Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been keeping the greens for my beardies in a plastic zip lock bag and I have been adding a little water too it to keep them fresh. They always spoil and arent good for my beardies. I have 3 beardies and I need some type of green that wont spoil or a method for keeping my greens.

Thanks,
Adam Hallquist

PS
I have kept Kale, Mostly Collard, and Mustard greens, and a little endive along with some romaine.

This is a huge problem with herps keepers. I've been told by an an owner of a local farmer's market that the two biggest things that contribute to the spoilage of greens are oxygen and excessive moisture. Of course heat too. Some greens are best kept if you don't wash them until you are ready to use them. Keep them in a sealed and air tight zip lock bag and get as much of the air out as possible. I've had pretty good success with mustard greens and collard greens if I don't wash them until I'm ready to use them. If you notice that a certain piece is going bad in the bunch, remove it to reduce spoilage of the surrounding leaves. Cilantro is better washed before hand. Also, it's not a bad idea to put a few papertowels in with the greens to soak up extra liquids. I hope this helps.

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons

I keep mine fresh by keeping them in a dry plastic bag. Most of the time when you purchase from a store they are soaking wet. Shake them off and place the hole bunch in a new bag. It's also a good idea to keep the bunch of greens whole with the stems still conected, as you need them pull them off. I make my salads weekly and keep it in a plastic tubberware. Rinse the greens cut them up in smaller pieces, Put a paper towel on the bottom to hold excess water greens on top then another paper towel on top. If the paper towels get to moist change them. Some of the greens that are good are Collard greens, Escarole last extremly long, chicory, dandalion greens and flowers can go bad fast if kept to moist, endive, arugala, mustard, and kale once and a while. This has worked for me and as pieces go bad remove them. Most of my greens last over two weeks like this.

I tend to just tear off a few leaves from each type of green I buy, wash and chop them up and place them in a sandwich bag, then shake it so the greens are all at the bottom, smooth out the air and just roll it up and put it in the fridge. That lasts me a couple days before I run out or I notice it is starting spoil. I toss the remainder if not spoiling to much into the cricket's food dish.

Been trying to grow my own collard and mustard greens but with the rain lately, worried they will all rot before they get big enough for me to use. Sigh.

Adam,
when I buy a head or bunch of greens, I keep them in the plastic grocery bag that the bagger puts them in, you know, the ones with the handles you get at check-out. I put in a paper towel and just lay the bag with the greens & the paper towel in the crisper of the fridge. They seem to breathe fine and don't rot like they do when sealed up in a zip-loc.
If the greens I buy are in a sealed up bag, like a mixed salad, then I open one end of it, put in the paper towel & leave it in the crisper also.
Be sure to change your paper towels when they get too wet.
We are able to actually use our greens all up without any waste this way.
Good Luck!
Sharla

Hmm I think I am going to try this to...would be nice to use up all the greens I buy instead of about a tenth before it all starts to go bad and I throw them out ot buy new ones. Going to be getting a fresh batch tonight or tomorrow and will try the paper towel thing in the same bags I buy them in.

I have also found that if the entire head is covered with the store bag, not sealed but just covered with the bag, then they don't even wilt. I do notice when part of the head is left exposed even in the crisper, it still wilts. I just lay the bags of greens in the crisper making sure all the leaves are covered with the bags, not folded over or sealed, and they do just fine
Good Luck!
Sharla

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