what are the best tasting carrots??

corfiot

Last year i sown carrots and they were wonderful---real carrot taste--but cannot remember the name of the seed.This year i have sown early fingers and the taste is rubbish,plus sown nantes and again no real taste though they are sweet but not a true carrot taste---which i always cook whole.Which carrot do you find to be best??

Sean Ph'lib · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject:

I think Chantenay Red-core is the best-tasting carrot. A lot depends, too, on how you grow them: I grow mine on land which gets regular and heavy applications of garden compost and leaf-mould, and a sprinkling of dry poultry manure raked in before sowing.

Liparis · Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:14 pm Post subject:

Sean Ph'lib is correct, corfiot. How you grow any vegetable and the type of soil you grow in can change how a vegetable tastes. Also what one thinks is a great carrot, another may think it's not so great, that's one of the reasons you have a multitude of varieties. I like Nantes, it's a good old fashioned carrot, so is Chantenay, but others may think they are rubbish, so expect a lot if different varieties being mentioned as favourites and you will soon be confused. I think there was a post made by someone asking about what peoples favourite cabbage was, it was pretty mixed.
Get your notebook and pencil out and keep a few scribbles on what you are growing this year and how you think they tasted. Grow two or three varieties, if you have the space, of each variety, even if it's only a dozen of each, then you will choose your own favourite.
Bill.

corfiot · Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:21 am Post subject:

Thanks for your suggestions--i am sure now they were Chantenay last year.The ground that i grow them in is well prepared with nutrients and well dug over with some fine sand added and always have lovely carrots--just love the real carrot taste!!Thanks again.

michael brenock · Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:40 pm Post subject:

Bill is correct in his suggestion get the notebook out and get to know the good tasting and the poor tasting varieties. bear in mind that carrots are bred for colour appearance, shape earliness, disease and pest resistance, keeping quality and I know that taste is very far down the list of priorities for breeders. The older varieties like James' Scarlet intermediate and Red Elephant were regarded as good tasting varieties.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)