Guest Post by Claire Splan
Cats (and some dogs) love to nibble at grass, but you may not want to
encourage them to chew on the lawn, particularly if the lawn's been
treated with non-organic amendments or pesticides. Planting a pot of
grasses especially for your pets will encourage them to leave other
plants alone (particularly housecats that sometimes nibble out of
boredom). You can sow seeds of just about any annual cereal grass but
many seed companies sell packets of grass mixes especially for cats.
These combinations of rye, oats, barley, and wheat are very appealing to
cats, especially when you fertilize them with a shot of fish emulsion.
Growing Annual Grasses
Choose
a wide, shallow pot, such as a bulb pot, to sow the seeds in. Fill it
up to about an inch from the top with potting soil, then sprinkle the
grass seeds over the top. Aim to space the seeds about 1/4 inch apart.
Sprinkle about 1/2 inch of potting mix over the seeds and press to get
good contact between the soil and seeds. Water well and place where it
will get at least a half-day of sun. Keep evenly moist and seeds should
germinate within a week. Wait until the grass is a couple inches high
before giving it to your cats to nibble. Water regularly and feed with a
fish emulsion solution every couple of weeks. If you plant a container
every 4 to 6 weeks, you'll have a steady crop of grass to keep your cats
happy.
Growing Catmint and Catnip
While
cat grasses are fast-growing and tasty (if you're a cat), they are
annuals, which means you need to re-sow seeds in order to keep them
continuously growing. Catmint (Nepeta mussinii) and catnip (Nepeta cataria)
are herbaceous perennials, meaning that they will die back to the roots
in the winter, but re-sprout from the same root system in the spring.
They also both contain the organic compound called nepetalactone, which
is known to attract felines. In other words, catmint and catnip are
recreational drugs for cats.
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Linus, the undergardener, looking for catnip |
Catmint and catnip need full sun. Sow seeds in the spring or plant
container-grown plants in the spring or fall. They will grow into
mounded plants between 12 and 18 inches high. Catmint in particular
makes a nice groundcover. Both plants will develop flower spikes
(catmint flowers are lavender and catnip can be white/pink/lavender).
When the flowers fade, just cut them back and the plant will be rebloom.
Although they tend to be hardy plants that will grow in almost any
soil, they do best when fed every couple weeks with a weak organic
fertilizer. With regular feeding they'll be better able to withstand the
constant nibbling that they will have to endure.
Resources
There are several companies that offer seed mixes for cat grasses as well as catmint or catnip seeds. My favorites include Renee's Garden Seeds, Burpee, Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply, and Botanical Interests. You can also use pre-seeded disks, available from Botanical Interests, which are more expensive, but easy to use and result in more even sprouting.
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