Have you ever considered growing your own fresh food for your guinea pigs? Gardening can be a fun and cost effective way to always have some fresh and tasty greens at hand for your furry friends.
In this blog, we’ll help guide you through everything you need to know to create a garden feast for piggies. Read on to find out more!
Why should you start your own guinea pig garden?
There are plenty of benefits to starting your own guinea pig garden. Here are 4 good reasons to help you make this decision:
Fresh tasty vegetables conveniently at home
You start to hear the hungry wheeks calling out to you. Your guinea pigs remind you that it’s dinner time, so you quickly proceed to the kitchen to start prepping their meal. You open the fridge and find that someone has used up that bunch of lettuce you’ve been saving! If you had some vegetables ready from your garden, you could save a trip to the shop by picking some from your very own plants. Convenient, right?
Help cut down on guinea pig food costs
Fresh vegetables are an important part of any guinea pig diet! In fact, each guinea pig needs approximately 50 grams of fresh veg per day. While that may not sound like a lot at first, that quickly adds up, especially if you have a large herd! By growing your own plants at home, you can help supplement your food shop with some tasty veggies or herbs you have right at home.
Good for the environment
Growing your own fruits and veggies is not only good for your guinea pigs but also good for the environment. Many fruits and vegetables are shipped out in plastic packaging which unfortunately contributes to the waste that we humans produce. By gardening, you are effectively cutting down on the need to purchase items that require the disposal of packaging.
Start a new hobby
Gardening is found to be therapeutic for many individuals, and a great opportunity to get back in touch with nature while catching some much needed vitamin D from being out in the sun! Gardening can be as involved as you’d like so it's a great hobby to pick up should you find yourself having a busier schedule.
Top 7 plants that are easy to grow for guinea pigs
While there are plenty of safe plants for guinea pigs to eat, there are also a lot of plants that are toxic. Before planting anything with the intent of feeding them to your guinea pigs, it's important that you identify which foods are safe to avoid any complications to their health. Here are a few common examples of foods that are considered unsafe for guinea pigs:
- Potatoes
- Garlic
- Onions
Click here for a list of more unsafe foods for guinea pigs.
Now that you know what to avoid planting, let's see which safe plants are fun and easy to grow and can help you get started with your very own guinea pig garden!
Lettuce
A fan favourite of all guinea pigs, lettuce is a fun leafy green to grow that will surely get you plenty of excited wheeks in return. Common types of lettuce include romaine lettuce and little gem lettuce which can mature in as little as 30 days. Lettuce prefers cooler temperatures compared to other plants so it's best to grow in either Spring or Autumn.
Please note that not all types of lettuce are suitable for guinea pigs. For instance, iceberg lettuce is not recommended as it provides little to no nutritional value to piggies.
Green beans
For a crunchy and tasty snack, growing beans for your guinea pigs can be a lot of fun! In fact, green beans are packed full of vitamin C and can be a healthy addition to a balanced and varied piggy diet. Green beans will be ready to pick as early as 45 days after planting and yield many pods during the Summer!
Cress
Limited on space or worried you don’t have a knack for gardening? Then look no further because cress is one of the easiest plants to grow for guinea pigs. In fact, cress doesn't require any soil at all as its seeds can be sprinkled into a container lined with moist paper tissue, and then covered with cling film to trap in the moisture. Keep your eyes peeled because your cress can be ready in as little as 5 days - magic!
Mint
There are plenty of herbs that guinea pigs can enjoy and mint is no exception. It's actually one of the easiest herbs to grow! But be careful as mint can grow in abundance, so many will favour planting them in pots for a more manageable experience. For this reason, you can plant mint indoors and keep it in direct sunlight. You should have a mature plant as soon as 14 days!
Spinach
Spinach is packed with important vitamins including A, C and K as well as being full of fibre for a healthy gut. Spinach however is high in calcium so it's important to give in moderation when feeding your guinea pigs.
Its seeds can be planted in early Spring or in late Summer, and can mature in approximately 6 weeks.
Pumpkins
Although pumpkins don't grow as quickly as our other plants listed here, they're easy and undeniable fun to grow! Plus, it's worth it as guinea pigs will love nibbling on this vegetable, which is also rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Pumpkins take on average 3 months to mature and can be sown between May and July.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is another safe leafy green rich in important vitamins and minerals for guinea pigs. These leafy greens are packed in antioxidants which can be helpful in aiding against disease causing toxins.
Swiss chard is best grown in either Spring or Autumn and matures in about 10 weeks.
Honourable Mention… Grass!
Simple but tasty, grass is a quick and easy thing to grow if you want to have fresh food for your guinea pigs. After all, guinea pigs already eat a lot of this already as hay is simply dried grass that comes in a wide variety.
Grass can grow in as little as 5 days at approximately 2 - 3 cm per week and will continue to grow even after part of it is trimmed. It can also be grown in many different ways, whether it's in a large patch of soil for your piggies to run through or an indoor pot to trim for the occasional tasty treat.
A word of caution on homegrown plants for Guinea Pigs
When gardening, there are a variety of tools and products that can be used to aid and support the growth of your plants. However, not all substances used are safe for guinea pigs. Things like pesticides, fertilisers, and other lawn or garden treatments are often packed with chemicals that can cause severe harm to your small pet.
Before using anything to treat your plants, be sure to opt for natural or DIY alternatives that are often just as effective and most importantly, safe!
Conclusion
Growing your own herbs and vegetables for your guinea pigs can be a fun and rewarding experience. It can be a reliable and easy way to produce fresh food while also starting a new hobby. What plants are you planning on growing? Be sure to tag us on social media to show off your very own guinea pig gardens.
