Carrots Come In Many Colors

Just bought carrot seeds. The little itty bitty carrots, not the long ones. I am anxious to plant the seeds, but the packet tells me that I have to wait until the fall. Perhaps it is too warm right now to plant carrot seeds. What if I put them out on the back patio where the morning sun is not as hot as the afternoon? Any advice?
I really like carrots and prefer to eat them cooked in butter (but who doesn't love food that is cooked in butter) until they are nice and sweet. I have also been all but obsessed with carrot ginger soup. Sadly, I have never loved raw carrots-I like them, just don't love them. And I really am not a fan of the baby carrots that the stores sell. Is it just me, or do they taste bland and horrid? I hope that home grown mini carrots will make me love raw carrots.
Carrot Memories
I don't have too many memories of by Grandpa Earl-my maternal grandfather. I lived in Rhode Island for about 9 short months when I was only four years old. After that, despite my yearly visits, I just cannot remember that much about him. Though, I do remember a few things- his little garden in particular. My gramps was all about growing his own veggies! And composting (I took a look in that old compost trash can a few years ago--yucky. Full of sand-like stuff and loads of spiders)! I distinctly remember him growing carrots, the full sized ones. Strangely, I don't recall ever eating these carrots, so I can only wonder whether my visions are of real life or a mere memory of a photograph of my grandpa with carrots. Either way, when I think of growing carrots, I think of Grampa Earl (sometimes called Earl the Pearl-- he couldn't have appreciated that nick name). I know many stories about him; but, by the time I was a teenager, he was already quite aged. I don't mean to say that he was very old, but he was certainly aged. Alcohol took a toll on his life and, sadly, shortened it. So I am left with the notion that my grandfather was a fisherman (those who have seen his basement in RI might remember the serious array of fishing supplies and various homemade fishing gadgets), a gardener, and a melodic whistler. This journey down memory lane reminds me that I have delayed in asking my grandma about which veggies my grampa used to grow. I wonder if she recalls the taste and variety. My granny is my only living grandparent, so I really need to absorb all the memories from her because time is the enemy now.
Since I have not yet planted any carrots, I have no picture to show for it. Perhaps I will try to find that picture that, may or may not exist, of Grandpa Earl and the carrots. I'll have to ask KD and my mom if they remember.


Because You Know You Want It: Some Fun Facts About Carrots!


There is a website called www.carrotmuseum.com --- Hmm. This website goes far into the history of carrots and carrot eating. I make no promises about the veracity of this website, but it sure is detailed. It reports that the carrot as we know it did not really emerge until the 1500s, though it reveals numerous documentations of earlier historical pictures of carrots (even orange carrots). It is referred to as the modern carrot, in contrast to the wild carrot. The wild carrot is from present-day Afghanistan and has a woody rough bitter spindly root. At some point in history, the modern carrot emerged and became domesticated. Bizarre, that the first domesticated carrots were not orange, but purple! Back in the day, the wild carrot seeds were considered medicinal. I can't possibly cover all the detail of this root


The Super Carrot Revealed! Don't know where you stand on GMOs but: Scientists in Texas have released a super carrot that helps people to absorb more calcium. It is still in the trial phase, but a carrot with 41% more calcium is pretty crazy. Check it out here
Or here.


Oh yeah, and eating carrots to improve nighttime vision is a myth... sorry.