Plant · P-255

Sugar Beet

Beta vulgaris

Grown as a winter fodder crop rather than the sugar crop it was bred to be - long hot summers cook the sugar yield commercial production depends on, but the plant itself is unbothered and hardy across a huge range. Sown in autumn and lifted before summer heat arrives, the roots feed cattle, sheep and pigs (handled carefully, since fresh-lifted roots and the leafy tops each have their own rules) while the tops go to ruminants. The same planting doubles as a cool-season vegetable - the root is edible and the leaves work as a spinach substitute.