grit?

[raine]

Okedoke,just watchin garedeners world and carol talking about grit on your seedlings.my question is, my chooks have to have grit-is it the same thing?and if so-what is cheaper, grit for chickens or grit for sowing?(can you see where im going here?)

[Dynamo]

Birds need grit to help their digestion system, but they don't need a lot. Just enough to help their guts to digest their food. I don't keep chooks, but if I did, I wouldn't skimp on what they need to survive. If you can get the proper grit for your birds, then gofer it.

[BigJim]

Grit for chickens usually has crushed sea shells in as well as 3-5mm flint, which is good for strong egg shells.

Carol clearly has a cheap source of grit though, everytime I see her on TV she's shovelling it on.

[ladylottie]

Perhaps this is a silly question? But I don't usually put grit on the top of pots because I never know what to do with it afterwards Do you just tip it off and put it on other pots? For me it always gets partly mixed in with the compost, but does that matter? Carol Klein looks as if she uses fresh grit every time.

[veggiechicken]

Oyster shell grit for chooks (when I had some), vermiculite for pots because its so pretty! Hadn't even thought about what to do with the left over chook grit - maybe an idea is "hatching"!!

[chris]

Horticultural grit is different, but there's no reason why you can't use oyster grit for your seedlings.

[lottie dolly]

No idea what is the cheapest,but,i paid around £15 4 years ago for a large heavy bag of oyster grit from a pet shop,they got it in special,i use it to keep the slugs at bay,it just vanishes into the soil over time,so using on top of pots would do the same when the compost in the pot is done with,i still have lots left,

[VirginVegGrower]

Seven pounds for a big bag of grit and oyster shell combined. This comes from the big pet shop with green paint. Horti grit is finer stuff that Carol Klein uses. Garden centres, plant nurseries sell it, although so does my local farm shop - cheaper and bigger bags. I use it 50/50 in my alpine troughs or mediterranean herb planting mix.

[susieq100]

I bought a bag of sharp sand from a well-known DIY chain .. OK - Wickes! It has tiny little stones in it too and cost £1.99 (I think) last year. I sprinkle that on top of my seed trays and mix a bit in with the MPC when I pot on too. It seems to work OK. I couldn't find grit to buy in small quantities - never even thought of chicken grit!

[jdlondon]

Does the grit act like a mulch? Is it similar to using pebbles and stones to keep the water evaporation down?

[Snadger]

Does the grit act like a mulch? Is it similar to using pebbles and stones to keep the water evaporation down?

Yep...............thats about the gist of it methinks. I get my grit loose from Jollies the pet food people.
There is crushed oyster shell (calcium to help chooks produce the eggshell) and and stone grit (chooks store it in their crops and use it to grind away their food)

The two are the same price per kilo (very cheap, if you'll excuse the pun) so I usually mix it together in a bucket and buy it as one item. Nowt to stop you buying just the grit though if you so wish, and by the look of it it would do admirably for adding to top of pots for a mulch!

[evvy2]

I have just watched that episode of Gardeners World and was thinking about giving the grit a go, I use grit for my hens and didn't think of using that.