This year I was very excited to add rainbow carrots to my garden. It was a first for me, and I planted those seeds in the hopes that I'd be rewarded with a huge carrot harvest. 

Fast forward to the end of summer: I've realized how much I don't know about growing carrots from seed, and how it was time to do a little research for next year.  

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We normally eat rainbow carrots at Thanksgiving every year as a special treat. They're actually hard to find around here any other time of year. Carrots are rich in beta carotene, vitamin C and potassium, and are a good source of dietary fiber.

 

So I was thrilled to find these Back to the Roots heirloom rainbow carrot seeds to plant in my summer vegetable garden. The carrots' colors are:

Little Finger
Cosmic Purple
Atomic Red
Lunar White
Solar Yellow 

While the Back to the Roots seeds are sold out due to the season, you can still purchase organic heirloom rainbow carrot seeds from Purely Organic. 

Did I know anything about growing carrot seeds? No. But you'll never learn if you don't try, right!

So in May, after our last frost, I planted the seeds according to the package instructions in one of my galvanized raised garden beds. This picture was taken at the end of the summer after many carrots had already been harvested. (NOTE: Carrots have a fairly long harvest time - 65-70 days.)

 Look at that gorgeous cosmic purple carrot! 

The colors of the rainbow carrots add to the beauty of my garden bounty including purple, orange, red and yellow heirloom tomatoes. 

The rainbow carrots also add to the beautiful array of colorful dahlias and zinnias. 

I made coleslaw with these solar yellow and little finger rainbow carrots!

Some of them turned out positively squiggly, like this lunar white one. While the look is quite unique, it does take a tad more effort to peel them.

Look at those carrot tops! Did you know that some people use the leaves for carrot top pesto? I didn't! Maybe a project for next summer?

I was happy with the yield, considering I didn't really know what I was doing. However, after cutting the carrots and bringing them inside (prior to peeling them) I learned that they quickly turned soft and were no longer crunchy. It happened whether I left them in a bowl on the counter or put them in the refrigerator. 

Why do home grown carrots get soft after harvesting, but store bought carrots stay firm for a long time? Most store bought carrots are the result of years of breeding for preferred qualities, like long term crunchiness. Alas, while our home grown rainbow carrots are delicious, they were not "bred" to be crunchy.     

 

 

HOW TO REVIVE SOFT GARDEN CARROTS  

So what to do with floppy garden carrots? I read some gardening advice that recommended placing the floppy carrots in ice cold water. So I did. And it worked! In less than an hour I noticed the floppy carrots were no longer floppy! They were firm and solid as if I just pulled them out of the ground. Yes, they crunched once again.

Be sure to first cut off the greens off the top -- they pull moisture from the carrot, and we're actually trying to restore the mpisture. And don't peel them until you're ready to use them. 

My next question was whether I needed to use them right away or if I could store them in the refrigerator for later use. I'm happy to say that  even after a few days in the fridge they maintained their firmness --even after peeling (I had to peel them for a dish I was making and had some left over that needed to be saved.)  

Knowing that I have a good number of carrots left to harvest, I was super happy to know what to do if they turned soft and floppy. While I can't say exactly how long they'll last in the fridge after being submerged in water, I can say based on recent experience it's for at least a week. (Hopefully longer.) 

But what if you just want to harvest them and store them right in the refrigerator?  

HOW TO STORE GARDEN CARROTS FOR UP TO FOUR WEEKS

1. Harvest them

2. Leave them dirty 

3. Cut the top greens off (leave a small stem)

4. Wrap them in paper towels and place in a zip-lock bag

5. Store in your crisper drawer 

6. Peel only when ready to use 

Hopefully you can then successfully store your carrots for up to four weeks. I will be following this method for the rest of my harvest and will make a concerted effort to use them over the next few weeks. (I think some might even go to our dog as an after dinner treat!)  

Another way to store the carrots after harvesting them is to make pickled carrots. I've pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and jalapeno peppers, but never carrots. So, along with carrot top pesto, making pickled carrots is also on my list for next summer's bounty!  

Have you ever grown rainbow (or any other kind) of carrots in your garden?  

Well, that's it for today, friends!

I hope you've enjoyed reading about

 How to Revive Soft Garden Carrots 

and How to Store Them

and that I've inspired you in some way.

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