Late September early October… the grass stops growing and starts seeding. By December there isn’t any grass to speak of, it either dies off or is going to start re-growing once the rains start again.
Ribwort plantain, dandelions and many grasses are not growing any more, but they are seeding and flowering.
So, I’m trying to prepare…
If you want more information about grasses and hays, visit our article in the Health Library.
For about 2 months, I have been harvesting grass from neighbouring properties, giving my grass time to grow. One property I have been harvesting from had not been mowed since February, and the grass was the best.
I make sure to give Nova and Buttons a selection of different grasses for their dinner, mixed with fresh parsley, sow thistle and weeds like ribwort plantain and dandelion leaves.
It may seem like a lot of grass for 2 bunnies, but it’s not. This is the amount they need to eat each day.
Grass is calculated in dry matter. If you imagine that amount of grass in the photo above dried, like hay, there would be less because the water content is removed.
All of that grass is always gone by morning.
Now that it’s spring, so grass is growing really well. I was given packets of grass seeds (oat groats, wheatgrass, rye and barley) for my birthday back in June, I was planning on growing them, but it would have been too hard in winter. Now that the sun is out (mostly), I got my old litter boxes, put some dirt in the bottom, about 2cm thick, then spread some grass seeds on top. Covered it with more dirt, and spread another couple of handfuls of seeds on that. I finished it off with a light sprinkle of dirt on top (some seeds didn’t get dirt on top), and then lightly watered it.
About three days later the seeds started to sprout, and a week later the grass was about 5cm tall.
I made sure not to water it too heavily because I didn’t want the grass to start rotting, I didn’t put holes in the bottoms of the litter boxes for the water to drain out.
A few days later, once I knew my method was working, I planted other seeds and a few days later they started to sprout.
I had to cover the litter boxes with mesh so the birds couldn’t get to the seeds.
I then decided to beautify my grass garden (the part at the back with the taller grass), by adding more grass from around the place. I want to extend the grass garden out further and grow the grass at the front. But to do that, I need to prepare…
I planted some seeds and then covered it with the mesh cage to keep birds and animals out.
My first job was to extend the grass garden out to the left. I had to remove half of the purple daisy bush, and then find more grass plants from around the property that were considered to be in the wrong place, and transplant them. I found dandelion weeds and ribwort plantain and moved them into the new garden. In the bare areas, I spread more grass seeds. But to stop the birds from getting to them, I made a wire mesh cube from old bunny-pen panels, and popped it on top.
Grass takes forever to grow. I currently trim my grass garden once every two weeks and get about 5-7cm lengths from it. It grows faster once it has rained. I’m trying to not cut the seed heads on the grass so I have a constant crop in the future.
But this little bit of grass will not be enough for constant harvesting between the start of January to late April when grass isn’t growing. I need lots of grass patches around the property, and I need to finish my grass garden asap.
My plan for the grass garden.
I want to plant a stack of grass in the new grass zone. Some grass is already growing, but that particular grass is not the bunny’s favourite, so I might replace it.
I’m thinking about getting a pile of dirt to spread over the top, and plant a stack of grass seeds on it. But the problem will be to keep the Black Birds from eating the seeds.
I’m also planning to replant the grass growing in the litter boxes into my grass garden, and then repeat the grass growing process in the boxes.
A few more days and I planted the grass in my grass garden. It looks a bit sad with dirt everywhere; it will grow through it.
And so, I started a new collection of grass in the three litter boxes.
I first cleaned and washed the litter boxes to remove the old dirt stains. I then made sure that the litter boxes were dry before adding new dirt and seeds.
I repeated this process a few times, and I found that 1 in every 6 trays of seeds never sprouted. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. I ended up wanting to skip every 6th tray and go from 5 to 7, but it didn’t work that way.
October, 2023 Update
It’s growing!
Some of my kitty litter grass has gone on the right in the back (it’s shorter and greener).
I have to plant more grass in the bare patches, but it’s getting there. I have put down some old bunny hay on the grass and it has grown through it.
All the grass will die off soon. But I need it to seed because I want more grass. The only thing is, it will take longer to grow back once it has seeded. If you want to keep your grass for as long as you can, let it grow to about 30cm and then cut it down to 5-10cm. Grass loves being cut.
It will take a couple of weeks to start growing back again, but if you harvest in sections, you should have a constant supply.
I got all creative and also made a path.
My messy Bunny Patch. It is definitely not pretty, but it is functional. Each blade of grass is precious.
Feb, 2024 Update
When the grass is growing, leave it alone. Don’t cut it until it has reached its milk (usually 15-20cm long with 3-4 leaves on each stalk) or mature stage (20-30cm long). If you cut it too soon, it will die or reseed. Then again, if you don’t keep it short (15-30cm max.) it will reseed and then die. So it’s all in the balance…
All the grass died in early January and went to seed. I wanted to keep the seeds, so I let them drop which isn’t really the best idea at all.
In mid Jan 2024, we whippersnipped the whole patch so it was only about 5cm tall. It was yellow and dead. I thought I had destroyed my grass patch.
I then covered it with rye hay, to give the ground some food. I made sure I watered it really well to make sure that a micro-climate could begin to develop.
I made sure to not put a thick layer of hay down because grass seeds need to breathe, and also on hot days hay can ignite by itself.
By the start of Feb, the grass started to grow back. I have already trimmed it once and fed it to the bunnies, which they enjoyed.
I just have to remember to keep watering it every few days when the weather is super hot.
Now that I have had the grass drop their seeds, it can take a couple of years for that grass to sprout. So, I’ll try to keep the grass to about 15-20cm tall all year around (in 2024) and see how that goes.
I’m also thinking about fertilising it with something like this, which will give it a boost. I’ll have to do that before April because I want to catch it before it starts putting effort into growing again.
Hint:
Don’t use lawn fertiliser on grass that you want to feed rabbits. It has poisons in it that can cause organ issues over time. Keep to something organic like seaweed solutions. Also, once you fertilise your grass, don’t feed the grass to your rabbit for a couple of weeks. The boost in vitamins and minerals in the grass can upset a bunny’s tummy. It’s safer to water the grass a few times over a couple of weeks before giving it to your bunny to eat.
Once you fertilise the grass, don’t water it for a few days. Let the seaweed fertiliser soak in. Then give the grass a good watering every few days. Don’t over water. Keep an eye on the wetness of the dirt, if it is still damp, you don’t need to water it. Make sure that the water soaks into the dirt, because some dirts are hydrophobic (won’t soak water in), like my dirt, and that means you have to dig finger deep holes in the dirt to let the water soak in. Surface watering is beneficial if you don’t want the grass to die during hot weather, but sub-surface watering will maintain the health of your grass.
April, 2024 Update
Well, after some autumnal rain in mid April the grass started to grow. The bunnies have already had a feed from it.
Now, I’ll just let it grow for a few more weeks to let it establish.
I can already tell that there are more varieties of grass growing from all the seeds I collected in January. I’m glad that it won’t take a couple of years for some of the grasses to grow.