Saturday, October 1, 2011

Stumpy Little Carrots

Sorry I've not been posting frequently, folks.  Been busy with a project at work and been spending my weekends trying to get ready for the winter and the baby.  I've also been trying to work my way through the produce that I've been buying and that's been coming my way from friends and family.  We'll chat about some of that in upcoming posts...

In the mean time, let's talk about carrots!


They're a little short (about than 3-4 inches each), but aren't they gorgeous otherwise?  This is my first carrot harvest ever and I'm happy that I managed to get enough for a full meal (well, a side-dish).  The yellow and orange ones are pretty normal varieties, but the purple ones are unique and cool.  They're purple on the outside, with orange on the inside.

I'm working on the assumption that they're so stumpy and bent on the end because of the soil I grew them in.  It's the new larger garden in the back, which is still quite compact and clay-like.  I just didn't have enough time and money to amend it much this spring (short of two large bags of peat moss).  The plan is to fold-in some mostly finished compost this fall and let that finish-off over the winter.  Hopefully, it'll leave me with richer, softer soil in the spring.  I've considered a cover crop, but I'm leaning towards no for this year just because of the work and money involved, both of which are in short supply.

Anyway, we haven't eaten these yet but I'm planning to simply scrub them clean, cut them into chunks, and oven-roast them.  Delicious!

2 comments:

  1. So cool! Love the purple ones. Do they all taste the same or do they have slightly different flavors?

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  2. They pretty much all taste like carrots with a varying level of sweetness (the sweetness also has to do with the soil and weather). I munched on a couple and it seems the purple ones are less sweet than the orange and yellow. Could be the opposite once they're roasted though.

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