To say it has been a challenging growing season in the Northwest is an understatement. We had such a long, cold, wet spring that many crops didn't germinate or were slow to mature. We are just now getting hot, sunny weather...and I am hoping it will stick around long enough for tomatoes and peppers to mature.
For me, the difficulty has been in producing root crops. Beets, carrots and radishes all struggled in my garden. For a long time, the soil was too chilly to produce much growth, then we had a heat wave which caused the whole batch of them to bolt. No root growth, flowering tops...what a shame.
And for the longest time, the carrots didn't produce. I had lots of green growth above the soil with little root development. Gorgeous ferny foliage, some of which is flowering...unusual for a biennial to do so in the first year...but nothing in the root department.
And then, I pulled a top expecting nothing to be below and voila! Behold, the CARROTS!
Aren't they beautiful? Red, yellow and purple...what a wonderful mix! I ordered the mix from Pinetree Seeds and added a packet of Purple Haze to it. I love that carrots come in such wonderful colors...and there is really no reason that we only grow and eat the orange ones...well, no good reason anyway.
Here's what they look like on the inside...
Just amazing...stunning, really. I only pulled these three because I had intended to use them in a salad. The rest are out there, just waiting for me...I grated the carrots and sprinkled it all over the salad...like carrot confetti!
I will try to grow them again for a fall crop, which means I need to get them planted soon. But, don't despair if you have difficulty growing carrots. They are not a beginner veggie, and even regular growers have a hard time with them sometimes.
They are indeed beautiful!
Posted by: Robin | July 12, 2008 at 10:12 AM
They are indeed wonderful looking.
(I struggle with carrots as we have stony soil)
Hope they taste really yummy too
Regards
Karen
Posted by: Karen - An Artists Garden | July 12, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Gorgeous carrot. The colors are great.
I've had problems with carrots in the past and I didn't get any in the ground this year.
Posted by: Lisa | July 13, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Purple carrots? How cool!
Cxx
Posted by: Claire | July 14, 2008 at 04:32 AM
Perfect!
Posted by: Diane Mandy | July 15, 2008 at 06:37 AM
Those are lovely! I put mine in too late and they did not germinate. I was so disappointed. I will be watching to see when you plant your fall crop. Growing up in WI carrots were a cinch. But here in WA it is a totally different story.
Posted by: Teresa | July 15, 2008 at 08:07 AM