Raw oats

[MyBabyHasPaws]

I have raw oat seeds.. when I plant them do I give my buns the sprouts? Or am I suppose to wait till it dries and go thru that whole long process?

I bought the soil and the pot yesterday but I'm unsure now? If I can give the grass from the seeds i'll grow it, but if I have to wait and dry it and get the oats I wont bother, and i'll have 50lbs of seeds I dont need.

I tried to Google, and its not really giving me much. I have very little knowledge about gardening and whatnot so I hope this isnt a stupid question..

 

[caustin4]

I would think its okay to give the grass straight from the ground. Everything I've read says oat hay is safe and grass is safe, so I'd assume the oat grass is also safe. Maybe someone else will know?

 

[MiniLopHop]

I grow a "cat grass" mixture for my cats and rabbits. It has oat, wheat, and something else in the mix. I just put them in a pot and when the lawn is a couple inches cut with scisors. The cats can get to the pot so they chomp as desired but I cut for the rabbits because you can get a couple rounds that way before needing to resead.

I feel it is a great addition to the normal diet to have fresh, clean grass. The kids can't get enough of it and I'm thinking of using larger containers so I can grow more at a time.

Happy nomming!

 

[LakeCondo]

I suppose you can give them the sprouts, but I'd also spread some on top of a tray of potting soil or seed-starting mix, let the grass grow to about 6", cut off all but 1" & feed it to them. You can keep doing this a number of times until the oat grass stops growing.

If you do both, you can see what they & you prefer.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

I planted the seeds yesterday, I have the worst luck with growing things so I hope this works. If it works out good ill buy a bunch more pots, I got the really long window one for now.

 

[LakeCondo]

I should have mentioned that the oats should be just barely under the soil level. And then keep evenly moist. Germination is the most bothersome period for me, but at least these aren't some expensive seeds that it would be difficult to replace.

Another option is to let start sprouting some & when they just germinate, use a tiny spoon or tweezers to gently put them on the soil surface & gently cover with soil. This would be time-consuming, but could be a fall-back position.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Oh man. I covered them with 1.5" of soil maybe a little more? I really suck at this! I have been watching them every single day hoping to see a little something. I read that the germination time can be from 7-10 days so I still have some time.. I have been watering daily.

I want to do a herb garden but there are so many pests to worry about here. I once had a garden, i planted strawberries, green peppers, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, cucumbers and onions.. i only got to try strawberries. Woke up one day to bare plants, everything had been eaten by these HUGE green caterpillar looking things, i was devastated and just gave up.

Are there any plants I could keep inside? Maybe basil since i've been learning it is so easy to grow? I do have mint, but its kinda dieing.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

I wish you were closer, i would give you LBS of this stuff! lol

 

[MiniLopHop]

This is my indoor system for growing herbs, it's called aerogrow. I just "planted"

Here's my little oat pot

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

That looks so cool! I think I know what I want for my birthday now!!!!!

 

[LakeCondo]

Oats & wheat are in the grass family & often need a little light to germinate. Think how farmers plant them, just scattering the seeds on top. That's not ideal, either, but they're hardly able to cover each seed & pat it down.

Just forget about the ones you buried. Just scrape up a little of the soil on top & plant more, then put the soil on top & press down to make sure everything is touching. See Brandy's pot of oats: you see some of them on the surface [though I've found that just barely covering them works a little better].

If the oats had been expensive seeds, their package would have said how deep to plant them. 1.5" is a bit deep for most things, but it sounds about right for corn, lol, & maybe beans.

Gardening, like lots of other things, is a matter of trial & error. And you don't have to worry when you kill plants that they suffered.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Thats what i'll do today. I was looking at it yesterday and I dont think there is any hope there..

I planted them pretty dense, can I still do that? I just put handfuls of the stuff down and convered.

I'll get it someday lol

 

[Kipcha]

I plant my Wheat Grass fairly dense and the stuff grows like weeds!

My buns love the stuff, I often put the pan in the play room to let them graze. Generally when I plant I see little sprouts coming up after 2-3 days so it grows pretty darn quick.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Sooo nice! The seeds that I have are the ones with husks.. is that okay? Should they not have that outer shell thing?
:?

 

[Apebull]

I've been watching this treat. I think I will try this. My one earth box is currently empty since the corn and beans are gone. So it's wheat grass or oats??? OR does it make a difference???:? And will it take the heat, it's been well into it's 90s here.

 

[LakeCondo]

Density -- I'd say that after you sprinkle the seeds so that bare spots are small, that's plenty. They shouldn't be on top of each other or anything.

Husks? -- I've always bought wheat berries that were prepared for human consumption, so already husked. BUT before the hunter-gatherers became farmers, the wheat grew without human help, so weren't husked & grew just fine.

Oats should grow just fine unhusked, the oat berries will germinate & push their way through the husks.

Just for fun, you might want to try to remove the chaff from the wheat the way my mom showed us when we were kids. I assume it'd work with oats as well. On a day with just a slight breeze, we spread some newspaper on a cement area, then put some grain into a ladle or big spoon & poured the wheat out from 2-3 feet. The breeze will blow some of the chaff away. Repeat the process until all the chaff is gone. You may need to loosen up the husks by putting another layer of newspaper on top & using a rolling pin or just a tin can on its side on it. Then do the breeze part.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

I have been lazy so I didnt get around to re-planting but today I was ready. Low and behold I have sprouts! Made my day! So i'm just going to leave it alone for now.

April,
What i'm growing is oat grass. I bought these seeds from the supply store thinking it was okay for the buns to eat. I was wrong, and the only way I can make it work is by growing them and giving the grass. Now i'm thinking about making some hay too. I've been reading on it so we'll see..

Its been in the 90's the whole week, since mine have started sprouting I think heat is okay, but i read that it should be planted in April.

Wheat grass is safe for your buns too. So either or

 

[LakeCondo]

Or regular grass in a pan works at well, if you've got some on hand from lawn work.

Planting grains in April is what farmers do, but I don't know about Florida. And farmers are wanting it to grow enough that new oats can be harvested. You want to grow it for hay. So I'd say go for it, as you have lots more to sow next year. But my guess is your growing season is plenty long enough that some might go to seed if you don't cut it in the hay stage. After all, Timothy hay is described as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd cutting, so that means Timothy hay is cut 3 times, & that's further north than Florida.