach & lettuce devoured.....Note to self *do not let horses out in the yard.!
My horse eats so much watermelon during the summer, that her manure carries the seeds and it ends up growing all over the pasture :rofl: She kind of self-sustains herself.
Yes it does!! More so than it does in the garden. Indie has three places she prefers to do her business, so its pretty common to have three watermelon patches in the horse pasture :lol: She likes to snack on the vines and leaves, but sometimes she leaves them alone long enough we get little melons... though she is always quicker to eat them than we are
In the summer time, she gets a watermelon a week because they're so cheap when in season. I like to put them in the freezer for a few hours and give them to her as a giant horsey Popsicle!
When we had goats we fed them watermelon and they seeded the yard, the pastures, the garden ACK! Stupid things ate the vines before we could pick em!! Posted via Mobile Device
I grow veggies to sell at the farmer's market, the horses love the culled carrots. I give them all the beet tops too. I don't grow watermellon, not enough room, but I am going to try planting some in the manure pile, good idea.
I planted 50 fruit trees last year and I think the deer ate about half, they are pathetic looking.
So far I have lettuce, spinach. onions, beets, radishes and peas up already, carrots should be up the end of next week.
Growing up we had a horse named Jemima Puddle Duck, she would sell her soul to the devil for watermellon. I remember the mess she would make eating it. I had forgotten how much horses loved it.
wish my guys were self sustainers grow their own food I swear they stand by watch me plant weed water hoe snip pick dig sweat all day till they get the goodies and I know SAM laughs at me when I get all muddy. To watch them eat watermelon is a riot all that slurping and gulping and moaning Yes moaning SAM is good at it with his moaning. he moans when he is about to get fed he moans when he gets bran mash hell he moans .....well we wont go there lol
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