Don't know about the horse. Check with a vet or 2. ALL parts of these plants are poison.
General Discussions - 2010 - Chapter 30
It has been my experience that most animals unless starving will not eat a plant that is posion for them unless it was baled in the hay and they ate it that way. At one time between my ranch partner and I, we had 68 horses on the property and never had one eat off the caster bean trees that grow wild at the back of the property.
There you go nini. Right from the horses mouth. Whoops, sorry Marti. Couldn't resist.
Well that answers the question. Toxic is Toxic... Will just have to keep them away from the fence so there will be no nibbling.. The large beasties can be as troublesome as the little 4 legged varmints if one plants to close to the fence. and thanks Marti... Mine tend to stay away from anything toxic too, but occasionally they nibble out of curiosity... so away from the fence they will be!
This message was edited Apr 15, 2010 10:57 PM
Don't worry about it. There is alway a chance that some animal will munch on something he shouldn't so forwarned is best.
If you google Castor beans. this info will come up. One place it did say that horses were more susceptible Than other animals, however they were talking about after the oil was extracted and then mixing the left over meal in with feeds and how much could be safely mixed in. These were lab tests. The leaves aren't quite as toxic but best stay on the safe side.
Hi , Doug . Are you and dw doing o k ? digger
Doing great. Twentieth anniversary next Wednesday and I couldn't be more in love!
Doug
Yeah , I kept that picture of you guys that I asked for and you posted .Even dh says you all was a good looking couple . I'm just getting older and fatter .
Been gone six mos. but good to be back and in touch with every one . digger
So after reading here about the castor bean plants.... Do you all plant them throughout your yard or just near your veggies? I'm putting together a rose garden for my wife and got to thinking about putting these near the new bed. Any thoughts?
Mike
Nini - Isn't that the truth about horses (and for us goat too). They nibble (2+3) on just about anything, although I do have some oleander that is supposed to be toxic and when the horses have let themselves out (they pick locks), the five of them have never tried to eat any (no hoof prints, lol). Just about anything else, weed, plant or tree is fair game though! Our voracious gophers have eaten the roots of those oleanders (and killed the ones they ate) and, apparently, have lived to eat the rest of the garden.
Plant them near anything you want to protect.
I plant them for moles. Can't say anything about gophers, rabbits, or?????
And they don't always work for moles and voles. Am learning that different things work on critters for different parts of the country. Which is strange.
Hey Doug, your on your way. January we celebrated our 50th. The kids gave us a nice party.
Digger, even work seems to make me fatter, You've heard that water and flour makes glue- - - - when you add eggs and sugar, it's a cake. Where did the glue go?? Okay found it went right the the rear end!!
I'll have to remember that . I thought I lost it , it was there all the time , all I had to do was turn around. digger
Digger you are pretty quick on the uptake as we used to say. LOL
Wonder if they have an "uplift" for it ? digger
I'll get my maters in today and plant spinach , arugula too , in left over hay . Hard to find bales , so will improvise . digger
Hey Folks
I had my first glimmer yesterday as I jammed my hand down into a "chia" bale and it was warm and toasty....am very excited....even up before the sun this AM...full of anticipation... now, if they have cooled down is it okay to begin planting in them?...
Jane
I know many are saying they are having trouble finding hay... A suggestion, if you know folks with horses or livestock, find out who supplies their hay. My hay man (who I told I was using hay to garden) let me know he had hay he would all but give away... It was the bottom row that always draws a bit of moisture from the ground making no longer usable as horse hay. Give it a try... now is the time they are trying to clear their barns of old hay to ready themselves for the new cutting that will begin in May.
Try getting small bales, 2 strings, of straw. I really don't want hay. But, a lot of "strawbaler" gardners swear by it.
Jane, if the bales are no longer warm to your hand, then you should be OK. It's gonna be cool for a few more nights, so squash and cukes might not like it.
Kent
Russ... thanks so much... Castor bean seeds arrived today in the mail at the PO Bx. I now have enough seeds to start a small forest... Moles beware! Will post photos this summer as to how they are doing. Again.. Many thanks.
nini1953; I thought you might want to use a few of the beans to crush and drop in any mole tunnels, before yours sprout and get going good.
I have found that not all will sprout so I thought extras were in order.
I will await your results and pics.
Russ
Just remember all parts of these are poisonous so be sure to wash your hands good after handling them nini. I don't think even wearing gloves works 'cause then you go on to handle other things like seeds of things you might plant to eat.
Now, that might be going to the extreme, but I guess it is ignorance like mine that gets us in trouble sometimes.
mmmmmm that could be considered an extreme, but when in doubt.???
As far as contaminating other seeds, it might keep the seeds handled from being eaten by the monster moles. lol
I think however the seed DNA would decide what to feed upon but then a little castor oil didn't kill off us older generation when we had to take it, for the cure all that it was proposed to be.
