I bought a few packets of cat grass along with the herbs and other seeds I need to get started...I have a nice oval clay pot that I planted about 1/3 of a packet of cat grass in. I left it setting on my stovetop since I have an older gas stove and pilot lights are always on...
Tonight it was tall enough to put down for the cats to investigate...Gump immediately planted himself in front of the pot and would not let the other near until he had his fill of grass...LOL
Gump is also my catnip junkie...I did get a packet of catnip to plant as well - even though it grows in abundance around our property...I figured it would be nice to have some inside that I know for sure no pesticides have blown onto it from neighboring land!
Cat Grass
Re: Cat Grass
So tell me when you've had success with indoor-grown catnip. Then tell me how to do it. 
I'm been thinking of doing it too, but afraid they won't make it indoors, since I only have one room I can do it in, and the window only provides a few morning hours of sun. I can take them outside for a bit at a time each day on the porch, guess that would work.
I still intend to get the established ones from one of our local greenhouses, they're so easy to do and usually established enough to plant right out of the containers, have had pretty good luck with them in pots, not so much in the ground .
(I think I have crappy soil, they flourish over spring and summer but won't come back the following year - I'm going to rework the soil this spring).
I'm been thinking of doing it too, but afraid they won't make it indoors, since I only have one room I can do it in, and the window only provides a few morning hours of sun. I can take them outside for a bit at a time each day on the porch, guess that would work.
I still intend to get the established ones from one of our local greenhouses, they're so easy to do and usually established enough to plant right out of the containers, have had pretty good luck with them in pots, not so much in the ground .
(I think I have crappy soil, they flourish over spring and summer but won't come back the following year - I'm going to rework the soil this spring)...........Traci
Traci - do you have any fluorescent lights (in the kitchen?). Fluorescent lights make a pretty good replacement for sunlight. If you don't have any overhead, think about buying a desk lamp and using it. Just be sure to leave the light(s) on long enough to simulate a full day's sunlight.
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Cat Grass
K9 siad what I was going to say....I just keep the pot of cat grass on the kitchen floor near their food now that is it established...as I said, for warmth, for germinating, I had it setting on our gas stove between the burners...it stays warm there....
But flourescent lights will work too...
I do not have alot of actual suin coming through windows...my east ones have an 8 foot screened porch there...the north adn south both have trees all around, so even my south side is the shadiest side...and the west only has one set of windows, that the bottom of them is 5 feet from the floor - this is where I have the bookshelves with the top one a few inches below the sill so they can sit or lay there, but I know the pot would get knocked off and broken!!
I have not started the catnip yet...I want to find another suitable clay pot to start it in...something a bit bigger and deeper, but still easy enough for them to stand and graze at....or in Gumps case, gobble and hoard it!
But flourescent lights will work too...
I do not have alot of actual suin coming through windows...my east ones have an 8 foot screened porch there...the north adn south both have trees all around, so even my south side is the shadiest side...and the west only has one set of windows, that the bottom of them is 5 feet from the floor - this is where I have the bookshelves with the top one a few inches below the sill so they can sit or lay there, but I know the pot would get knocked off and broken!!
I have not started the catnip yet...I want to find another suitable clay pot to start it in...something a bit bigger and deeper, but still easy enough for them to stand and graze at....or in Gumps case, gobble and hoard it!
Re: Cat Grass
as for your soil.....if it is too clayey or too sandy...you can do a ribbon test to determine how much clay it has in it...and modify it if needed...
If too clayey and drainage is not good, add some sand and work it in with a potato fork...when I need to change soil composition, I just give it a good aeration with a fork then sprinkle the sand, or whatever, down about 1'2 inch thick, making sure it falls into the holes and loosely fills them...then gently rake...in time, with freeze/thaws and just ground shifting and worms and so forth, it will mingle in...
If your soil is compact...get some good earthworms at a bait shop and set them loose in your gardens!
