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Growing Heirloom Carrots in Your Garden

May 20th, 2008 · 1 Comment · garden plants, home gardening tips, organic food, vegetable garden

Carrot Varieties
Questions & Answers (Q&A)
Heirloom CarrotsOne of the most common edibles is the “Heirloom Carrot”. Presence of “Heirloom Carrots” in your food makes it healthier, nutritious, and more delicious. Carrots could be roasted with meat, sauté or more commonly used as raw in salad. Salad decoration is never complete without carrots. If you grow this in your garden then you can enjoy the taste more frequently. Let us have some background information about “Heirloom Carrots” and to know how to grow them at home.

“Heirloom Carrots” generally display a variety of colors from white to orange. You must have seen yellow, pink, purple, and similar colored heirloom carrots in markets. Color of this specific carrot is more indicative of its origin. The purple colored heirloom carrots are commonly grown in Afghanistan and the pink ones come from India specifically. Europeans grow the yellow carrots. Although international trades have broken all these boundaries and now you can grow almost all types of heirloom carrots anywhere.

Heirloom carrots are very tasty but their nutritious contents vary along with its flavor. Purple carrots have been found rich in antioxidants. Almost all the varieties of carrots are rich in vitamin A, trace nutrients, and fiber.

If you are beginning with gardening then growing heirloom carrots is one of the best initial projects. Growing this organic vegetable is very simple indeed. Carrots are basically roots and therefore grow in the subsurface. Plants of carrots are sturdy and do not require much care and attention.

If you want to grow it from seed you can. Alternatively you can also grow carrot from seed pellets. Your local nursery would certainly have both the options available for you.

You must have well prepared and most suitable soil for obtaining bumper crop of carrots. Light soil is generally required for this purpose. You must add well processed compost to the soil and dig in depth. To loose up the soil you may also add up little bone meal to the soil. Ensure that the overall texture of soil is consistent. The soil must be loose and rich and free from stones, rock-pieces, and un-decomposed matter.

Heirloom carrots are anytime crops and therefore grow it whenever you like. However certain climatic conditions might be important to check with. You should preferable check your local gardening zone and preferable planting times. Once you have known the secret of right time-planting you will surely have good carrot crops throughout the year.

Carrots have two main varieties, the “early harvest variety” and the “main crop“. Early harvest variety can be easily harvested well before its complete maturity. This variety is tastier and sweeter. It bears a little more cost also simply because of its taste. May is the best month to harvest this variety. You must ensure the complete sunlight and full sun for this variety.

Heirloom CarrotsThe main crop is a normal variety and requires light shady exposure during the summers.

A long trench of nearly one inch deep would be more suitable for planting carrots. Seeds must be sowed at least one inch apart in these trenches. Do not try to plant many seeds at one place as you would be fighting with more thinning work later otherwise.

You will have to ensure safeguards against “Carrot Rusty Fly” because it lays its eggs in the plants itself. Larvae of this fly will eat through the carrots and would cause rot. If you observe the reddish foliage or wilts then it is mainly because of this fly.

One best way is to avoid planting during the period when this fly lays its eggs. Mid- April to early- June and mid-July to early- September are the periods when you should not plant carrots if your area is prone to carrot rust fly. You can also spread a thin layer of net over the plants protecting them from the female flies.

Fungus is another enemy of carrot plants. It is always better to remove older plant every year. By the end of October you must have done that. Plant left in winters would be more prone to diseases and the infected soil would affect the next season plants as well. Expose the soil to solarizing in such case. Solarizing involves a best quality plastic sheet spread over bare soil for few weeks facilitating burning out of pests and germs present in the soil. Do not use PVC plastic for this purpose.

In order to avoid rust you must remove the foliated leaves with orange color. Ensure proper air-circulation with removing crowded plants and never try adding extra nitrogen in any form to your garden while growing heirloom carrots.

A little care and precautions will make you and your family happier when you will harvest a bumper carrot crop. So, add up more taste to your food and remain healthy with heirloom carrots gardening.


Carrot Varieties Pictures

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Carrot Varieties Question & Answers

Carrot Varieties Question: 1


Which vegetrable is availiable in white , violet and re-skinned varieties?

