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Grow to eat: homegrown carrots taste better (even if they're wonky)

Looks aren't everything in a carrot - GAP Photos
Looks aren't everything in a carrot - GAP Photos

I don’t know what supermarkets do to carrots, but I suspect they marinade them in washing-up liquid. In contrast, home-grown carrots taste incredibly sweet.

Start sowing this weekend, ½in (1cm) deep in rows 1ft (30cm) apart, spacing seeds every 2in (5cm). I sow sparingly to avoid the bother of thinning and to prevent carrot fly, which I’ll come on to. For constant carrots, I find that three short 4ft (1.2m) rows with a different variety in each, repeated every few weeks, is right for a small family. Carrots do grow in pots but you’ll never have enough.

With hundreds of varieties, the carrot pages of seed catalogues are daunting and, at the same time, dull. No wonder we find purple carrots appealing – they’re a life raft in a sea of orange. Speaking of which, I grow ‘Purple Sun F1’ for solid colour and almost beetrooty sweetness.

Roast 'Purple Sun' carrots to retain the colour - Credit: Thompson & Morgan
Roast 'Purple Sun' carrots to retain the colour Credit: Thompson & Morgan

Never boil purple carrots unless blue water and grey veg appeals; instead, steam or roast to hold colour. Orange carrots I love are ‘Adelaide F1’ and ‘Resistafly F1’ (mr-fothergills.co.uk). Despite the off-putting name, the latter is my favourite. I’m also trialling rainbow carrots ‘Sweet Imperator Mix F1’ (thompson-morgan.com), this year.

On my allotment, we haven’t had carrot fly, but I’m paranoid about it. Damaged foliage releases the smell and attracts the fly. I grow mint nearby and rustle it when digging out carrots, to confuse the fly. While people say to remove stones for perfect roots, I say no. My allotment is on a gravel bed making it easier to remove the soil than stones. My carrots grow in all sorts of weird shapes, which I love - and I swear taste better. Grow your own knobbly wobbly carrots to see what you think.

Find Jack’s Garden Blog of the Year at jackwallington.com. Follow on Twitter @jackwallington, and Instagram @jackjjw