Re: Tortoise food: Grow Your Own

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Posted by Theresa on June 09, 2001 at 22:37:25:

In Reply to: Tortoise food: Grow Your Own posted by Vic Herrick on June 08, 2001 at 02:38:45:

: Is amaranth a suitable food for tortoises? Amaranth cultivars are commonly grown as ornamental and edible for humans, something like spinach with less oxalic acid. I was thinking of the leaves, not the grain. Grateful for your comments. I feed a wide variety, but when the Summer is hottest, other "greens" are hard to grow here in the Sierra foothills.

Hi there,
Amaranth is low in protein but has a poor ca/ph ratio 1 cup = 28.000 grams
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/list_nut.pl

From this link:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Amaranthus+retroflexus

No members of this genus are known to be poisonous, but when grown on nitrogen-rich soils they are known to concentrate nitrates in the leaves. This is especially noticeable on land where chemical fertilizers are used. Nitrates are implicated in stomach cancers, blue babies and some other health problems. It is inadvisable, therefore, to eat this plant if it is grown inorganically.

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Re: Tortoise food: Grow Your Own MIkael 06/13/01 (0)

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: : Is amaranth a suitable food for tortoises? Amaranth cultivars are commonly grown as ornamental and edible for humans, something like spinach with less oxalic acid. I was thinking of the leaves, not the grain. Grateful for your comments. I feed a wide variety, but when the Summer is hottest, other "greens" are hard to grow here in the Sierra foothills. : : Hi there, : Amaranth is low in protein but has a poor ca/ph ratio 1 cup = 28.000 grams : http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/list_nut.pl : From this link: : http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Amaranthus+retroflexus : No members of this genus are known to be poisonous, but when grown on nitrogen-rich soils they are known to concentrate nitrates in the leaves. This is especially noticeable on land where chemical fertilizers are used. Nitrates are implicated in stomach cancers, blue babies and some other health problems. It is inadvisable, therefore, to eat this plant if it is grown inorganically.

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