In Beatrix Potter's "Tale of Peter Rabbit," Peter disobeyed his mother's wishes and crept into Mr. McGregor's garden and ate a bunch of fresh vegetables before he was spotted by Mr. McGregor and was promptly chased out of the garden. I remember reading that book to Laura Lee when she was younger. Fortunately, I constructed a good fence around the perimeter of our garden to keep Peter, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail out of mischief. As a result, we have numerous carrots that are ready for harvest.
Put on your boots, grab the colander and come along...
We have had some pretty good rainfall lately which will make pulling the carrots easy. In fact we don't even need to bring along a shovel. We'll just grab the carrots by the greens and give a little tug and that's all there is to it. The moderate December temperatures have really made the carrots grow quicker than normal and as we start to pull the carrots, they are a little larger than I'd like them to be, but we'll eat them just the same.
Here's a few freshly pulled carrots in the colander |
A nice tableau of carrots |
Carrots are believed to have come from Iran and Afghanistan. Their bright color is attributed to Beta Carotene which turns into Vitamin A. They are said to be very good for your eyesight, as well as high in fiber and antioxidants. You can overdo it though, in eating them, and actually turn your skin orange!
Here is today's harvest all laid out and sprayed with a hose prior to bringing them inside. I deliberately tried to pull all the biggest ones and will leave the smaller ones to continue growing. I staggered my plantings of them so they'll mature at different times, ensuring we have plenty to eat fresh, blanch and freeze and can.
All washed up |
Cosmic Purple Carrots |
Atomic Red Carrots |
Normal Berlicum Orange carrot in the middle and a distinctive, round Parisienne Carrot on the far right |
Carrot on the run |
Nature's Bounty |
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