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Post by 12540dumont on May 5, 2012 21:15:06 GMT -5
Carrot trial today. Couple of varieties have real low germination? or gopher? The rest are looking pretty good. I need to hoe the aisles. Maybe I'll get to it on Wednesday. Attachments:
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Post by mnjrutherford on May 6, 2012 9:30:26 GMT -5
Holly, back home at the Hayward farmers market there used to be a couple of Philipino families that brought carrots that were huge, ugly, deformed. They were also delicately crisp, sweet, and juicy. We had a long discussion here about them a couple years ago. No one has a clue what variety they were/are. I would give my right arm for some of those carrots. I think they would meet your criteria as well. Just a matter of visiting the right markets at the right time. I can't remember the name of their farm but I'm pretty sure they had a presence in some of the more southern markets as well.
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Post by 12540dumont on Jul 2, 2012 10:58:02 GMT -5
Carrot trial. Some are flowering, where the zinnia's are, gophers had eaten varieties. We're going to pull them to the tasting. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 16, 2012 16:13:57 GMT -5
Swimming in Carrot seed! Attachments:
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Post by castanea on Sept 16, 2012 22:53:29 GMT -5
That's exciting!
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Post by mnjrutherford on Sept 17, 2012 7:32:13 GMT -5
Beautiful Holly! Joseph, how does Holly's seed haul measure up with your issues of infertile males? Is this a good sign?
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Sept 17, 2012 9:58:35 GMT -5
Holly: Good work on the carrot seed.
Jo: It only takes a few male-fertile carrots to pollinate a patch. The only way I know to determine male-sterile carrots is to examine the blossom to see if the anthers are normal. I've been meaning to make another post to the carrot sterility thread with new findings, but it can wait a few weeks until the harvest workload settles down. With onions I can sometimes tell with dry seed heads because the percentage of pollinated flowers is low in male sterile plants, or the seed head has bulbils in it.
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Post by davida on Jan 12, 2013 0:38:22 GMT -5
Holly, Have you posted the results of your carrot trial? We all know it has been a busy, hectic year for you but I wanted to read your results before ordering carrot seeds, if you have posted it on another thread. Thanks, David |
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Post by ilex on Mar 15, 2013 3:34:54 GMT -5
Raymundo, I was wondering the same thing. This was a USDA carrot from Spain. You never know if the names are right or not. I mean, really a couple of letters here or there and well? Anyway it's supposed to be a big carrot. I hope to post photos of them all. There's a Spanish variety called "roja larga de San Valerio", so probably not the same as St Valéry. |
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Post by 12540dumont on Mar 15, 2013 13:25:38 GMT -5
Davida, No, I haven't I will though. Barbara from the USDA is waiting for results too. If you can find them: Ms. Langum, Perfekciam, Red Horn Apple and Marketgartener. Stay away from: Shatria - soapy tasting and Orange Jumbo which were bitter. The gophers ate about 6 of these varieties and some went straight to seed. So, it's interesting. Others are in pots going to seed now. It's hard to tally all the results when you half 6 of one and one half dozen of another thing! This was one of our favorites: AA = Topweight Attachments:
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Post by templeton on Mar 15, 2013 15:20:32 GMT -5
Holly,
are you isolating the varieties when they flower, or letting all mix up?
And I agree on the mountains of seed - I've just harvested loads off a few dozen plants.
If anyone wants some potential F1 Lobbericher X Chantenay X Baby X 3 colors Purple X Belgian White crosses, let me know.
T
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Post by johno on Mar 15, 2013 16:30:39 GMT -5
Very good project, Holly! I'm not sure how I missed this for so long...
I started a diverse carrot population last year - two, actually: one from OPs and one from F1s. Maybe I did that over 2 years?.. Anyway, I'm planting seed now and curious to see what happens. Also gonna' start some Black Turkish carrots (meant to do that last year). If I have any luck, I'll be in touch.
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Post by 12540dumont on Mar 15, 2013 19:19:23 GMT -5
It was my intent to first try them all. Then take the best ones (I saved a tiny bit of seed from the originals) and then mix them together.
What I know for sure is that all the ones that flowered all at once, are crossed. All the ones that are just flowering now are crossing.
Leo and I are hoping for a BIG carrot that tastes good and grows well. The move to smaller and smaller carrots is just plain annoying. I mean if I need a small carrot, I have a KNIFE!
We grow the little Paris carrot every year, but it's really just a snack, not a Carrot! Pretty much most of what we found was CMS. So finding lots of great carrots that are OP and do well under organic hot conditions, was very difficult. This trial was done in the best soil on the farm.
The Long Island Seed was one of the first to go straight to flower. Barbara from the USDA was telling me that some carrots are annuals now. So, you plant them and harvest quick. I have a plethora of these seeds to play with this year. So, I want to plant them and see if they bolt again.
Carrots are a cool-season crop that can tolerate light frosts. Good quality roots (judged by length, shape, and color) develop when soil temperature is between 60° and 70°F. At warmer temperatures, the roots will be shorter, and internally the color will be lighter orange.
Most Carrots are biennial, normally producing an enlarged root the first growing season and, after a prolonged cold period (below 45°F), a seedstalk (assuming that the roots are not allowed to freeze). When spring conditions are especially cool, bolting or premature seedstalk development can occur during the first growing season. If this happens, the root will be woody and inedible. Because large seedlings are more susceptible to bolting than are smaller seedlings, premature seedstalk development is generally associated with early spring plantings. Varieties differ greatly in their susceptibility to bolting.
This what Cornell says, however, last year I had WARMER than average spring temperatures. (105 in May!)
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Post by steev on Mar 15, 2013 23:08:53 GMT -5
I would gladly engage in carrot trialing/breeding if I could get them to sprout/grow. I think carrots are like walnuts, Chinese kiwis, and persimmons: just not gonna work until I'm more on-site to pamper them.
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Post by ilex on Mar 16, 2013 17:46:41 GMT -5
Barbara from the USDA was telling me that some carrots are annuals now. Makes sense from the industry point of view. Much faster to develop new varieties (more seed crops per year). Also useful in warm climates were normal varieties never bolt. I don't remember if it was carrots, favas or something else were there's a super-early bolting gene used to develop new varieties. |
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