CARROTS

If Mastermind was still on the telly, carrots could be my specialist subject. Their history is fascinating.

Native to Iran, ancient herbalists originally grew these humble vegetables for their aromatic seeds rather than their scrawny roots, which originally came in shades of purple, white and yellow. Legend has it that nationalist Dutch horticulturists selectively bred them orange to honour William of Orange, though the truth may simply be that apricot-coloured carrots were more aesthetically pleasing and thus more profitable.

We all know carrots are the favourite snack of a wise-cracking, wascally wabbit, but did you know that Bugs Bunny was inspired by Clark Gable's Oscar-winning carrot-peeling performance in the 1934 film, It Happened One Night? Or that Elmer Fudd's favourite crop is also to blame for many a pet bunny with an upset tummy? While cartoon cottontails happily chomp on carrots, the roots are actually too sweet for rabbits’ digestive systems.

“Let them eat carrot cake,” said Marie Antoinette. Or at least she could have, for King Louis XVI's chef Antoine Beauvilliers is credited with its invention. Fun fact: A Canadian bakery boasts the Guinness World Record for the biggest carrot cake ever baked, a 2,075kg slab with half a tonne of grated carrots in its batter.

An American grower currently holds the record for the heaviest carrot (10.17kg), while a British gardener grew the longest, measuring 6.245m. (Fancy a crack at the record? I once interviewed a competitive Welsh giant veg grower who told me the trick to producing prize-winning carrots, radishes and parsnips is to fill lengths of PVC downpipe with a mix of sand, peat and compost, sow a single seed on top, then drench weekly with liquid fertiliser.)

A decade ago, I sowed 26 varieties of carrots in a trial for NZ Gardener magazine. The pick of the crop was ‘Majestic Red’ (Yates Seeds), though the heirloom ‘Rainbow Blend’ (Kings Seeds) was the most beautiful.

With up to 2,000 seeds per packet – that’s 50 carrots for as little as 10c if you sow with care – carrots are one of the best value vegetables to grow at home. Just don't eat them all at once, as overdosing on beta-carotene does indeed turn your palms and the soles of your feet orange, a condition known as carotenemia.

How To Grow Carrots

As idioms, carrots are dangled enticingly, likened to peas, compared to red hair and paired with sticks as a method of motivation. However, sticks or stones, lumps, bumps or any other barriers in the soil won't persuade your carrots to stay on the straight and narrow, for this is one crop where soil cultivation is key.

Prepare for sowing by digging deeply and thoroughly, then space the seeds 3–5cm apart along the seed trenches to save time thinning later. Or intersow with a quick crop of radishes.

If carrot rust fly is a problem, sow rows of onions or plant garlic between your carrots. The scent helps deter this low-flying pest. Sowing in raised beds higher than 45cm also puts them off. Carrots are frost-hardy. Dig as required; storing them in the soil keeps them fresh for up to six months.

Lynda Hallinan

Waikato born-and-raised gardening journalist Lynda Hallinan lives a mostly self-sufficient life at Foggydale Farm in the Hunua Ranges, where she grows enough food to satisfy her family, free-range chooks, kunekune pig and thieving pukekos. She has an expansive organic vegetable garden and orchards and is a madkeen pickler and preserver.