Page 28 - ALG Issue 4 2021

vegetable
Dr Carrot
*The carrot is one of the most important root vegetable plants in
the world. In its wild state it is a tiny bitter root with little appeal as a food, but years of human cultivation and domestication, with a helping hand from nature, has made it an extremely versatile vegetable, appearing in several colours, shapes, and sizes, many of which are now available in the local supermarket or as seeds.
Although cultivated for over 2000
years, and originally used only as a medicinal plant, the domestic carrot (Daucus carota var. sativus, Apiaceae
or Umbelliferae) remains an important world crop. The modern carrot appears to derive from a combination of mutation and selection from a complex gene pool. These involve yellow-rooted eastern carrots, cultivated white-rooted derivatives of wild carrot (grown as medicinal plants since classical times), and wild unselected populations from Europe and the Mediterranean. In
2013, research confirmed that orange carrots arrived from mutations of yellow forms, and then from human selection, commonly thought to have originated in the Netherlands.
**Research from 2016 determined that the carrot family split with the grape about 113 million years ago and from the kiwi about 10 million years after that. The research team traced carrot evolution as far back as the dinosaurs. Sometime between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods - roughly around the time dinosaurs became extinct
- carrots, along with other plants of the era, picked up genetic advantages that allowed them to thrive in differing environmental conditions.
The swollen taproots are eaten both raw and cooked, in sweet and savoury dishes and it is known for its high beta-carotene content, which the body converts to Vitamin A. It also forms a major ingredient in the food processing industry, a significant constituent of cosmetic products and its image has long been used to symbolise healthy eating. The leaves are also consumed in salads and the seeds made into a herbal tea.
World War II revived the popularity of the carrot, elevating it from a mere animal feed to a major food source. The character Doctor Carrot was devised
Research from 2016 determined that the carrot family split with the grape about 113 million years ago and from the kiwi about 10 million years after that
in 1941 by the UK Ministry of Food to promote carrots as a substitute for other more scarce vegetables in the Dig for Victory campaign.
Carrots are recommended to be sown from the start of March to July. They prefer a stone and clay free soil. But the stump rooted varieties will grow well in grow bags if you’re short of space. Carrots cannot be transplanted; they have to be sown directly into the soil and thinned out later to produce quality roots. Sow the seed thinly along drills that are 1ins/25mm deep and 6ins/15cms apart for the early carrots and 12ins/30cms apart for the later sown maincrop carrots. Varieties to choose (all sold by Kings Seeds) are:
‘Berlicum’: Roots normally reach 20cm in length in good soil.
‘Chantenay Red Cored’: Stump rooted with smooth skin. Probably the best flavoured.
‘Amsterdam Forcing 3’: Very sweet flavour, first choice for early sowing.
‘Flyaway’: Claimed to have resistance to root fly. A Nantes type for mid season use.
Carrot mixed seeds, purple, orange and yellow carrots, “Rainbow” (40%), “Red Samurai” (30%) and “Purple Haze” (30%).
28 Allotment and Leisure Gardener