Growing fruit seeds and vegetable seeds for your family is a great reason to get out into the garden and dirty your hands. Why stop there when there are various ways to include homegrown food into your pet’s lifestyle? Creating a pet-friendly garden is simple and easy, with many plants that your little friends will enjoy just as much as you. Learn which plants are pet-friendly and create the ultimate pet-friendly garden today!
What Plants Are Pet-Friendly?
We all love spending our days in the garden growing all kinds of plants with big blooming flower gardens full of the most colourful flower seeds and fruit seeds, growing the ripest, tastiest fruit for all the family to enjoy. It can be easy to forget that the smallest members of our family also love the garden, and with the right plants, you can create a pet-friendly garden full of smells and tastes they will adore.
Sprouts and Microgreens for Your Furry Friends
Simple and easy-to-grow sprouts and microgreens are a great way to start gardening with children, but with the right seed, you can also grow microgreens for your pets to enjoy! Here at Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, we offer an extensive range of both sprout seeds and microgreen seeds with some great pet-friendly options. Alfalfa, snow peas, and mung bean are fun, healthy choices for your chicken, rabbit, bird, and even horses!
Dogs can also tolerate a variety of sprouts and microgreen seeds, but be sure to consult with your veterinarian prior to adding new foods and ensure they are part of a balanced diet. Our sprouts and microgreens make excellent treats for your pets and are a great addition to your pet-friendly garden as well as your kitchen arsenal. Have them in a sandwich for some extra crunch or as a garnish for your dinner.
Pet-Friendly Veg
There are many veggies that our pets enjoy munching away on. Vegetables, including carrots and celery, are great for horses, birds, and guinea pigs, and they will love the freshness of homegrown crops! Leafy greens are also a great item to grow for their nutritional value. Some good greens include lettuce, spinach, and kale, as they are quick-growing and well-tolerated by a range of animals.
Avoid giving your pets any vegetables from the Allium genus of plants. This would include anything related to onions, such as leeks, garlic, shallots, and chives, as they can be toxic and may also cause anaemia in dogs.
Cat Grass, Catmint, and Catnip
Cats are more selective when it comes to plants. As obligate carnivores, they rely on a meat-based diet to obtain essential nutrients. Occasionally, they like to nibble on bits of grass for digestion or roll around in some catnip. Rather than adding greens to their food, let them graze when they please by setting up a cat garden.
A cat garden can be grown indoors or outdoors in a wide, shallow tray. If you are creating your own tray for cat grass, catmint, or catnip, be sure to pick up some good-quality potting mix free of pathogens and raw manures. Lay out a fine layer of seed onto a damp seed-raising mix and press it into the soil. Lightly cover this with some soil and mist with a spray bottle daily as required. Alternatively, use one of our gardening kits to simplify the entire process. With Mr Fothergill's All-In-One Cat Grass or Catnip Kit, you can make growing your feline friend's pet-friendly garden fun and easy!
When the plants are nice and robust, keep the tray in a sunny position accessible to your cats. Your dogs will also enjoy a bit of greenery and may nibble on this too!
Chicken Foraging Mix
Chickens are great garden companions as they pick up bugs throughout the garden and turn food scraps into rich compost. As they do so much for us, why not add more variety to their day and give them some essential nutrients? Try out a foraging patch where they can browse and nibble. Mr Fothergill’s Chicken Foraging Mix is a nifty blend of Bok Choy, Buckwheat, Clover, Kale, Millet, sunflower seeds, and many more seed varieties, containing all the goodies your chickens will love.
Once the bed is well established, allow them to roam the area. It helps to have a couple in succession, as grazed beds can be left to reshoot.
Find a Wide Selection of Pet-Friendly Plants at Mr Fothergill’s
Creating a pet-friendly garden has never been easier, and at Mr Fothergill’s, you can find a massive range of pet-friendly seeds and kits that both your furry and feathered friends can enjoy. Before feeding your pets anything new, always consult with your veterinarian to ensure that the new foods are safe and in addition to a balanced diet.
Not all tiny visitors are welcome in our gardens, and while we want a pet-friendly garden, some unwanted pests may also look to take advantage. Find out how to make your garden unwelcome to pests and learn how to deter possums from enjoying the plants meant for your pets.
You can find Mr Fothergill’s pet-friendly plants online at any good garden centre or major hardware store. If you have any questions, be sure to contact us, and a member of our team will be happy to help.
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