OK, well the mangels are all coming up....when I planted them I was Very Careful about spacing them correctly, because I didn't want to have to thin them (I don't have That much seed and didn't want to waste any) I was surprised when they came up, there were two or even three sets of leaves...well, I know I wasn't seeding them just willy nilly...so how did that happen?
I still struggle trying to find lots of info on growing mangels. This is one of the reasons I am posting all I can on mangels...I just don't think I can be the only one who is trying to grow them! Am I right?
This way, at least I can hope to help someone out there in cyberspace who wants to find mangel info....this site should come up if someone tries to do a Google Search for Mangels. As it is, there are now 2 other neighbourhood ladies who, after learning I was growing some, wanted a few seeds to try for themselves....for the same reason...livestock feed......I looked around on the internet but couldn't find the info I needed. So I emailed Jim at Prairie Seeds, he is the fellow who sold me the seed....and here's what Jim replied....
"It sounds as if you have seeded your mangels very carefully and have done exactly as you should have done. Mangel(and beets and swiss chard) "seeds" are aclually clusters of seeds so they always come up in clusters of 2,3,4 plants together. You can let the plants get a bit bigger and then thin when there is something to eat"
AHA! Ok well that certainly answered the question...you know, I had never really noticed that with beet seeds...yes I had clusters of them come up, but I thought I had just seeded them too heavy....learning something new every day (and that's a Good Thing!)
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2 comments:
There is some info on mangels in William Cobbett's old book "Cottage Economy". I found your site after reading his book as I search for mangel seeds of my own.
Hi, thanks for your comment! Were you able to find some mangel seed? I don't think either of the 2 Canadian sources have any left for this year....
I am Really pleased with how the mangels are doing! The real test will be when we pull them in the Fall...that's when we'll see how big they are!
Thanks for the info on Cottage Economy, I will try to get it thru the library.
Another book with info is Self-Sufficiency by John and Sally Seymour. I'm lucky my friend gave me her extra copy....maybe your library can get it in for you?
Every post I put up about mangels has the "mangel" label....so at the end of the season, if you want to read all the info I have on it, you can just go to "mangel" on the right hand side of the blog, and it will pull up all the posts.
I'm kinda hoping to spread the mangel word, so to speak....the more people who grow them...the more people can provide their own animal feed, rather than having to pay the high prices at the feedstore.
If you have a blog, could you please put up a link, so I can go over and take a look?
Thanks again, and hopefully you'll keep reading our blog!
Annie
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