Here are five ingredients you can grow at home and add to your dog’s vegetable mix. Using home grown produce gives you the peace of mind of knowing how the produce was grown and ensures it is fresh.

1. Spinach and Silverbeet

Spinach is highly nutritious and grows well in the home garden. Likewise, silverbeet is a high yielding, nutritious crop that can be harvested over a long period.

As dark green leafy greens, both spinach and silverbeet are sources of Vitamin A, B2, B6, B5, C, E, folic acid, choline, calcium, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, selenium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium.

2. Beetroot

Beetroot is a versatile crop because both the root and the leaves can be used in the dog’s food.

Beetroot is a source of Vitamin A, bioflavonoids, calcium, fluorine, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, and silicon.

3. Beans

Depending on the variety, beans can be very high yielding over a long period of time, so they are very useful home garden crops.

Beans, depending on the variety are sources of Vitamin B1, B5, calcium, fluorine, selenium, and sulphur.

4. Sweet potato

Sweet potatoes can be planted from a tuber that is sprouting and past its “best before” date. They can also be planted in containers in a sunny place in the garden.

Sweet potatoes are sources of Vitamin A, B6, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

5. Herbs

Culinary herbs including parsley, oregano, basil, chives, rosemary, sage, thyme and mint can all be included in your dog’s vegetable mix. Even if you only have a small space, a small variety of herbs can be grown in a sunny place in a pot.

Herbs offer a range of nutrients including Vitamin A, B2, C, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Herbal medicine also attributes medicinal qualities to common culinary herbs.

For more information on adding vegetables to your dog’s diet please see:

http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/can-dogs-eat-vegetables
http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/tipsforaddingvegetablestodogsdiet
http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/are-grains-good-for-dogs

What dog food ingredients do you grow? Leave a comment to share your tips for including home grown vegetables and herbs in your dog’s diet.

Until next time, enjoy your dogs.

Sources:

O’Neill, V, (1982) Vegetables in the home garden (11th edition). Penguin Books, Australia.

Phillips, D, (1979) Guidebook to Nutritional Factors in Food. Woodbridge Press Publishers.