Veggie problem

Engel

Engel

Adult Guinea Pig
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Shropshire, UK
Am I able to freeze veggies and then thaw it before giving it to the pigs? Reason I ask is because the veg selection in town is quite poor at the moment.
 
Engel said:
Am I able to freeze veggies and then thaw it before giving it to the pigs? Reason I ask is because the veg selection in town is quite poor at the moment.
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Sadly, freezing is a big no no, as is any processed veg or fruit. Bacteria multiply very quickly during defrosting.

You may have to do with what you can get if you cannot travel out of town once a week or see whether you can grow some cut and come lettuce, herbs and greens in pots and windowsill boxes at home.

I feel for you after having had to struggle badly trying to shield my husband with 27 piggies to provide for and just a once weekly shopping trip with not much fresh food to be found in the supermarket during the first lockdown. 5 peppers in a sorry state for 27 piggies for a week wasn't getting me far!
 
Thanks all. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to. Can't wait for spring when I can start foraging and growing veggies in the garden. The house is on the verge of going on the damp side regarding humidity and I don't think growing veggies on the window would be a good idea, especially as someone in the house is recovering from pneumonia 😔
 
I totally agree with @Wheekallweek, growing your own veggies and seeing your piggies eating some fresh produce really is enjoyable!
Engel said:
Can't wait for spring when I can start foraging and growing veggies in the garden.
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Do you have an old, unused structure/shed that you could turn into a greenhouse? Greenhouses can stretch the growing season for warmth loving summer crops like bell pepper because they trap in the sun's heat. Not to mention that greenhouses also have countless other benefits for growing veggies.
 
Zorro1 said:
I totally agree with @Wheekallweek, growing your own veggies and seeing your piggies eating some fresh produce really is enjoyable!


Do you have an old, unused structure/shed that you could turn into a greenhouse? Greenhouses can stretch the growing season for warmth loving summer crops like bell pepper because they trap in the sun's heat. Not to mention that greenhouses also have countless other benefits for growing veggies.
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I have 2 unheated greenhouses. It's too cold in there at the moment to grow anything. I put the herbs in there to protect against the frosts and they've gone into a dormant state.

I do have a large garden so there's always grass, it's just so slow growing given the time of year. I really underestimated how much dry forage they'd get through, through the winter. I dried a lot of stuff last summer and it's already gone.

Pigs will have what I can get and that's it. They have plenty of hay though, so that's a plus.
 
My herbs have gone dormant in the greenhouse too. One thing I have managed to keep going in there is a pot of rainbow chard, the piggies are loving it as a change to lettuce a couple of times a week. I have to agree the quality of veg is terrible in the shops, even Sainsbury's is poor. Their veg used to last well past it's use by date, now I'm lucky if it's edible 2 or 3 days after it's bought.
 
I've never tried them with chicory. I will look out for some seeds. The raspberry chard that was growing in a tub in the garden that was turned to sludge by the snow is sprouting again, it seems chard is very hardy!
 
Wheekallweek said:
I still have chicory growing in my veg patch... even that freezing cold weather a few weeks ago didn't kill it! Might be worth a go for you this year @Engel 😊
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Haven't tried mine with chicory either. As a couple of them have IC I'll have to see if it triggers them off. If all goes well I'll look into growing some. Does it do better in pots or in the ground?
 
piggieminder said:
I've never tried them with chicory. I will look out for some seeds. The raspberry chard that was growing in a tub in the garden that was turned to sludge by the snow is sprouting again, it seems chard is very hardy!
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My chard kept producing leaves through late spring and up until the heatwave last year. It never recovered. Definitely going to grow them again this year as pigs enjoyed them and so did I in stir fry.

I was only giving chard a couple of times a week. Does anyone know if it can be fed more often maybe up to 5 times a week?
 
Went to the farmers market today to see what they had. I got a large bunch of parsley, coriander and a huge pepper which I think could feed Wiebkes tribe and have some left over!

I have 8 pigs and could get 4 days out of it; so 32 portions! It did cost me £1.39 though.

Here it is up against your typical shop bought pepper.
IMG_20230110_143351_773.webpIMG_20230110_143400_784.webp
 
I feed chard up to 3 or 4 times a week when I've lots of it. I don't know if you should but my attitude to food for them is that I only give a tiny bit of 5 or 6 things rather than a huge amount of 2 or 3. I don't think one baby leaf of chard once a day is going to hurt!
 
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