What are the sweetest carrots? Which are the best tasting even if not sweet, in your opinion.

The answer to your question is not Purple Dragon. Nasty taste.

Nan6b wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:33 am The answer to your question is not Purple Dragon. Nasty taste.

Oh. Good to know.

I've grown probably at least 25 varieties over the years. I would have to say that any one which gets ample water is going to be sweetest. But honestly would have to say Sugarsnax is the sweetest that I am currently growing. It is not the easiest since it requires deep loose soil. For real easy and decent taste, Burpee has Short 'n Sweet. Maxes at about 5",is early, and doesn't need deep soil.

Martin

Well, Marsha, everyone's tastes and growing conditions are different, BUT Nelson F1 was THE BEST EVER, easiest, sweetest, earliest, etc...and they discontinued it. Yaya is the best I've found so far to replace it. Bolero is good for storage but takes longer to reach maturity. Trying Naval this spring and keeping my eyes open for results of those trying to find a replacement for the beloved Nelson.

Sugarsnax definitely was sweet and pretty but it was so long that it posed a problem in my raised beds with green shoulders because it is so long. Might be great for you in Earthboxes!

Also have tried the following over the years: Amsterdam Flamcor, Artist, Big Top, Bolero, Coral, Danvers Half Long, Dolciva, Goldfinger, Healthmaster, Icon, Imperator, Ingot, Jeanette, Kinko, Kuroda, Kuroda Long, Little Finger, Minicor, Mokum, Nantaise, Nantes, Nantes Coreless, Nantes Fancy, Napoli, Pot O' Gold, Purple Haze, Red-Cored Chantenay, Rothild, Royal Chantenay, Royal Kuroda, Rumba, Scarlet Nantes, Shin Kuroda, St. Valery, SugarSnax, Sweetness, Tendersnax, Tendersweet, Touchon.

That said, let me know if you'd like seeds of Dolciva, Coral, Yaya, Naval and/or Bolero to trial for yourself.

kath

My favorites so far are Koral, St Valery and those cute little Paris Market carrots. Most carrots taste bitter to me when raw, but these three are acceptable. They're also the only ones I enjoy cooked just by themselves.

I love the yellow and white carrots the best, that come with Rainbow Carrots (I bought not grew). Purple carrots are always the last one left in the bag. I have tasted a few different purples, none impressed me as sweet. I've tried a couple of yellows, Yellowstone is the best so far with a dark yellow color and sweet. It did better for me than Solar Yellow.

Not sure about taste, but short, fat carrots are supposed to be easier to grow in more compact soils. I'm guessing you don't have compact soil, though, since you grow in Earthboxes.

[mention]Ginger2778[/mention]
Do you grow your carrots in earthboxes, the same as tomatoes, or do the nematodes not bother them?

Parisian carrot.

kath wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:51 am Well, Marsha, everyone's tastes and growing conditions are different, BUT Nelson F1 was THE BEST EVER, easiest, sweetest, earliest, etc...and they discontinued it. Yaya is the best I've found so far to replace it. Bolero is good for storage but takes longer to reach maturity. Trying Naval this spring and keeping my eyes open for results of those trying to find a replacement for the beloved Nelson.

Sugarsnax definitely was sweet and pretty but it was so long that it posed a problem in my raised beds with green shoulders because it is so long. Might be great for you in Earthboxes!

Also have tried the following over the years: Amsterdam Flamcor, Artist, Big Top, Bolero, Coral, Danvers Half Long, Dolciva, Goldfinger, Healthmaster, Icon, Imperator, Ingot, Jeanette, Kinko, Kuroda, Kuroda Long, Little Finger, Minicor, Mokum, Nantaise, Nantes, Nantes Coreless, Nantes Fancy, Napoli, Pot O' Gold, Purple Haze, Red-Cored Chantenay, Rothild, Royal Chantenay, Royal Kuroda, Rumba, Scarlet Nantes, Shin Kuroda, St. Valery, SugarSnax, Sweetness, Tendersnax, Tendersweet, Touchon.

