Kaleidoscope Carrot
SKU
400006348616
$4.99
Out of stock
Daucus carota
Certified Organic Seed
Trying to trace the origins of the modern orange carrot is like looking through a kaleidoscope. Shapes and colors reflect and refract, and the more time you spend looking, the more they change. The carrot's geo-genetic story would appear in full color: yellow sun of the Middle East, purple mountains, vermillion sunsets, and thousands of hands of many hues. This prismatic mix reflects the colorful time line of the carrot.
- Number of Seeds: 500 seeds
- Spacing in Row: 2 inches
- Spacing Between Rows: 12 inches
- Planting Depth: ¼ inch
- Days to Germination: 10 to 14 days
- Days to Maturity: 75 days
- Height at Maturity: 4 to 8 inches
- Width at Maturity: 2 inches
How to grow: Direct sow from mid-April until early August in friable, fertile, deeply worked soil. Choose your least weedy soil for carrots, as they are tricky to cultivate when young; carrots can take 10 days to germinate, and can be quickly choked about by weeds. Thin young carrots seedlings to 2" apart, then thin baby carrots by pulling out every other carrot, allowing the remaining carrots to grow to full size. While good carrots can be grown in any soil, they only grow to supermarket size in loose and deep soils without too many rocks. (Even if strangely shaped or undersized, their flavor and crunch is superior to store-bought.) Fall carrots can be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator or in a root cellar for months. Do not store fresh carrots with the tops on, they draw water and nutrients from the roots. Rather, remove the tops after harvesting and use to flavor soup stock.
About the artist: Martha Lewis' drawings and paintings evoke the intersection between the organic and the constructed. This watercolor reflects her interests in spiritual diagrams, pie charts, biology, and games.
