Do you grow vegetables for your geese?

[Goosebaby]

This year my garden has been “meh” I think the earwigs are eating everything again and I’ve been too busy with taking care of my Roxby Gander while he hasn’t been feeling well so I haven’t done a lot of weeding or anything down in the garden, but so far I have:

Some pumpkins finally sprouting.
Some bok choy that bolted in the blink of an eye.
Some arugula that’s finally looking like it’s doing something with it’s life.
1 sunflower has sprouted out of probably 60 I planted, twice.
Some melons that have more or less stalled while they question their existence.
And Pacer forage turnip which was something new I’m trying this year that I scattered everywhere I didn’t plant something else.

So far the forage turnip is doing the best out of everything and grows back as fast as the geese graze it now that it’s about 7 weeks old, and the geese LOVE it so it takes a beating. I would recommend planting it.

What have any of you planted for your geese to forage or are planning too?

Pick is of Roxby surveying his kingdom of forage turnip.

 

[iturnknobs]

This year my garden has been “meh” I think the earwigs are eating everything again and I’ve been too busy with taking care of my Roxby Gander while he hasn’t been feeling well so I haven’t done a lot of weeding or anything down in the garden, but so far I have:

Some pumpkins finally sprouting.
Some bok choy that bolted in the blink of an eye.
Some arugula that’s finally looking like it’s doing something with it’s life.
1 sunflower has sprouted out of probably 60 I planted, twice.
Some melons that have more or less stalled while they question their existence.
And Pacer forage turnip which was something new I’m trying this year that I scattered everywhere I didn’t plant something else.

So far the forage turnip is doing the best out of everything and grows back as fast as the geese graze it now that it’s about 7 weeks old, and the geese LOVE it so it takes a beating. I would recommend planting it.

What have any of you planted for your geese to forage or are planning too?

Pick is of Roxby surveying his kingdom of forage turnip.

I grow these vegetables for My geese...and me. My geese love kohlrabi. I shred the whole plant in a food processor for daily feedings. I've got turnips, butternut squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, beets, watermelon, pumpkin and green beans planted. None for forage though. Brussel sprouts are the best. The plants live all the way through January in northern Illinois. They LOVE the leaves after all the grass has gone brown and snow covers the ground. Small mammals are the culprit for your missing sunflowers. You need to protect the plant until its center stalk starts to become "woody". I have had a hard time getting things going because of a hard freeze after mother's day complicated by a historical drought. I'll try foraging turnips in the corner of the yard next season. Good luck with the greens. Hope your ill bird is doing better.

 

[iturnknobs]

I forgot zucchini. I would have mentioned tomatoes, but I think geese aren't supposed to eat them.

 

[Goosebaby]

I forgot zucchini. I would have mentioned tomatoes, but I think geese aren't supposed to eat them.

Geese can have red tomatoes, some feed green tomatoes too but I’ve heard others say that geese shouldn’t have green tomatoes, some say that their birds had no ill effects from eating the plant but I’m wary of that, it is a member of the nightshade family so it’s good to be cautious and I won’t let mine touch the plant part.
But red tomatoes are 100% safe. There’s been people on Facebook spreading that they’re toxic to birds but people like to repeat things with a sense of authority with no actual information to back it up, I asked my vet after I’d heard about it, confused as to why my 14 year old duck who’s eaten them her whole life was even alive and she said red tomatoes are harmless.

 

[Iain Utah]

I love growing veggies for my husband/myself, our animals, and a little extra for the wildlife. Lettuce is my favorite, and I grow leaf and romaine year-round. I also grow corn, peas, tomatoes, squash, sunflowers, peppers, and broccoli.

I have a few geese that like tomatoes and never had a health problem feeding, but I usually feed them to my pigs, since they love tomatoes.

 

[iturnknobs]

I DID grow vegetables for my geese. Deer wiped out half my garden and all sunflowers last night.

 

[Goosebaby]

I DID grow vegetables for my geese. Deer wiped out half my garden and all sunflowers last night.

I know the pain, a late frost took out my first planting, though I don’t know what for sure is the cause of my second planting losses, but I do suspect earwigs for eating my sprouts and seeds down to nothing, I’ve had major issues with an earwig epidemic the last three years with the warm winters I’ve had.
None of my tomatoes, artichokes, beets, carrots, cilantro, or anything besides only 1 sunflower, half the pumpkins, the melons and the forage turnip even sprouted.

 

[3xhhheather]

Grew kale and mixed greens in the fall and now they get to snack on almost everything. I plant a ton of buckwheat for them and the bees, they nibble at the blueberries which is fine because I don't have enough to actually do anything with them. Tomatoes and cucumbers are up next, with watermelons and pumpkins following behind.

Will definitely look into turnips, I read somewhere that a farmer used it to feed his sheep, Planted a whole field, they ate the greens and then he tilled up the roots for them

 

[Hermits Garden]

No, but I grow herbs for my chickens.

 

[NevadaEmma]

I grow these vegetables for My geese...and me. My geese love kohlrabi. I shred the whole plant in a food processor for daily feedings. I've got turnips, butternut squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, beets, watermelon, pumpkin and green beans planted. None for forage though. Brussel sprouts are the best. The plants live all the way through January in northern Illinois. They LOVE the leaves after all the grass has gone brown and snow covers the ground. Small mammals are the culprit for your missing sunflowers. You need to protect the plant until its center stalk starts to become "woody". I have had a hard time getting things going because of a hard freeze after mother's day complicated by a historical drought. I'll try foraging turnips in the corner of the yard next season. Good luck with the greens. Hope your ill bird is doing better.

I know this is an old posting, but maybe you can answer a question about turnips. My husband planted a forage area for the geese with a mix of seeds that he purchased online. The geese do not seem to eat the turnip greens nor the collards. He mowed the tops of the uneaten greens for my compost pile, then came into the house to show me the huge turnips that he had plucked out of the ground!
Can and will the geese eat the turnip bulb either cooked or raw in your experience?