Fitting Fodder into Your Day...

The first thing to know about fodder and producing it is this:  It WILL require an additional bit of effort on your part!  With fodder, there is no more "scoop the feed, fill the feeders, move on"...you have to be sure it is watered, prepped, and doing well each day.  To a small degree it is a "set it and forget it" thing, but it still adds a bit to my day.

During trials, it was especially hard because nothing was really set up right - I had some trays balanced on the sink and over a few rubber maid tubs and was just making to do.  I wanted to see if the added effort was something I could keep up with and most importantly if the wheat I had found would even grow.  Well, it did :)

From seeds to fodder mat, ain't it pretty???  I was highly excited, but due to the fact that the inside of our house is pretty much all wood I knew we couldn't be growing fodder indoors.  Nope, can't take a chance with this little cabin we call home...so I admit I have tried a few things and so far have settled on one I think will work mostly long term, for now...but that's another post...

Suffice it to say fodder adds about 15-20 minutes to my morning and a few more minutes to my day here and there.  I have chosen NOT to go with recycled water in my system, and I also do not use automated watering (at least not yet).  With the fact that those would require some plumbing and what not, well, I am no plumber even if I did grow up in a hardware store (and I did) so it's me and my hose until I get creative enough or my husband gets tired of having to water it for me when he is home hahaha....

I guess all together, doing it "the hard way" and watering by hand it adds about an hour to my day - but since I am often outside piddling around aimlessly for about that much of the day anyways just checking on the critters and what not, well, it's not that bad and not it is not that aimless either :)

Even if you have the watering automated, plan to spend an extra 15-20 each morning prepping the fodder.  I have chosen to soak the seeds first in a bleach solution, then come back after I feed everything (when I remember to) and spread them on trays and I water it the first time after I feed it...

It's not too bad adding the extra bit of work for the quality of home grown feed we now have - sure a little Clorox goes on it, but no other crazy harsh chemicals once I have it at least and the animals LOVE it!

This is Rocket, who is NOT a "grabby, mouthy" horse by any means all but snatching it right from my husbands hands!  No really, honest, Rocket NEVER tries to "take" anything from your hands - forget treats with this horse - but fodder he WILL take! He runs to eat each morning now and is looking good that's for sure! And the goats! Oh my good grief! They fight over it and I have had a jail break where they chose the fodder over the feed room once...naughty greedy things those does!

Speaking of, I am late to milk tonight...but just remember this:  If you don't have a few extra minutes in your day fodder may not be for you and that's okay too :)  But it sure is worth if it you can squeeze it into your chores!

Sourcing Seeds for Fodder...

The first thing I did when preparing for my fodder trials was clear out a spot in the mudroom to actually grow the stuff, and then I gathered a few trays that would work.  Seeds however were a bigger challenge....

Here in Texas,. barley is not nearly as common or easy to come by as it is in other regions of the U.S.  This posed a problem - everyone was talking about BARLEY fodder...okay...so I looked and researched some more...It seems people also use a product from Tractor Supply called "Plot Spike" - it is meant to be tossed out in the woods and such on deer leases to get stuff growing that deer will like to nibble on.  Deer and goats being so close in so many ways, I knew that I could, if need be, sprout this stuff...but it was pricey! One major point was to bring down costs right?  Plus, I intended to feed this fodder to our horses and they are very much NOT like deer right? Okay...

So then I discovered that WHEAT would grow as well....okay...still not all that easy to find...but I DID find it!

A tip for those in Texas growing fodder...if your feed store carries Boyce products, ask them to order the Wheat.  It grows BEAUTIFULLY! Now, what if you aren't in Texas or can't get the Boyce products?

Well...call around....Human Health Food Stores - ah ha!  They carry organic and often non GMO as well barley AND wheat for sprouting and grinding into flour and such!  It will cost you a little more, but to me it is worth it.  Plus, the most local to me place will order it in bulk and offers a discount if they do that for me.  Pretty nifty right?

Call local or near as you can find local grain elevators.  They often can help you and point you the right way.  Call the other feed dealers.  Here we have Lone Star, MG, and a few others...the rep at Lone Star actually told me about Boyce...see...they CAN be helpful even if it is not their product!  They aren't out to be jerks, and can point you the right direction.

I actually called around for a friend yesterday.  She lives a few hours away from me, but still here in Texas.  First, I called Boyce and asked who the dealers were nearest to her, and got their number.  Then I ended up on the phone with a very nice, if ill informed as far as fodder goes, gentleman who talked my ear off LOL :)  But he was super helpful, gave me the info I needed to pass along to my friend and SCORE!  She now has a good source for wheat!

It does take a little creative effort sometimes to find what you want.  Often, telling people what you are doing with it helps!  Don't be afraid to say that you are looking for something that you can grow into fodder.  Most people will be glad to help you and even intrigued as to what you are up to.  I can't tell you how many times I have had to stop and explain the basics of fodder itself when I was telling someone on the phone what I was up to and why I wanted whole wheat or barley.

So, lesson here is:  don't be afraid to let your fingers do the walking, pick up the phone, and exhaust all resources before you give up and don't get hung up on growing just one thing like barley!  I almost didn't even attempt this after hitting a few dead ends...but perseverance is the key :)

I had my wheat, I had a few supplies...and the trials began :)