I am thinking that it would be nice to make a large cutting garden for our goats.I would cut fresh green feed from it daily with the scythe and feed it to them as a supplement to the pasture and grain they will be getting. Until now we have cut raspberry canes here, garden goodies there,etc, but the area I am thinking of is right next to the barn and it would be easier to just cut a few armloads and throw it into the feeders than to walk through the garden with the sheep shears cutting here and there. I was thinking about planting some or all of these plants; comfrey,alfalfa, clover,dill,buckwheat(?),bird's foot trefoil,kale,lettuce,turnip greens, and sunflowers. I'd probably put the sunflowers on the border and not cut them until the heads started to form. Oh, also collards,they are high in protein and calcium. The area is moist year round and has coarse grass that they don't care for anyways,it might bebest to put in wide raised rows for proper drainage?I would like to eventually get it to where these plants would reseed and grow there every year.If anyone has any ideas about other plants that would be good or anything else, I'd like to hear them. In case you are wondering about the comfrey, our goats have been eating it for years and thrive on it and it doesn't invade anything as long as it's not tilled.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), February 02, 2000

Answers

Rebekah (Help)I assume your (I) goats have (can't) the same (stop my) tastes as my sheep. (fingers) In which case, go to the county extension office, get a list of poisonous plants for your area and plant those.

Whew. Have regained control of my fingers. Ifthe area is moist, think of it as simply saving you the trouble of watering it. Raised beds are going to cause a bit of a problem with sycthing since you aren't going to cut this stuff down too low. If you know or suspect that your goats will eat something, throw it in. If you don't absolutely have to have raised beds, just broadcast your seeds in leaving whatever you think you need for paths. Just throw whatever odds and ends of seeds you have on the ground. My sheep would also add smart weed, milkweed, peonies, fruit trees, and potatoes to your goat garden. I'd maybe suggest you roughly sort your seeds by height. Some of them, the lettuce, clovers (which can be short and/or slow to gain height) aren't going to cut well with taller stuff. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), February 02, 2000.

I'm do not have experience with goats, but being from the sunflower state of Kansas, I wonder if they would eat sunflowers. The stalks of confectionary sunflowers will grow every bit of 2 inches in diameter while those of the oil seed sunflower will be somewhat smaller. The stalks are very rough in texture and are quite woody. The leaves are rough also. The whole plant has a peculiar, nearly unpleasant odor to it. Just my humble opinion of someone that doesn't know, but you might think about scratching sunflowers from the list. Too, I'm not sure where they could stand the damp environment.

-- greenbeanman (greenbeanman@ourtownusa.net), February 02, 2000.

Rebekah, Ariel Mars wrote an excellent article in Countryside about plantings and wild plants. We had wondeful results here in Texas planting Wild Bird Seed. Actually I just broadcast it in the pasture and they loved it. I have always fed blackoil sunflowerseeds and it was a pleasure to see them coming up in the pasture. They are high in protien and a wonderful source of fiber and fat.. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 02, 2000.

Goats are browsers - they'll naturally prefer woodier, harsher plants than we might think of - like sunflowers, particularly if you cut them green, before the seeds have ripened, as you said. In passing, that was the way you could tell if cereals (say wheat) were ready for haymaking - grains were still green, but full of sweet juice (milky) that hadn't yet turned fully starchy.

Another good one would be broad beans. If your climate is mild enough, you'll also get growth from them through the winter. Can also use a few of them planted around seedling trees or saplings as frost protection. Same applies (both for goat food and for baby tree protection) for pigeon peas.

You could consider throwing in Jerusalem artichokes - you'll have them forever, regrow from the smallest scrap of tuber, but they look somewhat like sunflowers, and are an option to vary your own diet. Look at other unusual tubers too - many have the right growth habit.

Cabbage relatives - say kale, or walking-stick cabbages. Beet relatives - say mangolds, and silver beet itself. Amaranth. The edible-leaved varieties of hibiscus as a border if suitable. Interesting greens for yourselves, as well as goats. Sweet potatoes - more as a groundcover than for real use. Your trefoil, or clover or medics - if you're cutting with a scythe or sickle, they'll probably be too low for you to reach much, but you need ground cover.

