Mangel
Mammoth Red Mangel Beet is a gargantuan heirloom vegetable that defies expectations about what a beet can become. Dating back to the 11th century, this variety grows to astonishing proportions, roots regularly reaching 40 pounds and up to 6 feet long, making it the stuff of gardener legends and giant vegetable competitions. Hardy in zones 3 through 10 and ready to harvest in 100 days, it's a frost-tolerant crop that thrives in full sun with moderate water. You can pick young roots for delicate dinner-table fare or let them stretch into record-breaking specimens that fuel both homestead livestock and the ancient sport of mangold hurling.
8-12 inches apart
Full Sun
Moderate
3-10
?in H x ?in W
Biennial
High
Hover over chart points for details
This isn't your supermarket beet. Mammoth Red Mangel evolved as livestock fodder in the 1800s, when farmers needed crops that could feed animals through winter and grow to impossible sizes in a single season. The sheer ambition of the variety, roots that can dwarf a human head, captures the spirit of heirloom gardening: growing something not because it's convenient but because it's extraordinary. Whether harvested young or allowed to mature into a showstopper, this beet represents both practical heritage agriculture and pure gardening spectacle.
Young Mammoth Red Mangel roots are tender enough for the dinner table, roasted, boiled, or grated raw into salads. Mature roots excel as livestock fodder, providing nutritious feed for cattle, sheep, and pigs throughout fall and winter storage. The variety also stars in giant vegetable competitions and the traditional British sport of mangold hurling, where gardeners compete to throw the heaviest or longest roots. Some growers harvest greens early in the season, which are edible and nutritious, before allowing the plant to channel energy into root development.
Direct sow seeds in spring once soil temperatures reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit and are workable. Plant seeds where you want them to grow, as beets don't transplant well. Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep in rows or blocks, keeping soil consistently moist until seedlings emerge in 7 to 14 days.
Harvest young roots (tennis ball to fist-sized) anytime after 60 days if you prefer tender, delicate flavor and texture for cooking. For maximum size and storage, allow roots to grow for the full 100 days or beyond, lifting when soil pulls back to reveal a shoulder 2 to 3 inches in diameter at the surface. In areas with hard freezes, harvest all mature roots before the first hard frost, though light frosts actually improve sweetness. Gently loosen soil with a garden fork and pull by the crown; handle carefully to avoid bruising the tender flesh.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.
“Mammoth Red Mangel descends from beet varieties developed as far back as the 11th century, though the modern mangel strains emerged as a critical livestock crop in 19th-century European agriculture. Farmers bred these beets specifically for enormous size and yield, recognizing that a few massive roots could feed cattle through long winters far better than traditional small beets. The variety's association with the British sport of mangold hurling, where competitors hurl these giants for distance and height, speaks to how deeply embedded mangels became in agricultural culture. This is a plant born from necessity, refined by generations of seed savers, and preserved by gardeners who refuse to abandon the dramatic and the practical.”