TIPStricks
Carrots, the Essential Garden Vegetable
According to Barbara Melera of Harvesting History (www.harvesting-history.com), a seller of heirloom seeds, plants, and other garden products, the carrot is the fourth-most popular vegetable in the world. Only the potato, wheat, and rice enjoy greater popularity. Carrots are such an important part of the American diet and yet, we hardly realize this. They are an essential ingredient in many soups and stews, most gravies, and a host of salads and side dishes. The vegetable probably originated in the area now occupied by Iran and Afghanistan, but quickly spread to southern Europe. In the wild, carrots come in many colors, including white, yellow, red, and maroon. Carrots, like their cousins parsley, cumin, chervil, dill, caraway, coriander, fennel, anise, parsnip, and celery, were originally grown for their leaves and seeds, which were used as flavorings. With cultivation, the roots grew larger, sweeter, and less woody. Eventually, the root became more popular for culinary purposes than its leaves or the seeds. Cultivated carrots originated in the Afghanistan region and were yellow and purple. From this center of domestication, carrots were grown as a root crop to the east and west with the incorporation of several characteristics contrasting those two geographic regions. The eastern carrot spread to central and north Asia and then to Japan. Red-colored carrots are typical of India and also were introduced into Japan. In contrast, western carrot types were char10
WASHINGTON GARDENER
FEBRUARY 2022
acterized initially by yellow, and later by orange, root color. This carrot type spread to the west and now dominates in Europe and the Americas. The first orange carrot was introduced in the Netherlands in the 1600s, but it was the French who fell in love with the idea of orange carrots. Some say the French fascination with orange carrots was somehow related to the House of Orange, a princely dynasty that derived its name from the medieval principality of Orange in old Provence in southern France. The dynasty was important to The Netherlands because it is that nation’s royal family. Whatever the reason, the famous French seedhouse Vilmorin-Andrieux dedicated massive resources during the mid-1800s to developing the sweetest orange carrots on the face of the Earth. Most of the orange carrot varieties that we have today are a result of the Vilmorin breeding programs. Carrots can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked. Adding lime to the soil before planting will further sweeten them. Benjamin Watson, in his book Taylor’s Guide to Heirloom Vegetables, recommends presoaking the seeds the night before planting to hasten germination. Watson also recommends mixing carrot and radish seed when planting. The radishes will be up and harvested long before the carrots begin to mature, and this helps with thinning. Carrots should be thinned twice; first, when the green tops are about 1 inch high, thin the seedlings to a 1 inch separation. Use the thinnings for a salad condiment. Second, when the green tops are about 3 inches tall, thin the plants to a 3 inch separation. Use the thinnings as baby carrots. Leave the carrots in the ground until you need them. Carrots can tolerate frost very well, but you do need to get them out of the ground before the soil freezes solid. Frankly, I am surprised that such an important asset of our diet has attracted so little attention. Carrots are an essential part of our diet or should be. They are good for our eyes, blood pressure, diabetes control, etc. They are also easy to grow and can flourish in containers. o
What Differentiates Blue, Green, and Gray Water?
One of the most precious resources on Earth is dwindling, and its decline affects the lives of everyone. Its scarcity is costly in economical, biological, and ecological terms. It’s not oil, but a resource even more precious: water. This year is the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Clean Water Act. The Soil Science Society of America’s Soils Matter blog (https://soilsmatter. wordpress) looked at managing water in terms of access and freshness is one way to optimize the use of this resource. These are called blue, green, and gray water. Blue water is found in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. It’s what you see in wetlands, or it can be pumped from below surface aquifers. Available blue water is used for many purposes, including drinking water and irrigation water for agriculture. In fact, agriculture uses about 70% of blue water, which is why researchers are finding ways to reuse gray water. Green water is the water available in the soil for plants and soil microorganisms. It is the water absorbed by roots, used by plants, and released back to the atmosphere through the process of transpiration. Green water can also leave the soil through evaporation or subsurface runoff, but it is considered productive only when it is used for plant transpiration. To supplement green water, scientists are looking to gray water. The term is typically applied to water that has been previously used and may contain some impurities. Gray water has been used by cities, households, and industries. It is the wastewater that is usually treated and discharged. Although gray water has to be treated, it doesn’t have to be treated to a pristine level. Sufficiently treated water can be put on a field, and healthy soil will then finish the treatment by filtering it and removing chemicals, because soil is the world’s largest biofilter! The reuse of gray water is essential, too. Gray water reduces the use of blue water and provides additional green water while lowering energy costs and recycling nutrients. o
