Has anyone ever raised mangle beets to supplement their goats' diet? Are you still doing so, and why (or why not)? Are mangle beets easy to grow? Do they require any special conditions? Why did you grow mangles as opposed to regular beets (which my goats consume more than willingly)?

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), December 01, 2001

Answers

before Hay was stoed for the winter,, root crops were used to feed the animals all winter. carrtots potatoes,, beets, chokes,, ect. Should eat them,, might think its a treat

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 02, 2001.

I've grown mangles in the past & will probably grow them next year cause I've got a lot of seeds. Chickens & cows like them, too. They have a good level of protein and other goodies. Grow them like regular beets only thin them out better so they'll get really big. Feed tops & bottoms to the animals.

Best of all, they get extremely big!! Like 10-15 lbs or larger. And they stick half-way out of the ground, making it simple to harvest them. Best to cut them into small chunks to feed most animals. They store fairly well.

-- bruce (rrual@inebraska.com), December 02, 2001.

Hi Sheryl,

We grew mangel beets last year just for the goats. As previously posted they grew large and were easy to harvest. They did require severe thinning as they grew because they got so large. We stored them in the root cellar just like potatoes. They stored well, but since we finished them up before winter was over, I don't know how long they would have lasted. I did not use them daily- maybe every 3 or 4 days. I'd chop them into chunks and the does loved them. We purchased seed from Shumway's but I think they're out of business now. But I'm sure seed is available elsewhere. Yes, I would like to grow them again, we just haven't had the time or space. Have to make it a point to do that. Good Luck, Charleen

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), December 02, 2001.

Charleen,

is alive and well. (They'd better be; I'm getting my dent seed corn from them next year!)

Mark

-- Mark Sykes (mark@marksykes.net), December 02, 2001.

Pardon my defective HTML. Shumway's is still in business; click the above highlighted mess to go to their website.

Should have kept it simple, Mark

-- Mark Sykes (mark@marksykes.net), December 02, 2001.

Thanks Mark!!!!

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), December 02, 2001.

Are mangle beets human-edible? How about the greens?

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), December 02, 2001.

Yes - both. May not be prime quality, but better than doing without. A historical opinion was expressed that you could brew quite acceptable beer from the juice too.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 03, 2001.

mangle beets are good for all livestock especially pigs they make the neat sweet and juicy

-- Mike Green (grnrlty@perryisp.net), December 31, 2001.