That said, let me know if you'd like seeds of Dolciva, Coral, Yaya, Naval and/or Bolero to trial for yourself.

kath

I appreciate your detailed descriptions very much. This was an excellent read. I might take you up on the seed offer, but these are for the MG garden, not my own, so I'll see if they could use these. I think mine of the gardeners has ya ya, but I don't think we have any of the other ones. May I get back to you?

Shule wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:16 pm @Ginger2778
Do you grow your carrots in earthboxes, the same as tomatoes, or do the nematodes not bother them?

Hi Shule, these are for raised beds and horse manure/peat improved native Florida soil. It's at our MG garden at UF. That's a teach the teacher garden, the leftover produce (after we gardeners get ours) is donated to a local soup kitchen to give homeless folks a hot meal.
I save my Earthboxes for tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and I don't grow carrots at home.

maxjohnson wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:09 pm Parisian carrot.

Thanks for the recommendation. What makes it special?

Ginger2778 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:47 am

maxjohnson wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:09 pm Parisian carrot.

Thanks for the recommendation. What makes it special?

It have a very concentrated flavor, you can say it's more carrot than any other carrots. It's short though and doesn't look like regular carrots which is the only downside.

[/quote]
I appreciate your detailed descriptions very much. This was an excellent read. I might take you up on the seed offer, but these are for the MG garden, not my own, so I'll see if they could use these. I think mine of the gardeners has ya ya, but I don't think we have any of the other ones. May I get back to you?
[/quote]

Absolutely!

maxjohnson wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 2:45 pm

Ginger2778 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:47 am

maxjohnson wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:09 pm Parisian carrot.

Thanks for the recommendation. What makes it special?

It have a very concentrated flavor, you can say it's more carrot than any other carrots. It's short though and doesn't look like regular carrots which is the only downside.

They're round like radishes.

Shule wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 3:38 pm

maxjohnson wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 2:45 pm

Ginger2778 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:47 am

maxjohnson wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:09 pm Parisian carrot.

Thanks for the recommendation. What makes it special?

It have a very concentrated flavor, you can say it's more carrot than any other carrots. It's short though and doesn't look like regular carrots which is the only downside.

They're round like radishes.

Oh. Thank you.

The best carrots I ever had were straight from my grandfather's garden. We washed them in the watering can. I think that's why I'm a gardener.

I regret that either the variety is lost, or I am no longer 5 years old. Neither is likely to come around again. But I haven't stopped looking

PhilaGardener wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 5:48 pm The best carrots I ever had were straight from my grandfather's garden. We washed them in the watering can. I think that's why I'm a gardener.

I regret that either the variety is lost, or I am no longer 5 years old. Neither is likely to come around again. But I haven't stopped looking

That's a wonderful story. I wish they were around too.

Back when some of us were 5 years old, there were not many choices. The many hybrids were not around and every carrot that I remember had a core. In heavy soil, Oxheart was available in bulk everywhere as that was also the commercial choice. I remember seeing them 4" wide at the shoulder. To can them they were quartered. SSE brought them back a few years ago and I can see why they fell out of favor. They may have been the best on the market 70 years ago but everything developed since have been twice as good.

For growing long carrots, see my thread about long carrots. That's the only way that one can truly enjoy the extra-long types. Deep pots and a medium that gives them a straight shot down to infinity. The two "Snax" hybrids need that as does the Rainbow mix.

And after thinking over the very sweetest, it wasn't orange and probably not available in the US. It is Lobbericher, a yellow variety from Central Europe. It needs deep soil and is the biggest that I've ever seen. It is so big that it's often grown to feed cows for sweeter milk. One member mentioned growing Yellowstone.. That's a big one but Lobbericher is twice as big. Needs deep soil but worth growing if you want to impress others and can find the seed.

(Added: Baker Creek has Lobbericher carrot. For a different experience in growing big carrots, give them a try.)

Martin