Senga's Blog
Eco-chic Outdoor Living & Exterior Design
Feb. 2/2010 – The Planning Stage: Carrot 'Purple Haze'
The First Carrot was Actually Purple! 
The French have a saying ‘Mange des carottes, ça rend aimable! Eat carrots and you will be kind! or, eat carrots and they’ll make you a pleasant person!’ and here I thought that if eating carrots would help you see well! And it all had something to do with the orange in the carrot. But believe it or not the original colour of wild carrots was actually purple. Purple Haze is a Nantes-type carrot, with strong growth and a delectable sweet flavour. Its rich purple color extends only as far as the core, which remains bright orange. And it tastes just like ordinary orange carrots. Here is the first-ever hybrid purple Carrot -- a return to the distant past when wild carrots were naturally purple. Medieval Asian and European cultures (and maybe even Egyptians) grew purple carrots. It was 17th century Dutch patriots that popularized the orange-coloured carrots we are familiar with today.
Carrots are a delight raw from the garden for all ages to enjoy the sweet flavour and crunchy texture. Second only to beets in sugar content, high in beta carotene, loaded with minerals, and it is high in antioxidants (especially anthocyanin) and vitamins (especially Vitamin A). Try not to peel because many of the nutrients are actually in the peel or just under it. Carrot tops can be added to salads or soups because they are nutritious with high phosphorus content. Carrots contain the same amount of antioxidant and lycopene as tomatoes.
Purple Haze Carrot Information You Need to Know
Botanical name: Dacus carota ‘Purple Haze’
Common Name: Purple Haze Carrot
Country of Origin: U.S.
Description: Purple skin on the outside and orange on the inside of long tapered roots
Best harvested: 8”-12” (20cm – 30 cm) long roots
Time to Plant: March 1 – May 1(and again in the fall Sept 1. Carrots like cool weather.
Where to Sow and Grow: Outdoors in full sun (can withstand part shade) and put under cloches to mitigate late spring frosts.
Space: 7.5cm (3”) apart
Maturity: 75 Days
Tip: Hoe soil over roots to prevent greening. Keep constant moisture until root almost mature to grow quickly and continuously, without any stops. Then slow down water so carrots won’t crack.
Taste: Nuttier, stronger taste than orange carrots
Uses: To take advantage of its bright purple colour, serve it raw for cooking will dull it. Use for salads, soups, to moisten cakes etc. My husband makes a great celery/carrot juice with ginger. I will post recipes when we start harvesting.
Place in Square Foot Vegetable Garden: As carrots in general is a faster growing crop, it can be inter planted with slower growing crops such as onions or tomatoes or melons on my edible green roof. By month’s end I will have this nicely slotted into a master plan of the vegetable garden and post it on my blog.
