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| This year was my first year for growing a few mangle beets as fodder for the animals. Got the seed in the ground very, very late this fall. The seed seller simply did not send me my seed for well over a month. Next year I will get them planted with far better timing. The first frost took them out while they were still palm sized, but I learned from the growing experience. (Interesting as the turnip were not phased by the mild frost & they had over a foot of exposed green tops up in the air.)
Critters are supposed to like the beet tops, besides the actual beets. The chickens I guess still have enough yummies from free ranging they are not interested in the tops. The horses absolutely refused to consider the tops. They both like the actual beets though. If one has IR (insulin resistant) horses though, I would NOT recommend these beets. I would not recommend any fresh beet for an IR horse. Mangles are supposed to store well for the winter, but I did not plant/harvest enough to find out this year. My five gallon bucket of beets is nearly gone with careful daily rationing out of them. I certainly intend upon a much larger & better timed planting in 2013. I actually I hope for two crops. :) |
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| We've got chickens. I grow lots of winter greens for them, but not mangels. I do grow regular culinary beets and have a nice crop of them in the ground right now. It is interesting that your mangel foliage froze. I think that mangel foliage is supposed to be a little frost-tolerant but not real freeze-tolerant. My beet and turnip foliage hasn't frozen, but the cabbage and broccoli foliage has shown some freeze damage, but only when the temperatures dropped down to 26 degrees. None of the other winter crops (kale, lettuce, collards, mustard, etc.) have shown freeze or frost damage yet. We've been in the mid- to upper 20s 6 or 8 times and in the low 30s several times and have had frost many times. I'm pleased with how well the cool-season crops in general are holding up in very erratic temperatures. Our temperatures are all over the place this fall and there has been very little rainfall. However, they're in very well-amended, rich and fertile soil and I do water them occasionally. |
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