Varieties:

Nelson, Miami, Oxheart, Napoli, Baltimore, Bolero, Romance, Scarlet Nantes, Touchon, and Yaya.

Carrots were planted June 3 in double row, 10’ long plots.  Plots were raised beds, irrigated with drip tape, and covered with black plastic mulch.  Seeds were scattered in 3’ long, 2” wide  strips cut into the plastic mulch.  The edges of the strips were weighted with rocks to keep them in place. 

Establishment was very poor.  Conditions were dry and hot during planting.  Stands were spotty and uneven with many areas where carrots failed to germinate.  We thinned twice, aiming at 1 to 1.5 inch between plants. 

Results:

There were no differences seen among varieties in total yields or individual carrot weights.  The poor establishment and uneven stands were the main reason why we could not see any differences.  We did conduct an informal, blind taste evaluation using seven of the ten varieties.  Oxheart, Touchon, and Scarlet Nantes were preferred based on flavor and texture.  Yaya had an average flavor. The tasting group consistently ranked Miami and Romance as at or below average flavor.  Miami had a bitter aftertaste and Romance tasted bland (i.e. lacked sweetness).  Opinions were divided on the flavor of Napoli.  A few people liked its unique, earthy flavor but most disliked the flavor, calling it woody.