I did not aim to collect dragon carrot seeds last year, just did not made it on time to harvest all of the carrots in spring before it came woody and starts to flower. We planted different variety of carrots last year and one of them is dragon carrot. I found dragon carrot seems to flower much faster than other carrot varieties when we entered spring season. We were lucky that carrot did very well last year. Dragon carrot top leaves stems closer to the root are purplish in colour.
Dragon carrot fern-like foliage is pretty. If you are aiming to enjoy dragon carrot roots, try to harvest it quickly in early spring. I found that purple carrots are more sensitive to the change of day-length compare to orange carrots. Last sowing month for cool season will be May or it might straight away bolt. However, it is fun to harvest different colour of carrots in the garden.
The carrot central stalk has formed a fat looking stalk.
The carrot root core at this stage will become too woody to enjoy.
Dragon carrot buds.
Dragon carrot just starting to bloom.
Dragon carrot in full bloom.
Very tempting to cut the flower and bring inside it look very cute.
More flowers.
The older flower gradually forming seeds.
Blooming together with our volunteer larkspur flower plant in container.
Dragon carrot seeds.
For us the challenge of collecting carrot seeds is when those seeds are left to dry properly on the plants because that is the time aphids came settle on the seeds. There were no aphids during any time of the carrots life cycle except when the seeds are developing. I am not sure why aphids seems attracted to infest the developing seeds. Because of aphids we did not get to collect as many as we thought we could.
Have a nice weekend!
The colour of the Dragon carrot is simply stunning! A sure way to make kids eat carrots.
ReplyDeletetak pernah lihat karot warna ungu dan tak pernah makan.bagus betul jika dapat tanam macam macam jenis karot.Mungkin tak berapa sesuai ditanam di Malaysia sebab tu tak pernah jumpa kat pasar.
ReplyDeleteSelamat berhujung minggu.
comelnye daun karot naga ni, blh makan x daun dia?
ReplyDeleteI find flowering carrots really good for attracting bees to the garden. Odd that the aphids are attracted to the flower.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very cool flower head. The carrot itself is also very pretty.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
One of my favorite flowering vegetables...really neat.:)
ReplyDeleteI had a carrot get away from me last year too! You're right, the flowers bring in lots of good bugs. They do get huge and one plant gave more seeds than we can possibly use. I'm glad you wrote about the dragon carrot. I'll be growing this seed for our community seed saving project this year,, so I'm glad to have some first-hand information. I'll look out for aphids!
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see whether the seeds come true!
ReplyDeleteHow have you been? Sorry it's been so long since my last visit! I grew these two years ago and ordered some seeds for this year too - they're so pretty when sliced! Love your flowering experiment. They're very pretty and remind me of the "wild carrot" weed that goes crazy around here - Queen Anne's Lace.
ReplyDeleteOhhh, I've seen those carrots before. I think I may have to get me some. They're really pretty!! I hope you and the family are doing well!!
ReplyDeleteWe have dragonflies, dragon fruits, and dragon carrots.
ReplyDeleteHow does a dragon feel about this?
I love to grow the dragon carrot. That is what I am growing now. I am trying to get the dark purple deeper into the carrot through breeding. Thank you so much for the post!
ReplyDeletenever eaten dragon carrot before..the flowers look really beautiful, if for me, i also will tempt to cut it and display inside the house,hehehe..
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you will get carrot volunteers in the garden. I always do when I let either dill or parsley go to seed. I've never let carrots go to seed though.
ReplyDeleteI have planted harlequin carrots this year - they look similar. they do seem to have come up quicker and sturdier than the regular carrots
ReplyDeleteI like to see your carrot harvest! they look so fresh!
ReplyDeleteI like to see your carrot harvest! they look so fresh!
ReplyDeleteOh, your carrots are absolutely gorgeous!!! I hope to let a few of my carrots go to seed this year but am a bit worried about those stinkin' aphids! Great post!!!
ReplyDeleteSean L~ It will also make kids get interested and involved in the garden.
ReplyDeleteMakcikmanggis~ Mama Diana dulu ada bawa balik benih dia dan tumbuh senang juga. Tapi bila dia tinggalkan kebun dia balik Sabah yang seronok nikmati karot naga ni ayam dan itik.
marinahunny~ada sumber kata boleh makan pucuk muda karot ni. Tapi saya tak pernah pula cuba. Karot ni sama keluarga dengan ketumbar dan parsley.
Liz~Their flowers are good for attracting bees and ladybug. But the aphids not attracted to the flowers but they start to gather when it is forming seeds. Not sure why the reason? Probably the good bug not there anymore after the flower spent.
Cher~The pom pom shape is very cute.
Mr.H~Yes, not just attractive but good to attract good bugs.
Kate~Good Luck on collecting the seeds. Probably the weather too plays a role whether aphids will be around or not. Maybe the timing.
Sue~They are not hybrid. I got the seeds from other seed-savers. It will be easy to collect true seeds here because we don't have any wild carrot relatives growing. Unless there are other carrot variety blooming together will be not true seeds. I tested the seeds already and they resembles their parents ;-).
JGH~The cross-section is interesting to look at. You must be very busy preparing for your spring planting and the school garden.
Holly~Very fun to grow. Hope you find some seeds.
Rainfield61~Hope dragons bring us good fortune this year;-).Dragon must be happy.
ReplyDeleteJay~Hope you get good results from your carrot breeding experiment.
Sonia~The carrot flower stalk is like a small flower bouquet.
Daphne~Hope we get some carrot volunteers. We have parsley, coriander, chervil volunteers sprouting a lot this month. One plant of carrot will provide you plenty of seeds.
Africanaussie~I have never heard harlequin carrots will try to find some. Good to know some carrots that grows well in your tropical area. thanks for the info.
Malar~Selalu jarang cuci. Kali ni saje cuci sebelum ambik gambar hehehe...
Bee Girl~Hope you let some flower. It is probably our area is warm causes aphids infestion easily.
just 2 days ago, i saw a blogger from malaysia making something out of purple carrots..but she didnt show the photos of the carrots..i wonder if they are the same ones like here.
ReplyDeleteLena~ I have grown 3 different varities of purple carrots. Carrot is not originally orange in colour. If I don't get my facts wrong, I think carrot is originally purple. There are also white and yellow carrot.
ReplyDeleteso interesting, i've never seen carrots in this color before!
ReplyDelete