Latest / The Beanstalk : A Podcast for Gardeners / Episode 25 — Carrots - Crunchy, Colorful, and Completely Worth Growing

Transcript

Episode 25 — Carrots - Crunchy, Colorful, and Completely Worth Growing · The Beanstalk : A Podcast for Gardeners

• 0:28
  Welcome back to the Beanstalk, fellow beans.
• 0:31
  My name is John. Today, we're diving deep into
• 0:34
  one of the most exciting root crops you can grow, Carrots.
• 0:40
  Whether you're new to gardening or you've been coaxing vegetable
• 0:43
  from the soil for years, carrots give you an incredible
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  opportunity to experiment, taste, test, and explore.
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  And the best part? They're not just orange.
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  They come in purples, Reds, yellows, whites, and cosmic
• 1:00
  swirls, each with its own flavor, texture, and style.
• 1:06
  Today we'll breakdown everything from soil prep to seed saving
• 1:10
  varieties to pests harvesting to storage, and of course, a
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  delicious honey glazed rainbow carrot recipe that celebrates
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  the colorful roots. Why grow carrots?
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  Carrots are the ultimate set it and forget it crop.
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  Once they establish, they basically take care of
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  themselves. They store well, they're
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  nutrient dense, and they can grow in surprisingly small
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  spaces. You can sow multiple
• 1:44
  successions, pull them fresh all season, overwinter them under
• 1:48
  mulch, or preserve them for months.
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  Plus, growing the colorful varieties adds a wow factor to
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  your garden beds and your dinner plate.
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  Purple carrots with orange cores.
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  Red carrots that taste a little earthy, sweet neon yellow ones
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  that glow in the sunshine. There's a carrot colour for
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  every gardener. How to grow carrots?
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  Soil prep Carrots need loose stone free soil.
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  If the soil is compacted, rocky or heavy clay, you'll get split
• 2:25
  roots. Forks, weird alien shapes, or
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  short, stubby carrots. To prep your soil, loosen it 10
• 2:35
  to 12 inches deep. Remove any rocks and large
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  debris, mix in some compost and try to avoid higher nitrogen
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  fertilizers. Loose, fluffy soil equals long,
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  straight, beautiful carrots. Sowing carrot Seeds Carrot seeds
• 2:59
  are tiny and slow to germinate, sometimes 10 to 20 days or more.
• 3:04
  Here are a few tricks to help. Mix your seeds with fine sand
• 3:10
  for more even spacing. So in shallow rows about 1/4 of
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  an inch deep, keep your soil constantly moist.
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  This is critical for germination and use a temporary shade cloth,
• 3:27
  cardboard or burlap to prevent drying.
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  Just make sure to remove it once they start to sprout and with
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  thinning. If you don't thin carrots, they
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  stay small. Thin them to one to two inches
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  apart once seedlings reach 2 inches tall or so.
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  Yes, it does kind of hurt, but it is necessary.
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  And watering carrots prefer even steady moisture.
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  Uneven watering equals cracking. Lightly water daily until
• 4:03
  sprouted. One inch of water per week after
• 4:07
  that and water deeply to encourage long taproots.
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  A quick variety. Spotlight colors with flavors.
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  First UPS is orange. These are generally the classic
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  sweet carrots. Next is purples.
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  They're more earthy and complex. Then yellows are generally
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  buttery and mild. Whites have a delicate sweetness
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  and Reds are juicy and bold. Mixing the colors makes the
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  garden and the plate sing. A quick thought on container
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  growing. Carrots love containers.
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  If the soil is deep enough, use a pot at least 12 inches deep
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  and fill it with sifted, loose soil.
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  How to harvest carrots? Carrots are typically ready in
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  60 to 80 days or so, depending on your variety.
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  Look for shoulders peeking through the soil and the
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  expected diameter. To harvest, water the bed first
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  to loosen the soil, then gently lift with a fork and pull.
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  Twist or trim tops immediately to preserve moisture.
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  For winter storage, leave dirt on and store in a cool root
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  cellar style spot or in damp sand.
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  Now for some common pests and problems.
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  First up is the carrot rust fly. They have larvae that tunnel
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  into the roots. Prevent them with floating row
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  covers or crop rotation and careful thinning and timing wire
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  worms. These are occasional burrowers.
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  Avoid freshly converted lawn beds or pretreat slash rotate to
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  avoid them. Then you can have things like
• 6:18
  forking and splitting. This is usually caused by rocks,
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  hard pan, fresh manure, or erratic watering.
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  And lastly is bolting. Stress or heat may induce
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  bolting. Keep them cool and consistently
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  watered. Companion planting tips.
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  Carrots pair well with onions, leeks, garlic, chives which help
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  repel flies, lettuce because they have shallow roots,
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  radishes because they loosen the soil and you generally want to
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  avoid dill or fennel close by and some seed saving tips.
