Carrots of 2010

I had a problem with carrots last year. We always sow our carrots outside around mid March, taking advantage of the mild weather to get them started as soon as we can meaning we see our crop towards the end of summer. Only last year I decided that, because I get plenty of carrots in the veg box, I wanted to grow fancy carrots. So I went for a red variety, samurai, which bolted around June. Panic! Total panic! Arrrgh!  

You can still plant carrots as late as June so it wasn't the world's most massive problem. I set up a second carrot tub and planted the Dig In carrot seeds. The samurai got pulled and in their place I chucked a pack of cheap seeds that I forget the name of. Not that it matters, they didn't do much anyway. But my free seeds flourished.

I planted them under cover of Love In A Mist (a tip I stole from The Edible Garden) and the tub gave us colour in summer and food in winter. I actually leave the carrots in the ground to store. I'm told they taste better pulled and stored in wet sand but we don't really have the room for an experiment. But we pulled half the tub up yesterday. There late start meant they came our a little small and chubby. Just like me. I decided to try them in Appetite For Reduction's Sweet and Salty Maple Baby Carrots, combating any potential tough spots by slicing the fatter ones. The carrots themselves where lovely and soft but after half of them:

Girlfriend: I think these carrots are too sweet.

Boyfriend: Those carrots?

Girlfriend: Yes. These carrots.

Boyfriend: Those carrots you just put maple syrup all over?

Girlfriend: You may have a point.

I served them alongside a portion of Tenderstem Broccoli and Sweet Potato Filo Rolls just like the ones I made back in Vegan MoFo.