Of course my take on that now as I think back it was more like the term used by some drunks. A little hair of the dog, that got me drunk to sober up with. lol
I guess what made me so cautious Russ was that I just opened an envelope I got in the mail with some pepper seeds in it. I picked up the seed package, didn't open it, and a few minutes later I must have rubbed my eye or something because it is burning some. Must have been the packagers handling the seeds. 'cause I swear I didn't even open them.
So, why are the seeds and all parts of the caster bean poisonous Russ?
That is a question I'm not qualified to answer. Other than Racine But there again getting dust from the seeds in your eyes is another matter. Pepper seeds have more capsaicin than the actual pepper and I do believe some dust from the seeds could easily get on the outside of the package during packaging. Now for the scolding, lol. didn't your mother tell you not to rub your eyes? Only kidding!
I have had similar effect even after washing my hands after giving Barb a back rub. Same story didn't my mother - - - -???
Russ, I have found with most hot pepper seeds that even after 3 hand washings the heat is still on the hands. My mother, and yours, may not have taught us to wash good enough. LOL
:>)
Went on a little flight today. This is how to see your strawbales from a different perspective!!! Look about one o'clock behind the house. My wife and neighbors are standing in the driveway.
Doug
Doug: great view!
I can see the "project" that got me thinking about enclosing my bales!!
I see your neighbor to the right has a tiered bed garden.
Kent
Nice neighborhood , Doug . Do you mow your own grass ?
Wish I had more sun and open area to put in a veggie garden .You lucky thing !
I Googled my house and you can barely tell there is a house under all the trees . digger
Kent, yes we both do because of the slope. That's one reason strawbale gardening is so convenient, you can put them just about anywhere.
Sally, yes I mow my own. Nobody else could do it to my satisfaction!
Doug
You do a great job .I bought me an electric weedeater last week so I can keep the front down . The only level ground is where they dozed out to put my doublewide m h . Can mow very little with a push mower .I'm really in the boonies . lol
Well, one dog now on a short leash so to speak. Stopped to talk to a neighbor while working in the garden today and the gate was open and the dogs were strolling around in the garden while I worked. I returned from my conversation to see one pit bull/cross slinking out of the garden with her head hung low.... I found she had tried to dig down into three of my straw-bales that I had planted... Fortunately all she did was knock a cage askew on the tomatillo, and put a few dents in the bale... but she did dig holes in the other two... fortunately she dug between the eggplants and the damage was reparable.... Gate in now closed and dogs will not be allowed to visit unattended again! Guess it was all the blood meal I cured the bales with.... :<(
This message was edited Apr 18, 2010 9:18 PM
This message was edited Apr 18, 2010 9:19 PM
Yup, thought we talked about that earlier. Blood meal. attracts the animals. Do you have any wild animals around nini?
Let's see.. I live in a rural county, have woods and pastures and regular visits from possums and skunks. (neighbors dog just loves the skunks... they've cornered the market on tomato and lemon juice bathing their dog) A local bow hunter has told me that in the last few years we have developed a local coyote population running in the woods between my house and the neighbor (that explained the reduction in the local feral cat population.. cat h'orderves seems to be their favorite food in our area) This is the first year of using blood meal and bales.... I have a fence (4 ft high)... hopefully that will keep them all out... coyotes at least... skunks and possums are a lost cause.
Coyotes will also take small dogs , too ! Be very careful of your pooches . They will jump out and take a small one right beside you . That's a common story in rural areas . I had one come within 25 foot of me here . I was on the porch , very still , and it didn't see me , but put it's nose in the air , then strolled back into the woods . I measured the distance with a tape , then put gates on all entrances to the porch ,so when I let the dogs out they wouldn't run blindly into a coyotes mouth .
Unfortunately I know... Before we realized that they had moved into the area 3 years ago our feisty little chihuahua "disappeared" one day. Now that we know about the coyotes, we think that is what happened. He was 3 lbs of bravado. We have pugs now and are way more careful at night and only let them out in the fenced in backyard....
nini
how terrible for you to loose your little that way.
wow here when I have puppies I have to never leave them out (even if in a small expen) cause the hawks swoop in and will grab one.
Janet
Hawks, Owls, Buzzards, Coyotes, Mtn Lion, Bobcats: this is the rural life here. No dear for you? We are really semi rural, but have the foothills behind us. Four foot fence is not very tall to keep those coyotes when they are hungry. They will also 'lure' bigger dogs out by sending one coyote who then is 'run off' and chased by the pet dog. Unfortunately the pack is waiting for them. We dug down and put wire and concrete under the fences too so they could not dig in. I thought our overweight chihuahua and Miniature Pinscher would be too heavy for a hawk/owl to pick up, but I have heard otherwise and also that they will attack them on the ground and pick them apart. Box training is looking more attractive for small dogs out here! And digger is right,, they will steal them from right beside you.