juliepoudrier Posted December 27, 2007 Report Share Posted December 27, 2007 Some time ago someone here mentioned a new mystery novel by Leonie Swann called Three Bags Full. The gist of the story is that someone has murdered a shepherd named George, and his flock decides to try to find out who did it. Anyway, I had quite forgotten about the book, but was in the library and saw it amongst the new books and so I brought it home. I have just started reading it, but got a chuckle out of a conversation some of the sheep have had upon finding George dead in the barnyard. And I thought it was too good not to share. The sheep were discussing what makes a good shepherd. One lamb claimed George wasn't much of a shepherd because he docked sheeps' tails. Another felt he was a poor shepherd because he wore Norwegian wool sweaters instead of sweaters made from the wool of his own flock ("He didn't appreciate our work...."). One ram said that a shepherd should be judged by "the quantity and quality of the fodder he provided," and it was his belief that George lacked nothing in that respect. Finally they came to agreement on what makes a good shepherd: ...One who never docked the lambs' tails; didn't keep a sheepdog [emphasis added]; provided good fodder and plenty of it, particularly bread and sugar but healthy things too like green stuff, concentrated feed, and mangel-wurzels** (for they were all very sensible sheep); and who clothed himself entirely in the products of his own flock, for instance an all-in-one suit made of spun sheep's wool, which would look really good, almost as if he were a sheep himself. **To save everyone the trouble, I looked them up: they are a type of beet, yellow or white, that has been used for livestock feed since the 1700s. Happy New Year to all you good shepherds! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted December 27, 2007 Report Share Posted December 27, 2007 all-in-one suit And this is what we North Americans would call coveralls. Thanks for sharing! How are your mangel-wurzels doing in the recent rains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted December 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2007 My mangel-wurzels have either washed down the slope or are still too small to really see. I'm hoping for the latter.... J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna frankland (uk) Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaa! you guys make me laugh! do you not have mangel wurzels over there? they are all over the place here! i hope you know not to feed them before christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I got the book from the library and had a ball reading it. See the world through the eyes - and the minds - of wool sheep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Hey Nancy, I'm enjoying the book too! Donna, If we have yellow or white beets, I've not seen them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist here. Most of the shredded beats I've seen as livestock feed is purple, just like our own "mangel-wurzels"! Becca, My mistake--I don't have *any* mangel-wurzels. We planted radishes (and they're coming up like gangbusters after this latest rain, so if the temps stay warmer, we might have some nice looking pastures before too long).... J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 The mangel-wurzel is very much like our sugar beet, which is big and white. They are both selected varieties of beta vulgaris, as is the red beet you might pickle or put in your salad, if you like to have your salad taste like dirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hey, I LOVE beets, dirt taste and all! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hey, I LOVE beets, dirt taste and all! J. If one were a high and mighty New Englander, one would make some joke here about the southern custom of dirt-eating, but one feels charitable and somewhat bemused at the moment. Besides, one's wife holds the same opinion of beets. And one has been known to taste topsoil as a crude test for acidity. So one will keep one's mouth shut. But you can have all the beets. Are the radishes you're growing forage radishes -- akin to daikon? One organic farmer I know uses these to bust up plow pans, and then tries to fob them off on his unsuspecting CSA shareholders as actual food items without first running them through livestock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hey, Bill. I'm a born and raised Massachusetts Yankee. And I love beets, including the greens lightly sauteed with bacon fat and tossed with some sour cream and a touch of horse radish. My Dad ate very few vegetables, but he loved beets. Either pickled or, as he called them, Educated Beets. AKA Harvard beets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Aargh! Bill, I think I'm losing my mind. We planted turnips. I think maybe if I go through every possible root vegetable with an edible green on top, I'll finally manage to name what we actually planted. I'm such a moron (maybe I can blame it on eating too many beets).... And I do like beets, prepared any old way. I can't say that I've ever seen a white sugar beet though--to me all beets are purple! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_beet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 So does it make sense to even plant sugar beets? (Unless you plan to actually harvest the beet and feed that?) If the sugar in the beet is used to produce the green part the second year, could you plant it and just expect that the sheep can eat the green part every other year? That's probably a stupid question, but if you planted two successive years, you'd always have green parts for the sheep if you didn't want to dig up the beet to feed. P.S. Sugar beets are ETA: NOT nearly as attractive as a lovely purple beet... J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Bill, thanks for that link. It explains a lot. When I was in Lithuania, in September 2000, we saw lots of farms that were starting harvest. And they had wagons piled with stuff that looked like that. The relatives told us they were beets to feed the animals. Mom and I thought they looked totally wrong for beets. I knew - from Tess of the D'Ubervilles, as a good English major, that farm workers "hacked swedes" to provide animal fodder. And much as I disliked certain neighbors, I realized that these were not those with Mumu and Fafa for grandparents, but turnips. So Mom & I decided those "beets" were turnips. Just as I had to continually tell Mom that football is soccer. Now I know that my relatives did have the right English word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painted_ponies Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I knew - from Tess of the D'Ubervilles, as a good English major, that farm workers "hacked swedes" to provide animal fodder. And much as I disliked certain neighbors, I realized that these were not those with Mumu and Fafa for grandparents, but turnips. So Mom & I decided those "beets" were turnips. Just to add to the confusion , I was under the impression that, when my UK friends feed swedes to their horses, they are giving them rutabagas. Not beets or turnips. Or northern Europeans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I think it makes sense to plant sugar beets if you want to produce sugar :> For animal forage, you're probably better off planting something that produces more tops, like Appin turnips. Or go with a brassica that doesn't produce roots at all, like kale, rape, or the new forage brassicas that are hybridized versions of several forage varieties. The advantage of roots is that they will store sugar in a form that can be accessible to the animals long after the tops are frozen and unpalatable. Of course, if those roots are under 3 feet of snow, as they are here in New Hampshire right now, it doesn't do anyone any good. Growing annual forage crops for grazing is expensive enough. I can't imagine that it would be economical to go out and harvest root vegetables to feed sheep. Damaged or surplus sugar beets are sold at truck stops in Michigan as deer bait, and they go for prices that put them right out of the frame for feeding to sheep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patty Abel Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 I am thoroughly enjoying this book! Thanks for the suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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