A)Beetroot B) Carrot C)Asparagus D) Artichoke

Answer:
(e) all of the above. Well, they all come in white and purple varieties. But what on earth is 're-skinned'?

Carrot Varieties Question: 2


Origin of some edible plants?

Guess historic origin of these plants (1. Central America, 2. Southern America, 3. Africa, 4. Europe, 5. Asia): artichoke, avocado, banana, basil, black pepper, cacao, camomile, carrot (orange variety), coffee, eggplant, garlic, ginger, olive, papaya, peanuts, peppermint, pineapple, potato, sage, tomato, vanilla, watermelon, wheat. And I will give 10 points for first correct answer. Plants from all 5 locations are there. Can not anybody to group them?

Answer:
artichoke (globe) - europe avocado - central america banana - asia basil - asia black pepper - India cacao - south america camomile (German) - Europe carrot - afghanistan coffee - Ethiopia/Afrifca eggplant - Asia garlic - Asia ginger - China/Asia Olive - Europe/Middle East Papaya - Mexico/Central America Peanuts - S. America peppermint - Europe pineapple - S. America potato - S. America sage(common) - europe tomato - Central/South America vanilla - Mexico watermelon - Africa wheat - Asia

Carrot Varieties Question: 3


Beer based cake?

Hi, Anyone have a simple beer based cake recipe. Preferably of a fruit variety. eg. carrot or apple. Thanks 99

Answer:
German Beer Coffee Cake Recipe 2 cups packed dark brown sugar 1 cup butter, softened 2 eggs 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped walnuts 2 cups chopped dates 2 cups beer Powdered sugar Combine brown sugar and butter in a mixing bowl. Cream until smooth and well-blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift cinnamon, allspice, cloves, flour, baking soda and salt together. Dust walnuts and dates with a small amount of this mixture. Add remaining flour mixture alternately with beer to creamed mixture, blending well after each addition. Stir in walnuts and dates. Spoon batter into large, well-buttered and floured tube or Bundt pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 1-1/4 hours or until cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes, invert onto a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and place on a serving plate

Carrot Varieties Question: 4


Bearded Dragon advice...?

I have had my bearded dragon for a week now. He is around 4-6 month old and doesnt eat alot. I give him cabbage and dandelion greens mostly but offer him a wide variety like carrots, boiled potato, apple pieces etc but he only seems to eat the greens. Also his appetite of crickets is rather low too as he doesnt seem to bother eating them when I put them in, although he wont refuse a black beetle or two. He isn't active as I had expect as he mostly just rests on his rock or branch with his head up and alert. his home temperature is 95 digrees, humidity between 50-60 and I mist and bath him daily. He leaves his droppings daily as this tells me he isnt constipated. Are all bearded dragons this lazy as I hope he is ok. does anyone have any helpfull information that can help me help him?

Answer:
Hi I have 2dragons,one is very lively the other just sits on her log and waits for the crickets to walk past!I tend to let mine out quite a lot as it makes lazybones get some exercise!Try your dragon with grated butternut squash,mine will always eat that even if they are having a picky day with other stuff.If you have only had him for a week he may still have relocation stress I seem to remember having a panic with mine for the first 2-3 weeks as they hardly ate. Are you dusting your crickets ith Nutrobal? Its v v v important to do this to maintain calcium levels.Goodidea to feed and water your crickets too give maximum nutrition.You could try mealworms and locusts as well.

Carrot Varieties Question: 5


Bearded Dragon advice...?

I have had my bearded dragon for a week now. He is around 4-6 month old and doesnt eat alot. I give him cabbage and dandelion greens mostly but offer him a wide variety like carrots, boiled potato, apple pieces etc but he only seems to eat the greens. Also his appetite of crickets is rather low too as he doesnt seem to bother eating them when I put them in, although he wont refuse a black beetle or two. He isn't active as I had expect as he mostly just rests on his rock or branch with his head up and alert. his home temperature is 95 digrees, humidity between 50-60 and I mist and bath him daily. He leaves his droppings daily as this tells me he isnt constipated. Are all bearded dragons this lazy as I hope he is ok. does anyone have any helpfull information that can help me help him?

