Best Carrot Cultivars?
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DebbieTT
Posted: Nov-19-2003 at 9:41am
I am looking at T&Ms catalog (yes Thompson and Morgan's new catalog is out!) and was looking at their vegie section. I usually order flower seed from them but decided this year I might try some of their vegies since they are a company out of England. With their climate similiar to ours I thought they might have some good varieties for our climate.
Then I thought of carrots and I would like to try some new varieties. What are your favorite carrots. Oh and have you order vegetable seed from T&M before?
gary
Posted: Nov-19-2003 at 11:06am
Debbie,
I have used T&M many times in the past. On the theory that their English weather is quite similar to ours I have even ordered from the UK catalog.
I have primarily been interested in the cole family, especially their selection of sprouting broccoli's. I have also gotten some peas and brussel sprout choices there before I saw them in local, TSC & WCS, seed houses.
All that said, my knowledge of their carrots is slim to none since I seem to have such trouble with rust fly that I choose to buy at my Farmers' Market.
Their US catalog seems to be a combination of UK knowledge and Burpee's. It doesn't focus on Maritime climate choices. But then, Territorial also has a 'national' catalog version now too.
As to choices of cultivars, I would start with recent studies done by OR State at:
http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/garden/vegetable/2002varieties.html
And our own WSU veg trials at:
http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/SkagitVegTrials/index.html
Gary
Olympia
DebbieTT
Posted: Nov-19-2003 at 11:26am
http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/garden/vegetable/2002varieties.html
http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/SkagitVegTrials/index.html
Thanks Gary for the tip on the English version catalog with the vegies.
I will check out these urls, but also looking for taste tests too!
Now if I could just find a carrot that I can grow and not have to peel off the bitter outside! LOL!
Red Hare
Posted: Nov-25-2003 at 9:29pm
I like the little round thumbelina carrots (I think that's what they're called) for grazing, and Red Nantes (or something like that) for roasting with potatoes. Red carrots are supposed to be better nutritionally, but are too woody for grazing. The little round thumbelinas get rinsed or rubbed off and eaten right there in the garden, so they don't get peeled. I don't peel the red carrots either, since I don't want to lose any of the vitamins.
I don't do a lot of vegetable gardening, but carrots are on my must-have list, along with sugar snap peas (grown for grazing) and cherry tomatoes (also for grazing). At least the potatoes make it inside the house to be cooked...
I haven't tried Thompson and Morgan for vegetable seeds, so I'm no help there.
trav
Posted: Nov-25-2003 at 10:00pm
Gosh, I haven't peeled a garden carrot in years! I just scrub 'em a bit with a vegetable brush to get the dirt off.
My favorite, bar none, is Artist. Only place I've seen it is Johnny's Selected Seeds. It even overwinters fairly well. Only drawback is you really need to grow it in a raised bed, unless you've got very sandy soil. Otherwise like most Nantes x Imperator types it'll fork quite easily.
Also note that any carrot grown in winter will taste significantly better than the same carrot grown in summer. That should be reason enough to plan out some winter gardening for next year!
Travis
DebbieTT
Posted: Nov-28-2003 at 3:51pm
Thanks I am going to try that variety. Well we can't have carrots forking and I know I definately need raised beds for these.
In the winter do you need to keep them covered with reemay or do you keep them in the hoophouse? I think there was a problem with the maggots even in winter. In another thread it was discussed and I am going to have to check the outcome of that one again.
I peel my store bought carrots as the outside has a bitter taste to it. From what I understand with carrots that the nutrition goes all the way through the carrot. Unlike other vegetables you won't peel the good stuff away.
I didn't realize carrots tasted better in winter. That's a plus as many vegetables are a bit on the sorry side in the taste department in winter.
trav
Posted: Nov-28-2003 at 11:00pm
I grow them in the hoophouse, although that doesn't protect them from the rust maggot fly. Actually those particular maggots aren't a big issue in my garden; I see the damage occasionally but it's not bad enough to spoil the carrot. If they were a bigger issue then yes I'd grow them under a row cover.
The thing about having them under the hoophouse is 1) the ground doesn't usually freeze under there, even in a cold snap; and 2) I find it much more pleasant to harvest stuff in a relatively dry area. :-) Rather than having to rush from the house to the garden and back, I can hang out a bit out there without getting soaked.