Also, depending on exposure/location...with your winters, planting on the west side is probably not good for them...if you can provide a bit of a microclimate on the southwest side of your house, where it is better protected, it might do better there
visual and physical soil testing
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/la/la_001.cfm
Also working in milorganite s good gentle and safe soil ammenders to help get them nourished and able to support a variety of plant and animal life again
http://www.milorganite.com/
If too clayey and drainage is not good, add some sand and work it in with a potato fork...when I need to change soil composition, I just give it a good aeration with a fork then sprinkle the sand, or whatever, down about 1'2 inch thick, making sure it falls into the holes and loosely fills them...then gently rake...in time, with freeze/thaws and just ground shifting and worms and so forth, it will mingle in...
If your soil is compact...get some good earthworms at a bait shop and set them loose in your gardens!
Also, depending on exposure/location...with your winters, planting on the west side is probably not good for them...if you can provide a bit of a microclimate on the southwest side of your house, where it is better protected, it might do better there
visual and physical soil testing
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/la/la_001.cfm
Also working in milorganite s good gentle and safe soil ammenders to help get them nourished and able to support a variety of plant and animal life again
http://www.milorganite.com/
Re: Cat Grass
I only have one flourescent light, which is used for my dragon's cage. Don't really want to set up another, although the desk lamp idea sounds cool.
Tambrey, the catnip patch is on the southwest corner, gets both sun and shade, it's in a perfect spot. The plants do flourish in the summer, they just don't come back for some reason.
The soil in the catnip patch area isn't so much sandy or clay, but definitely full of rocks (kind of like hard limestone), I dug a lot of it out, put in some new topsoil, added just a touch of potting soil, and worked it through. Maybe since it's on a slight incline, and since the snow accumulates in that area more than any other area in my yard, it's getting too damp?
Or maybe it's a crappy species they're selling at the nurseries?
Tambrey, the catnip patch is on the southwest corner, gets both sun and shade, it's in a perfect spot. The plants do flourish in the summer, they just don't come back for some reason.
The soil in the catnip patch area isn't so much sandy or clay, but definitely full of rocks (kind of like hard limestone), I dug a lot of it out, put in some new topsoil, added just a touch of potting soil, and worked it through. Maybe since it's on a slight incline, and since the snow accumulates in that area more than any other area in my yard, it's getting too damp?
Or maybe it's a crappy species they're selling at the nurseries?
..........Traci
Limestone may be causing a pH problem. If I remember my basic chemistry correctly, it's very alkaline. Although, when I think about it, calcium carbonate plus water equals carbolic acid, so I may have it backwards (Tambrey - right or wrong?) You can buy a pH tester at most garden supply shops or if you have a farm supply store near you, they may offer the service (don't know what, if anything, it might cost). If you have alkaline soil, it's pretty easy to correct. My mom used pickle juice. When the pickles were gone, she'd dilute out the juice and apply it to the garden. If it's too acidic, I'm sure there is a remedy for that as well.
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Cat Grass
Ok, but how come all my other plants are doing ok? The rock is everywhere and they're doing fine.
..........Traci
Re: Cat Grass
I wonder if the winter winds and cold coming in from the west is too much for it?
Do you get just a regular catnip or one with a name like "Walker's Low" or "Trudi" or any other variety? some of those are more for zone 5, so maybe that is the difference?
Lots of nurseries do not pay attention to the actual zone, and some sell what would be a perennial in the south as more of an annual in northern states....
Do you get just a regular catnip or one with a name like "Walker's Low" or "Trudi" or any other variety? some of those are more for zone 5, so maybe that is the difference?
Lots of nurseries do not pay attention to the actual zone, and some sell what would be a perennial in the south as more of an annual in northern states....
I suspect Tambrey is right - you just need to find the right variety for your cold climate. It's also ppssible that this particular plant is more sensitive to pH than others. I've found with plants, it's as much luck as it is science.
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.