Answer:
Dark leafy greens, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, parsley and dandelion greens, no spinach. Kale and spinach are high in phosphorous and too much phosphorous in their system can inhibit the absorption of calcium into the bloodstream causing hypocalcemia which is a dangerous drop in the blood calcium levels. Stay away from iceberg lettuce, cabbage and standard “human” type salad lettuces, as they are generally low in nutrition or food value and can cause episodes of diarrhea. Shredded carrots, shredded squash, shredded sweet potato, shredded zucchini are all good. Try different insects. Wax worms or Phoenix worms. I wouldnt give my bearded dragon super worms. What i did to get my beardie to eat was to put the phoenix worms into his salad. They move around so much that they got his attention and he cant take a bite without getting some kind of veggie in his mouth. BTW are u misting ur beardie? Or soaking him? If u can mist him it would be good that way get can get some water. Take him out of the tank and mist him and then put him back. You dont want the humidity to go up. Soaking is good too just make sure that the water isnt too warm or too cold. And make sure the water doesnt go above his shoulders. If this doesnt get him moving around more i would take him to a reptile vet soon.

Carrot Varieties Question: 6


URGENT QUESTION are pellets the only solution?PLEASE AWNSER?

I dont feed my green cheeked conure pellets but i do feed this Tropical Nutri Berries, Original Nutri Berries. EL Paso Nutri Berries, Sunny Orchard Nutri Berries, Garden Veggie Nutri Berries, Boiled Egg (smashed with shell on) Parsley,Wheat Grass, Flaxseed, Canary Grass, Seed Sprouts, Romain Lettuce(dont worry no iceburg) apple, banana, Shreded carrot, I also feed all varieties of the brand cooking diet for birds"Beak Apitete", Foster and Smith International bird feasts(pretty much the same thing as Beak Apitite) ,crushed walnuts and almonds. and regular cherrios(not honey nut but the original) I think this is a pretty complete diet, but you tell me.

Answer:
Pellets are great if you can't feed them the fresh foods they need, but it seems like you are doing the right thing. What I do with my birds is mix a little bit of pellet food in with their regular food once or twice a month. Birds will "balance" their own diet in a way. If they need more citrus fruits, they will beg for fruit. I give them the option of eating the pellets once and a while. Sometimes they eat them right up, sometimes they just sit for the day. It just depends. I wouldn't worry about pellets unless you really want to try them. I applaud how well you seem to take care of your bird! I work at an avian rescue center so it's a treat to see someone taking good care of their bird!

Carrot Varieties Question: 7


Why does my rabbit crave pellets instead of Timothy Hay and Vegetables?

We have a 1 1/2 year old, speyed, 8 lb, Angora rabbit that we just adopted from a shelter. He seems extatic to be out of the animal shelter. We have him in an enclosed pen during the day and take him out at night. He seems remarkably in good spirits and loves attention. We have been brushing him every day and he has had normal BMs and is using his litter box. However, unlike rabbits that I am familiar with from the past, he does not seem to eat all the Timothy Hay and fresh vegetables that we try to feed him. Instead he seems to CRAVE the rabbit pellets which we restrict to 1/2 cup per day as recommended. He eats them ravenously and always seems to want more. We have tried a variety of greens, carrots, other 'recommended' vegetables from the house rabbit site, but he always seems to go for the pellets. He drinks water liberally. Is he starving? Are we feeding him incorrectly? Or is this just a bad habit that we need to break? Any suggestions appreciated!