Corn (maize) is good - when the cobs are just big enough for baby corn, rip the entire plant out, keep the cobs for yourself, let the goats have the rest. Plant lots with a stake to make holes, drop corn in, heel the hole closed, and then don't worry whether it comes up or not. This entire area could have a secondary function of growing a lot of stuff for you that won't yield much, but will give variety when it works, and won't cause you grief if it only gives you goat food.

Anything else you can think of - but check for toxicity first. For instance, Gerbil's sheep really ought not to eat the potatoes (not only are they pet plants, but poisonous as well). There are other plants which are toxic, or even just toxic under some conditions.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 03, 2000.

Don, I know my sheep shouldn't eat potatoes, or smart weed, or milkweed, they also shouldn't eat tomatoes, peppers, twine and a bunch of other stuff. What I know and what they eat are two very different things. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), February 03, 2000.

Potaatoes are of the Nightshade family, I would be careful about feeding them to goats/sheep. I use to feed culled potatoes to hogs but I had to cook them first. Buckwheat is another one that can be toxic to some animals, the grain itself is hard as diamonds and not very palatable at best but the plant is woody.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), February 03, 2000.

Whats wrong with tomatoes and peppers? I'm sure the goats,pigs and cows ate some of theses and lived ,but if there is a chance they may harm them please let me know. Thanks.Sorry this got off of Rebekahs question.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), February 03, 2000.

Patty, see Hendo's answer just previous to your question. They are all Solanaceae (nightshade family) - potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and capsicums, tobacco and other nicotinias, sweet flowering nightshade, etc. A little bit (like Gerbil's sheep) won't kill them - more could do more.

Gerbil, sorry if I seemed to imply different - I realise you know lots better than that. I was trying to give general answers, and you've just illustrated why with your list of plants - different cultures, different languages, and while principles are the same, specifics can differ. Milkweed here is simply a milk thistle - harmless, bitter, useful as a green for cage birds. Smart weed we don't got. Twine from hay bales, particularly plastic, appears to be a curse anywhere, though, if it gets where it can be eaten, or twined! round legs.

Sheep - well, sheep I know. Grew up with them, and I'm back on the family farm at the moment. In Australia, a big problem with sheep (and goats) is St John's wort. It's a weed here, although its new popularity as a herbal tranquiliser is making it a cash crop for some too. Sheep eat it quite happily (H.A.P.P.Y...), then it starts to destroy their liver, partially broken down blood products start floating around, and they start showing a sensitivity to light which breaks down exposed skin. Kills them if unstopped, damage can't be reversed, so even if "cured" at the time, they're always susceptible from then on. Yes, sheep can be RELIED on to eat what's bad for them. Too much St John's wort works that way in people too - one of the reasons why you need to be CAREFUL with herbal remedies. Which in passing may be why I'm back on the farm. I had had cellulosis in lower legs, bad circulation there. Tried Ginko biloba (dilates the capillaries, supposedly good for peripheral circulation). Almost immediately got severe oedema, followed by ulcers. May not be much more sensible than the sheep myself.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 03, 2000.

I always plant a patch of mangel beets for the goats. They love them and they are easy and cheap to grow and will store for several months in the root cellar. I chop them in small pieces so they are easier to chew before feeding.

-- Marci (ajourend@libby.org), February 03, 2000.

I save myself the trouble of cutting by planting a series of "intensive grazing" zones. My critters seem to love things like kale, swiss chard, sorrell, turnip greens, (you get the idea, any cut and come again green). I let them at their beds just before grain time, so I have something to coax them out again before the completely strip things, and the beds last several days each. An electric mesh fence moved from site to site saves on fencing expenses. For winter, they love fresh pumpkin, seeds and all, as long as it is chopped up small enough to bite. My hay bale bins kept these fresh and usable through below zero weather, and I am just now running out.

-- Connie Christoffer (litlgaea@cs.com), February 07, 2000.