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  Carrots are biennials to save seed, overwinter your best roots
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  or replant them in spring. Let them flower year 2.
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  Collect and dry the seeds, then store in a cool and dry place.
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  Be aware of Crossing with Wild Queensland's lace isolate
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  varieties if you care about purity.
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  Now some pros and cons from growing carrots.
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  First up is the pros. They're easy with the right
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  prep, they're colorful, they're great for storage, they're cold
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  Hardy, and they're kid friendly. And for some cons, they do have
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  a slow germination. They do need thinning, sensitive
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  to soil structure and they are vulnerable to the carrot fly.
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  And as always, the best part? The recipe?
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  Honey glazed rainbow carrots. This one shows off colorful
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  roots and keeps things simple and seasonal.
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  It's great as a side and the colours alone make it feel
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  special. 1st is the ingredients you'll want. 1.5 to 2 lbs of
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  mixed rainbow carrots, purple, orange, yellow, white, red.
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  Scrubbed and trimmed. Cut larger roots in half legs
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  wise so pieces are similar sized. 2 tablespoons of olive
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  oil, 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine. 2 to 3 tablespoons of
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  honey, One to two teaspoon apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon
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  juice. This just helps to balance the
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  sweetness. Salt and freshly ground black
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  pepper to taste. Optional, one tablespoon chopped
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  fresh thyme or Rosemary or a sprinkle of chopped parsley for
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  finishing. Also optional is toasted sesame
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  seeds or chopped toasted almonds for some crunch.
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  And here's the preparation method.
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  Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with
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  parchment for easy cleanup. Toss the carrot pieces with the
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  olive oil, salt and pepper to coat evenly.
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  Spread them in a single layer on the baking sheet so they roast
• 10:00
  rather than steam. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes,
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  flipping once halfway through, until the carrots are tender and
• 10:11
  starting to caramelize on the edges.
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  Timing will depend on carrot size.
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  Smaller baby carrots will be done sooner.
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  Larger carrots may take a few minutes longer.
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  While the carrots roast, melt butter in a small saucepan or
• 10:30
  skillet over low heat. Stir in the honey and the apple
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  cider vinegar or lemon juice. Heat gently until combined and
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  slightly syrupy and then remove from heat.
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  When the carrots are done roasting, transfer them to a
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  serving bowl and drizzle the honey butter glaze over them.
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  Toss them gently to coat or brush the glaze over the carrots
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  on the sheet and return them to the oven for two to three
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  minutes for a sticky finish. Finish with the thyme or
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  Rosemary and a small sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds or chopped
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  toasted almonds if you decide to use them.
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  Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
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  Couple other little notes or tips is for extra depth.
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  Add a small pinch of smoked paprika or cayenne to the glaze
• 11:27
  for warmth. If you want a roasted, crisp
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  jar, finish the glazed carrots under the broiler for one to two
• 11:35
  minutes, watching them closely. Purple carrots often roast to a
• 11:40
  deeper hue but retain a lovely flavor.
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  Carving them at the similar sizes helps everything cook
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  evenly. This recipe celebrates colour,
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  texture and the natural sweetness that carrots develop,
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  especially when grown in cool soil and harvested at the right
• 12:00
  size. Some fun facts about carrots.
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  Purple carrots predate orange varieties.
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  Historically, carrot tops are edible, bright and parsley like
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  one mature carrot seed head can produce hundreds to thousands of
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  seeds. Overwintered carrots often taste
• 12:27
  sweeter due to cold conversion of starch to sugar.
• 12:33
  And now for the gardenerd corner pigments and carrots map to
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  different phytonutrients. Beta carotene, which is orange.
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  Anthocyanins, which are purple, Lutein, which is yellow.
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  Lycopene, which is red. Cooler soil enhances sugar
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  concentration in roots, which is why fall and overwintered
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  carrots often taste exceptional. And that wraps up today's
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  episode of The Beanstalk. Carrots reward patience and good
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  soil prep, and the rainbow varieties make every harvest a
• 13:13
  small celebration. If you try the Honey Glazed
• 13:17
  Rainbow carrots recipe, post a photo in the Beanstalk Garden
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  Club. I want to see how your colors
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  come through. Thanks for listening, fellow
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  beans. From our patch to yours, keep on
• 13:32
  climbing.