Answer:
Dear rabbit owner, this isn't a bad thing. Actually rabbits should be fed very little greens or vegetables, especially during the summer. Greens and vegetables tend to give rabbits diarrhea. Diarrhea is one of the top diseases that kills rabbits. If you are going to give the rabbit a snack I'd give it a snack of dried timothy hay or orchard grass hay. It's usually hard on a rabbit to change what it eats, especially during the summer if you have them outside. Changes tend to make a rabbit go off its feed. A rabbit of that size should eat about a cup of rabbit pellets a day. A good rule for feeding rabbits is to give the rabbit enough pellets that it just cleans the pellets up by the end of one day. Always make sure that the rabbit has plenty of water and that fresh water is provided daily. If the rabbit does go off it's feed and won't eat, that's when you use greens or snacks to get it to eat. In response to the salt answer that I just noticed. Salt blocks were used a long time ago because rabbit owners used to have to make their own feeds from different things such as oats, corn, and hay. Salt blocks were give to the rabbits because rabbits need salt. Some of the early rabbit pellets didn't contain enough salt so the use of salt blocks was continued. Any reputable rabbit feed today will contain the adequate amount of salt that the rabbit needs. Most rabbit feed producers have a special feed blend for wool breeds such as Angoras. Two feed brands that are normally well recommended among rabbit breeders are Heinold rabbit feed or Purina rabbit feed. Quick Summarization: Ditch the greens, veggies, and hay and stick to feeding the rabbit about a cup of pellets a day (or what it will eat in one day). My Qualifications: I've been raising rabbits for 24 years and have won several Best-In-Shows, including the Indiana State Fair. For more info, I recommend contacting the American Rabbit Breeders Association (www.arba.net). They put out a great magazine called Domestic Rabbits that I think you would enjoy.

Carrot Varieties Question: 8


Vegetables that are in season?

Would you say onions, potato, turnip are in season at the moment? Also, carrot - is there a winter variety?

Answer:
Onions, potato, turnip, carrot are not in outdoor season at the moment, they may still be in the ground as a result of last seasons growth. Likewise broccoli and leeks. They can be stored over winter in a dark, dry, peat or sand covered environment. Veggies you buy in shops at present or either imported from countries that are having their growing season, or have been 'forced' by farms.

Carrot Varieties Question: 9


What do i do now? Any bird breeders that can help me????

I have 2 lovebirds a male and a female, we moved them into there new avery today, They seem happy and flying around and screeching there heads off lol. We want to breed them so they have a nest box, plenty of variety of foods such as, carrot, broccoli, Banana, Apple, mixed seeds, and Multigrain bread. The only problem is that the nesting box is on the bottom of the avery, It's not a very big avery but it's big enough for the 2 of them, so should that be a problem? Will they still breed in the nesting box? And how can I increase the chances? Cause we have only had them for afew days will they begin to breed straight away or will it take some time?

Answer:
Birds always go up for safety so putting the nest box at the bottom of the cage lowers your chances of them breeding, they'll feel safer if it's higher up. Towards the back of the aviary where there's less distractions will also make things easier. As long as the aviary has plenty of space for them AND chicks when they fledge it should be fine. Birds should usually be left to settle in for a few months before they breed as it is a big stress on a bird to move from one place to another. This also gives the female time to build up her calcium stores and all her other needs. I'd take the nestbox out and put it back in if you notice them mating. Make sure they're sheltered and getting at least 12 hrs of light a day. This will help in the breeding process. If you need anymore help email me. rezababe01@hotmail.com

Carrot Varieties Question: 10


A question on Carrots and Chocolates...?

I know, I know... some says that its a myth and so forth, but some things do make sense (in the weirdest way how nature works), right? So... some say that chocs make our face more prone to pimples and carrots are good for the skin... Should we start making our own Oompalicious chocolate by combining both Chocolates and Carrots? Wouldn't it be so wonderful? Say... Chocolate coated carrot cakes with lots of cherries and strawberry and whipped cream? Mmmmm then we can have a variety of it like a Tiramisu style, or Choc moist with carrot shavings (pretty much like the carrot cake style)... What do you think? I bet kids would love em' so much!!! Uhmmm Paul, thanks for the suggestion... and I'm a dude, buddy... LOL Uhmmm Paul, thanks for the suggestion... and I'm a dude, buddy... LOL Hey, who's giving thumb down here? Nobody deserves thumb downs in my questions (unless they're really nasty)!!!

Answer:
Carrot cake with chocolate frosting.. yuuuum.. delicious. But, it's very naughty food. You won't get pimples.. only love handle around your waist. LoL! Would you dare to try chocolate coated carrot? I wouldn't.. LoL! I've been eating chocolate for my entire life. Never have problems with pimples. So, I'm not sure if chocolate makes us more prone to pimples.. cheers

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1 response so far ↓

  • 1 Molly // May 20, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    One of my favorite childhood memories is of pulling carrots out of the garden, brushing off the dirt and munching that earth warmed snack. My kids love to grow their own veggies and I am wondering if carrots can grow in containers?

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