Danvers Carrot Information: How to Grow Danvers Carrots

Danvers carrots are medium-sized carrots, often referred to as «medium-sized». They were once a carrot of choice for their taste, especially when young, as the ripe roots can become fibrous. Danvers was an early orange cultivar, as previous preferred selections were white, red, yellow and purple. Read on to learn more about growing Danvers carrots and a little bit about their history.

Information about the Danvers carrot

Carrots are one of the easiest and least demanding crops to grow. Whether eaten fresh, steamed, sautéed or blanched, carrots have a wide variety of culinary applications. One of the most popular varieties is the Danvers. What are Danvers carrots? It is a very adaptable root vegetable with a small core and a nice conical shape and size. Try growing Danvers carrots and add a heritage vegetable to your garden.

Carrots were once used both for their medicinal value and their culinary application. Danvers carrots were developed in the 1870s in Danvers, Massachusetts. The variety was shared with Burpee in 1886 and became a popular seed because of the dark orange colour of the root and

intense flavour. This variety performs better than many popular carrots because it forms beautiful roots even in heavy, shallow soil.

Creating a mound when Danvers carrots are grown in such soils can help promote root formation. Roots can grow to a length of 6 to 7 cm (15 to 18 cm). Danvers is a biennial plant that can take 65 to 85 days from seed to harvested root.

How to grow Danvers carrots

Prepare a garden bed by loosening the soil to a depth of at least 10 cm (25 cm). Incorporate organic matter to increase porosity and add nutrients. You can plant these carrot seeds three weeks before the last expected frost date in your area.

Build a low mound and plant the seeds by simply sprinkling them with soil. Water regularly to prevent the soil from drying out. When you see the tops of the roots, cover the area with an organic mulch. Avoid competing weeds when forming roots.

Information provided by Danvers Carrot indicates that this variety is very heat resistant and rarely breaks. You can start harvesting baby carrots as soon as they are big enough to eat.

Carrot Care Danvers

They are fairly self-sufficient plants and the care given to Danvers carrots is minimal. Do not allow the top layer of soil to dry out, nor the top of the roots, otherwise they will be corky and woody. Use companion plants to help reduce carrot pests such as carrot maggot. Any plant in the Allium family will repel these insects, such as garlic, onion or chives.

Danvers carrots can be grown as a successive crop by sowing every 3 to 6 weeks. This will allow you to have a constant supply of young roots. To store the carrots, remove the lids and wrap them in damp sand or sawdust. In milder climates, leave them in the soil with a thick layer of organic mulch. They will overwinter and be one of the first vegetables to be harvested in the spring.