Growing Good Carrots: Part 1

Carrots have been an important vegetable crop in South Africa since the days of early European settlement in the Cape. Today, they are grown countrywide, particularly near urban areas.

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The carrot is an erect, biennial plant, 30cm to 100cm high, that is grown for its edible root. The colour of the roots varies from white, yellow and orange-yellow to light purple, deep red and deep violet.

The stem consists of a small, plate-like ‘crown’. Leaves, produced from the first season, have long petioles (the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem). Flowers and seeds are produced in the second year.

Carrots come in four main types, based on root shape and storage capability.

•  Chantenay This variety has very strong foliage. Its roots are broad in the shoulder, relatively short and blunt-tipped. It has a strong, pale-coloured core and stores well. It is used mainly for processing.