Last year my husband and I put in our very first garden. It was a big garden, but we were excited about growing things, so the bigger the better, right? We had surprising success for our first attempt and learned that four hills of zucchini are FAR too many!! One thing I enjoyed most about the garden were the fresh and varied salads I picked each day for our bunnies, Speck and Gilligan. And they made it clear that eating the salad was even more wonderful! If you don’t already do some gardening for your rabbits, I hope this article will inspire you to give it a try.

Why garden if I can buy greens at the store or farmer’s market? 
Good point. Gardening isn’t for everyone. But for freshness and knowing your bunnies are eating chemical free greens, gardening can’t be beat. And if you enjoy the process of gardening, you can also save some money. During the winter, I spend about $3.00 per week for two rabbits. If I did that all year, that’s $156, not pocket change in my mind. With just pennies spent on seeds, I can save nearly half that amount by growing greens for the bunnies. Now remember, if you HATE gardening, that money savings is worthless – why do something you hate just to save money? I’ve also gotten to know the produce guys at a grocery store in town and that’s helped cut bunny food expenses as well. A quick morning call to the store and they’ll save produce scraps that would otherwise be tossed out.

Another reason I think gardening is better than the store or a farmer’s market is convenience. Since moving to northern Wisconsin, I no longer have the convenience of a grocery store on my route to work. This change has turned me into a “greens manager.” I would hate to run out and have to face angry glares from Speck and Gilligan! The summer garden eliminates one item from my list of things to remember and to do. A simple stroll to the garden results in a delightful salad.

How to get started 
We have 3 acres and a large sunny area of the yard, so choosing a garden location was simple. My advice, pick a sunny spot in your yard, remove the grass/sod and, more or less, you have a garden. You may want to take it a step further and build a raised bed, which is essentially a low bottomless box filled with soil.

If you don’t have a yard, consider patio or balcony gardening. Here your garden is made up of pots or planters. Some greens that rabbits enjoy will also grow indoors in a sunny windowsill.

Now you need seeds. This is the fun part. When selecting what you’d like to grow for your bunnies, keep in mind your space limitations and any other restrictions you might have, like soil type, length of growing season and exposure to sunlight. Be sure to pay close attention to the instructions on the seed packets. To give you some ideas, let me share with you a list of what we planted last year and became bunny food.

First, here are some selections that can be planted as two crops; one in the spring and one in the late summer/early fall, thus maximizing your output:

Radishes – Rabbits shouldn’t be fed the radish, but the greens are a delight to many bunnies. I tried both white and red radishes and had most success with the red ones, both in terms of radish production and leaf tastiness, according to Speck & Gilligan.

Spinach – Since us bipeds enjoy fresh spinach in salads too, Speck and Gilligan had to share the spinach!

Mustard Greens – These were a hit with my guys and I almost didn’t plant them.

And here are the other selections we plant only once during the season:

Turnip Greens – These were very productive, but a bit of a flop in terms of popularity with our bunnies. They’d eat them sometimes, but often turned up their noses at them.

Carrots – The tops and bottoms are rabbit delicacies!

Peas – While we enjoyed the peas, the bunnies drooled over the leaves and stems. These are like candy to our guys!

Herbs – I’m listing this as a category because there are several that are quite popular with rabbits. Last year we grew dill, cilantro and parsley and all were the first to be eaten from any given salad. I also planted basil, but nothing ever came up; perhaps we’ll have better luck this year.

Wild plants and flower garden fare – Dandelions are a favorite in our house and with our “natural” yard, we grow some dandies! Violet leaves are a treat, as are some clovers and mints.

It’s important to remember that bunnies are like us, each with their own unique food preferences. Plant some known commodities and experiment with others. A success at our house doesn’t guarantee one at yours.

How to keep it going 
Weeding and watering the garden in the morning became a regular activity for me last summer. Our soil is very sandy so regular watering was necessary. And since we have a “natural” yard, weeding is too. In your garden, you’ll want to water, but frequency will depend on your conditions. While I enjoy the weeding process, many folks don’t, so you may consider mulching as an alternative to keep weeds at bay. Newspaper, grass clippings or leaves will all work as mulch, and can be scattered around the garden plants. Not only will this organic layer help deter weed growth; it can also be worked into the soil at the end of the season, adding some additional organic matter to the soil. Your need to fertilize will depend on your soil type and consistency.

The beauty of it all 
One of the first things we did when we moved to our new home was build a compost bin out of old wood pallets. Since we were already dreaming of this huge garden and knew that our soil was sandy, we had organic matter on the brain. And who better to contribute to production of this organic matter but the bunnies! Each week litter pans, filled with urine-soaked wood pellets, bunny berries and rejected hay, are dumped into our compost bin. Last spring we were able to add the compost from our first year to the garden. In case you haven’t already figured it out, we’ve set up a nice recycling program here – we grow the greens, the bunnies eat the greens, the bunnies make compost material, processed compost is added to the garden and we plant once more. This is the beauty of it all. And remember, when gardening for bunnies, it’s important to HAVE FUN!

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