After our stalwart carrot variety under-performed last season, Landon and I decided to move away from the red-cored Chantenay and test some new options. The short, stubby carrots were too hard to bunch and looked less pretty on the market table than some of the newer varieties that have benefited from the attention of the seed-breeding community.
If you tried any orange carrots so far this season, they’ve been Hercules–a chantenay-type carrot that supposedly performs well in heavier clay soils (like ours). If you get orange carrots this week, you may have the chance to sample Nectar–a more slender Nantes-type praised for its uniformity. In the cooler months ahead, we’ll be digging either Cupar (not pictured above) or Bolero–two varieties renowned for getting sweeter and sweeter in storage.
We won’t know if we’ve hit on a winner without your feedback, so make sure to weigh in. And if you know of a delicious carrot that you’d like us to grow next year, we’re happy to work that into the rotation. One of a farmer’s greatest joys is finding those Goldilocks varieties that are both great in the fields and great on the plate.