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Post by philagardener on Sept 7, 2014 17:28:07 GMT -5
Yes, those look fabulous. The original Oxheart seems really difficult to find so your outcross may help preserve those traits. Have you been able to taste them and do they avoid getting "woody" when large?
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Post by khumlee on Sept 29, 2014 4:53:05 GMT -5
My 3 best carrots for me, but rare even here in France, "de Carentant" juicy sweet and crunchy, "oxhella" pointed shape, tasty sweet and crunchy, the two are to eat raw and to cook "de Tilque" long type very tasty not juicy. I have find another one who grow like I want, under the soil level, to prevent them from slugs attacks. It's a yellow carrot maybe amarillo, very tasty et rustic
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Post by jondear on Dec 18, 2014 8:57:04 GMT -5
For those looking for oxheart, both Southern Exposure and seed savers exchange are carrying them this year. SSE has bulk.
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Post by kazedwards on Dec 22, 2014 23:03:10 GMT -5
My favorite is Oxheart but damn is it hard to find now. 5 years back I got 4 packs of 800 seeds from Bakers Creek. Cant save seeds here. We are overrun with queen annes lace. Would love to find another source for that one in bulk. Next time I will shrink wrap and freeze them for future years. Had basicaly no germination from the old seed this year. Tom SSE has them this year. |
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Post by philagardener on Dec 23, 2014 6:30:06 GMT -5
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Post by Walk on Dec 23, 2014 11:09:08 GMT -5
Plum Creek Seeds in Arkansaw, WI has some Oxheart seeds. E-mail Kathleen at plumcreekseeds@gmail.com.
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Post by paquebot on Dec 23, 2014 18:22:58 GMT -5
SSE was delayed in getting Oxheart but they have it back on. Only option is pack of 250 for $2.99. 35-40 years ago we could buy it by the pound from a local feed mill if we wished. It was grown commercially for canning. Grew it one time so big that the "coins" had to be quartered to fit into an ordinary jar. That's why they were grown for diced carrots here.
Martin
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 23, 2014 22:37:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the update Martin. I've have very good luck with the 3 colored carrot mix from Grow Italian. A Franchi seed. From the carrot trials, I still have some good carrots. I had given up ever finding Oxheart again!
Berlicum from NZ was a great carrot. San Valerio (St. Valery?) And Red cored Chantenay all do well here.
If I could find a carrot I would look for "Marktgartner" This was a USDA carrot that I tried that was from Austria. It was a great carrot. Of course, I can't think of this without thinking Holland and Nazi's and WWII. But darn, this was a great carrot. This is one that I didn't get seed from. The carrots were so good, we kept harvesting them and oops...
Darn Biennials anyway! I have to uproot the carrots I want for seed and replant them in baskets, otherwise Steev's gopher buddies come and snack.
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Post by philagardener on Dec 24, 2014 9:18:07 GMT -5
If I could find a carrot I would look for "Marktgartner" This was a USDA carrot that I tried that was from Austria. It was a great carrot. Of course, I can't think of this without thinking Holland and Nazi's and WWII. But darn, this was a great carrot. This is one that I didn't get seed from. The carrots were so good, we kept harvesting them and oops... The Dutch Resistance went underground too . . . |
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Post by reed on Dec 29, 2014 10:05:24 GMT -5
Concerning carrots and Queen Ann's Lace. If you focus on big and or colorful ones wouldn't you know when a crossed one has sneaked in so as not to plant it for seed? I'm thinking a combination of keeping QAL away from you garden and never planting a skinny or light colored root should work pretty well.
Are there other wild carrots? We have a weed that grows very large, up to six feet or so that smells like carrot when you cut it down. Our QAL only gets about 4 feet tops and is easy to identify before blooming.
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Post by philagardener on Dec 29, 2014 11:04:50 GMT -5
Are there other wild carrots? We have a weed that grows very large, up to six feet or so that smells like carrot when you cut it down. Our QAL only gets about 4 feet tops and is easy to identify before blooming. It's a big family. Some are very toxic, like water hemlock, and extreme care is indicated in even handling some of those species. The primary cross-pollination issue with carrots is QAL as it is the same species, Daucus carota. If the desirable traits are recessive (often but not always the case) then out-crossing can be evaluated and contained. Note that many commercial strains of carrot (virtually all hybrids) are male sterile, in which case the only seed set would be from QAL pollen. Joseph Lofthouse posted some nice images of fertile and sterile carrot influorescences here, so you can evaluate the situation when your plants bloom. |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Dec 29, 2014 11:57:17 GMT -5
I'm thinking a combination of keeping QAL away from you garden and never planting a skinny or light colored root should work pretty well. To this list I would add not propagating any carrot that goes to seed during the first growing season. And making the patches round or blocky instead of a single row. And the bigger the patch the better. |
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Post by ilex on Dec 29, 2014 20:36:11 GMT -5
Concerning carrots and Queen Ann's Lace. If you focus on big and or colorful ones wouldn't you know when a crossed one has sneaked in so as not to plant it for seed? I'm thinking a combination of keeping QAL away from you garden and never planting a skinny or light colored root should work pretty well. Are there other wild carrots? We have a weed that grows very large, up to six feet or so that smells like carrot when you cut it down. Our QAL only gets about 4 feet tops and is easy to identify before blooming. QAL are (at least here) white, and white is dominant. Cull any whites. Obviously, QAL will end up getting crossed with my carrots and some will show color. Will see how to deal with that one. Crosses can be more vigorous, and leafs stay more flat, next to the ground, and they are more hairy. I can cull quite a few that way. Others bolt early, or get culled at selection time. I really believe that any carrot for seed must be lifted and inspected if you want quality seed. |
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Post by steev on Dec 29, 2014 22:56:04 GMT -5
Holly! Don't blame your gopher problems on my "buddies"; they are clearly too busy on my farm to commute to San Martin, much as I wish every last ground-rat bastard would! Well, I don't really want them to go to San Martin, just somewhere other than my farm, at least until I'm on-site enough to catch and cook the organically-fed, antibiotic-free, too-free-range little rotters.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 30, 2014 14:35:56 GMT -5
Oh Steev, I thought the woman I caught releasing gophers in my field was a friend of yours. My mistake. I guess everyone from Oakland is not kind hearted to every living thing....
The gophers were only commuting across the bay. They were city gophers trying to relocate to the country.
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