Growing Feed Crops

Mangel-wurzels

We sow mangels as early in spring as the soil can be worked without clumping. A shallow tillage first, if necessary.

Sow seeds 3-4″ apart in rows 2-3′ apart. Mangels can be slow to germinate, so a generous seeding helps assure good results. The closer spacing results in fewer weeds/smaller mangels; with the larger spacing, more weed control will be necessary, but bigger mangels should result.

When the seedlings are 3-4″ tall, thin to one plant per 8-12″ (again, longer spacing makes bigger mangels). This is the time to hand-weed in the rows. We also cultivate twice with a stirrup hoe to set back the weeds between the rows.

Once the leaves begin to meet between the rows, you can lay this crop by (cease cultivation); it should be able to look after itself for the rest of the summer.

We harvest in fall, before frost. Just pull the mangels by hand, top them leaving leaf stems about an inch long. Leave them to lie in the garden for a day or so to sweat, covering them with a tarp if frost threatens.

Storage: We bag mangels and store them in the root cellar, where they keep into the next summer.

Feeding out: Offer whole to pigs, chickens, sheep, rabbits. Chop for cows.

Tromboncino

If starting these indoors, proceed as for any squash/pumpkin crop.

If direct-sowing: Plant tromboncino where it will be able to ramble or climb without injuring other crops. Whether sowing seed or setting out seedlings, we plant tromboncino in this way:

Clear a space on the ground a foot or so in diameter. If the soil is packed hard, loosen it. One or two shovelfuls of rough compost on the bare spot, then cover with dirt. Put down mulch (hay, grass clippings, straw, wood chips, etc) over the mound of compost and soil, extending out to a diameter of maybe three feet. Push the mulch off the top of the mound to expose the soil on top, and push in three tromboncino seeds, pointed end first, to a depth of a couple of inches. If you’re not expecting a rain any time soon, water the mound well.

Make sure as it grows that the plant doesn’t swarm your baby fruit trees, etc. Control any weeds that start to encroach on the squash before it starts to ramble; after that, it can take care of itself.

Harvest: Cut squash in the fall, leaving a couple of inches of stem. Allow to cure in the field for a week or so; tarp if frost is expected.

Storage: Store in a moderately dry atmosphere, as close to 50 degrees as you can make it. Tromboncino can store up to a year.

Feeding out: Tromboncino is delicious people food at any stage, green to mature. Saute, roast, or use raw in a fresh pickle. It also makes a fabulous food for pigs and chickens.

Sorghum/Black broom corn

Grow sorghum just like corn. Spacing can be closer and still result in a good crop.

Harvest: When seed heads are red-brown to black, cut with a short stem, bunch, and tie. Allow a couple of days to dry before tying to get tighter bunches.

Storage: Dry place, rodent- and bird-free.

Feeding out: Broom corn is hard to thresh, so don’t bother; just offer whole stems. We hang them in the chicken yard or tractor, or just drop them in the feed trough; the birds do the rest.