Purple Carrots

 

Well, whaddya know?  I planted a few carrots back in June, and I've been waiting for the tell-tale sign that a carrot is ready to harvest: you can see the top of the carrot emerging from the soil.  I brushed off the soil around the base of each plant and didn't see anything.  I waited and waited and waited some more, then finally decided not to wait any longer, as the giant greens were spilling over onto the younger fall seedlings trying to make a go of it on either side.  We've yet to have much success in the carrot department, so I wasn't too hopeful, but I thought we might have a couple worth eating.  I dug in my spade and was amazed to find legitimate carrots!  Big, purple ones! 

It was so long ago that I had forgotten what variety of carrots I planted.  I never think that's going to happen when I plant something, but it inevitably does.

Aren't they pretty?

This is what they look like all cut up. 

They should be purple, through and through. Some of them were whiter in the middle, which I'm guessing is a sign of age?

We have lots more carrots growing, in a variety of colors, that I planted at the end of July.  They should be ready in another month or so. If the weather cooperates, maybe we can hang on and harvest them close to Thanksgiving.

We've trimmed the greens off the top (leaving only an inch) and plan to use these few carrots in the next week or so. 

If we had enough to store, they could keep for months in a barrel filled with damp sand or sawdust in the basement.  Maybe someday we'll get to try that, but I'm happy to have these for now!

I will note that my fingers were slightly purple after peeling and cutting these, not quite like handling beets, but noticeably stained.  You can see how they bled a little onto the cutting board.  That leads to a funny story, which I'll share in my next post.

Happy weekend!!