Travis
DebbieTT
Posted: Dec-02-2003 at 7:16pm
I found a carrot called Nutri-Red Carrot and ordered it just because it sounded great. Very high in Lycopene content with is the cancer anti-oxidant. It says it turns deeper red and sweeter and milder when cooked. Does this sound like the one you grow?
I don't do a lot of vegetable gardening, but carrots are on my must-have list, along with sugar snap peas (grown for grazing) and cherry tomatoes (also for grazing). At least the potatoes make it inside the house to be cooked...
I don't do a lot either but I always tuck in vegetables here and there in the garden. I love grazing in the garden too! I almost always grow pumpkins and cucumbers and a hanging lettuce basket up off the ground so no slugs!
I have grown the thumblinas too, although I didn't use them for grazing so thought they were more hassle than worth. But perhaps with the thought of grazing that might do it.
DebbieTT
Posted: Dec-02-2003 at 7:18pm
Oh yes growing under a hoop house has got to be a great way to do winter gardening. Even weeding out there probably isn't a great chore and warmer than weeding out in the real weather.
AmyPNW
Posted: Jan-30-2004 at 8:52pm
Nelson is an excellent carrot, available from Johnny's. There is an Italian farmer here in town that grows giant carrots, tender all the way through. They are best carrots ever. I have no idea what the name of these are. Perhaps they are a family heirloom. My mom has lusted after these for the last few years. This last summer she saved seeds from some carrots she grew out. It will be interesting to see what comes up since carrot seeds/flowers are hard to isolate.
Amy
cjmiller
Posted: Feb-11-2004 at 5:23pm
Question: Is it true or not--I steadfastly refuse to buy seed from other parts of the country, because it seems like seeds developed in the GNW (great NW) should be acclimated to this area and therefore do better. This is just my own personal bias, but seems like it should be logical. Therfore, I use Territorial Seeds, since they are grown here. I have had good luck with their carrots:Mocum for winter, and the Danvers for summer. Those suppermarket "baby carrots". are not necessarily young, just small and some of them, this time of year smell like they have been stored in a very musty space since last summer!
Carol
GardenNut
Joined: Sep-23-2003
Posted: Feb-11-2004 at 5:46pm
If you carefully read pages 4 & 5 of the Territorial catalog, they talk about which varieties come from them, and which ones are from around the world. Very few varieties are actually produced by Territorial. They mention trying to produce more themselves. Varieties that come from out of the country are labeled as such in the description, i.e. your Mokum carrots' seed comes from the Netherlands.
Territorial's selling point is that the varieties they sell have been tested in the northwest, at their research farm.
Just a clarification. I like Territorial seed and have been buying from them for years.
Chris Sunset 4 USDA 8a
growsherown
Posted: Mar-30-2004 at 10:02am
In my neck of the woods, I have a friend who is a local farmers market produce grower out in the Skokomish Valley. She grows the most wonderful carrots! I believe she calles them "Boleros", and they are sweet thru and thru!
Sparkle and I canned over 80 lbs of these last summer, and they can so well! A large, full, cylindrical carrot, good color and no need to peel! They must be a bit disease resistant, as I have never seen any insect or disease flaws on even one single carrot!
She also tells me that these overwinter well too!
However, I am having a bit of trouble trying to track down some of this seed for my own garden.
trav
Posted: Mar-30-2004 at 7:45pm
You should be able to buy Bolero from Johnny's and probably Territorial.
Regarding seed being grown here (an older part of the thread): While Territorial certainly trials all their seed here in our climate, but they don't grow most of it themselves - they buy it from the big seed houses.
Travis
growsherown
Posted: Mar-31-2004 at 8:03am
Territorial huh?? Have to check that out! Tnx trav! And where can a girl pick up one of these Territorial catalogs?????
dusty
Posted: Apr-23-2004 at 5:28am
I grew Boleros and Mokums last year and thought the Mokums were a bit sweeter and held up all winter. I went out yesterday to dig up what was left in order to start some new ones and low and behold. They are still sweet, crunchy, beautiful color (a little hairy, but it comes right off). I had a lot of return customers from early March market raving about the flavor. Even their kids were eating them. I do use a clotch all year on them though.
dusty
DebbieTT
Posted: Apr-29-2004 at 2:49pm
Thanks everyone for the information, I am carrot armed and ready to go for it!
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