Monday, March 10, 2014

Kyoto Red Carrots

One of the reasons why I love to trial vegetables is because I occasionally encounter a vegetable variety that excels in many of the qualities I am looking for. From my experience this last year growing a new red carrot variety I would have to say that Kyoto Red is one of the very best carrots I have ever tasted.


The Kyoto Red Carrot


Though last year’s carrot trials did not go very well, they gave me the opportunity to find something much better than I have ever grown before. I planted seeds of Kyoto Red in the kids’ garden, knowing that I would not be saving seed of this variety this year.
 
 
Kids' Garden in Late October
 
 
Kids' Garden in December




Kyoto Red Carrot Leaves in December
 

During the time period in which my carrots were growing (late October-late February) the kids’ garden received full sun, howbeit much less than they would in the summer. I was told by a staff member at Kitazawa seed that red carrots tend to produce more dark colors during when grown over a cool season.
 
 
Fresh out of the Garden
 

So why should anyone even grow a red carrot? What makes these carrot superior to varieties you may grow already? My response is that the Kyoto red carrots have a wonderfully smooth texture and smooth surface. For those of you who feel that food texture is important, this might be worth noting. Second, these carrots are sweet. This does not mean that they are sugary sweet – but they are pretty sweet when they are young and have a nice sweet aftertaste as they get larger. Third, they produce a lot of food for the space. The roots are deep, and for those with a deep garden bed and limited space these carrots produce plenty of food for the space. Lastly, these carrots are red. The red color tends to consistent throughout so that the few carrots that seem lighter colored still exhibit a moderately dark red flesh.
 
 
Interior view of the Kyoto Red Carrot.
 


A view of what they look like when sliced.




Color comparison - sorry no samples available. (=
 
 
When taken as a whole, the Kyoto red carrot is a very smooth, sweet and colorful carrot. This carrot variety would be great to sell at any farmers market – if you don’t eat it before then!
 

I was thinking of taking these to the market ---- but we ate them instead. (=


3 comments:

  1. I think we could be friends. I love to garden! I live in Willcox. If you've taken Taylor rd up to apple annie's, you've passed my house. I've love to get some of your purple potatoes to start growing here. These carrots look amazing. Do you have an herb garden?
    Have you ever heard of Hugelkultur? I created one this past weekend and need to get it planted soon. I was thinking potatoes and carrots and maybe a couple of those gigantic squashes in another of your posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also - I have heard of Hugelkultur. It is a very interesting way to garden. My plants are generally able to eat through wood if it is chipped down to a decent size but I might have a problem with large chunks of wood during harvesting unless the wood was a border or really deep in the garden bed.

      Delete
  2. i want to know what are the different types of red carrot, apart from kyoto and atomic.
    also is there any blue type of carrot. i saw an image of blue carrot on internet(pintrest) is it possible

    ReplyDelete

Dear Gardening Friends,
I look forward to learning more about gardening with you. Your comments help me recognize that gardening is a life-long journey.

To advertisers: Note that this blog is concerned with gardening and gardening techniques. Please do not attempt to advertise here by leaving a comment. Depending upon how egregious the comment is, it may be deleted.