Organic Carrot Cosmic Purple - Daucus carota

The Cosmic Purple carrot is a long variety. Its root is tapered, up to 18 cm (7in) long. Its skin is purple, and its flesh is light orange. It is tender and delicious raw or cooked. Its foliage is resistant, which makes harvesting easier. Sow from March to June, and harvest from June to November.

The carrot is a biennial herbaceous plant, cultivated as an annual, from the Apiaceae family. It is grown as a vegetable for its fleshy, edible, usually orange-colored taproots. It is a root rich in carotene. It can usually reach a height of 30 cm (12in). The Carrot is not very demanding on the nature of the soil. However, the best roots will be harvested in a rich, light, and deep soil. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the soil by deep digging in autumn, during which 2 to 3 kg of well-decomposed manure or compost will be incorporated. All stones will be removed during this operation. Before sowing, the soil will be well crumbled and fertilized with a base fertilizer, then left as it is for about fifteen days. Sowing can then take place.

Harvest: during the season, harvest carrots as you need them. To extract the roots from the soil, use a garden fork, taking care not to damage the root. Injuries to the roots can trigger carrot rot during storage.
Yields can be estimated based on the type of cultivation and carrot. For early culture, plan for between 1 and 1.5 kg/m²; about 3 kg/m² for seasonal culture of a half-long variety, and up to 5 kg for late culture of long carrots.

Storage: it can be done in the ground, on the cultivation site, but this ties up a space in the vegetable garden. In winter, in this case, the roots will need to be protected from frost with a good layer of dead leaves. Indoor storage is an excellent long-term solution. In a frost-free and ventilated place, cut the foliage at the neck and place the roots side by side on a bed of damp sand. Cover them with a 2 cm (1in) layer of sand and place the next row.

Gardener's tips: 
Sowing radishes and carrots on the same row and at the same time naturally distances the carrot seeds. Once the radishes are harvested, it leaves room for the carrots to grow. It's a win-win thinning! 
Sowing carrots near a row of leeks protects them mutually from the carrot fly and the leek moth.