SEED SAVING
Apiaceae Family
Carrots, Celery, Parsnips and Fennel
Jasmin Hill
22 December 2022
-As I continue this seed saving project I will update what I learn :)
Growing Carrots for Seed Saving
This is going to be my first attempt at growing carrots for Seed Saving I've not been a huge fan of carrots mainy because supermarket carrots are badly sprayed and taste average and I've not had the best success growing them. But this season I have 2 beautiful rows of Tendersweet carrots grown from Leila Macbeth's lovely seeds from our Seed Library. With this recent success in growing carrots I've decided to give it a go for Seed Saving.
I've been searching far and wide for the Black Nebula carrots, I'm facinated by them and I absolutely love their fantastic colour! They make a fantastic purple carrot juice that if you add a little lemon to the juice turns bright pink! How fun
I eventually found some on an international website and I paid a small fortune to have them sent to NZ.. but after passing MPI Inspection I now have two packets of beautiful Black Nebula carrot seed to use for this Seed Saving project.
22 December 2022
-As I continue this seed saving project I will update what I learn :)
Growing Carrots for Seed Saving
This is going to be my first attempt at growing carrots for Seed Saving I've not been a huge fan of carrots mainy because supermarket carrots are badly sprayed and taste average and I've not had the best success growing them. But this season I have 2 beautiful rows of Tendersweet carrots grown from Leila Macbeth's lovely seeds from our Seed Library. With this recent success in growing carrots I've decided to give it a go for Seed Saving.
I've been searching far and wide for the Black Nebula carrots, I'm facinated by them and I absolutely love their fantastic colour! They make a fantastic purple carrot juice that if you add a little lemon to the juice turns bright pink! How fun
I eventually found some on an international website and I paid a small fortune to have them sent to NZ.. but after passing MPI Inspection I now have two packets of beautiful Black Nebula carrot seed to use for this Seed Saving project.
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10 January 2023
Today is the day I decided to plant my Black Nebula seeds for seed saving :)
I have planted them in an empty bed that previously had Garlic in it. I've topped up the bed with a lite sprinkling of my home made compost/soil mix and some mycorrhiza fungi. I don't want to get too heavy handed on the fertiliser because from my experience it all turns to green tops and not good root formation.
I also had a look at my Moon clock and it's a great time to be planting root crops so that's an added bonus!
I have planted both packets, approx 500 seeds into rows in a bed aprox 2.5sqm
Today is the day I decided to plant my Black Nebula seeds for seed saving :)
I have planted them in an empty bed that previously had Garlic in it. I've topped up the bed with a lite sprinkling of my home made compost/soil mix and some mycorrhiza fungi. I don't want to get too heavy handed on the fertiliser because from my experience it all turns to green tops and not good root formation.
I also had a look at my Moon clock and it's a great time to be planting root crops so that's an added bonus!
I have planted both packets, approx 500 seeds into rows in a bed aprox 2.5sqm
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13 January 2023
I caught a few pesky blackbirds digging in my new carrot bed so I have covered it with netting to keep them off. I'm out everyday watering them too :)
I caught a few pesky blackbirds digging in my new carrot bed so I have covered it with netting to keep them off. I'm out everyday watering them too :)
4 June 2023
Out in the gardens today foraging for lunch thinning out my Black Nebula carrots (Daucus carota) that are looking fantastic some of the heads poking out of the soil are huge! I am leaving the best looking in the ground to overwinter so when springtime comes I'll be saving a huge crop of fabulous carrot seeds!
I have cross referenced my seedy books and decided to aim for 20 plants for Genetic Diversity, spacing them 20-30 cm apart.
The garden bed they are growing in is about 2sqm so I should be able to achieve reasonable spacing.
Honestly I have never really been much of a fan of eating carrots, I have discovered they are not good for me raw so not wonder.. but these carrots are quite something different! I love them they have a mild flavor and their not too sweet, which is great for my ketogenic diet. Their colour is fabulous, it's like cutting into a beetroot accept more purple I think they would make a great dye.
Out in the gardens today foraging for lunch thinning out my Black Nebula carrots (Daucus carota) that are looking fantastic some of the heads poking out of the soil are huge! I am leaving the best looking in the ground to overwinter so when springtime comes I'll be saving a huge crop of fabulous carrot seeds!
I have cross referenced my seedy books and decided to aim for 20 plants for Genetic Diversity, spacing them 20-30 cm apart.
The garden bed they are growing in is about 2sqm so I should be able to achieve reasonable spacing.
Honestly I have never really been much of a fan of eating carrots, I have discovered they are not good for me raw so not wonder.. but these carrots are quite something different! I love them they have a mild flavor and their not too sweet, which is great for my ketogenic diet. Their colour is fabulous, it's like cutting into a beetroot accept more purple I think they would make a great dye.
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30 July 2023
Today I decided to dig up the rest of my Black Nebula carrots to select the best roots for re-planting for Seed production. I first thought I would just leave them in the ground and let them go to seed but upon closer inspection of my Seed Saving books they all recommend examining each root to weed out undesirable traits, like forking and splitting. I am very glad I did because there were lots of crazy carrots to weed out!
I definitely recommend digging them up if you overwinter them, I found lots of small ones hidden low in the dirt that were too small for good seeds.. but great for roasting! I was also able to weed the entire bed as the sheep sorrel was getting a little out of control.. surprisingly it didn't effect the growth of the carrots though.. I'm beginning to find symbiosis with my 'weeds'
I've decided to go with 30 plants for Genetic Diversity.. this is about the maximum number I can fit in my garden space (aprox2.5sqm, 3 rows of 10) I think this is a nice number for a home gardener to achieve.
Looking at the recommendations from the Seed Savers Exchange book - The Seed Garden, one of my favourie books! Their recommendations for GD are..
5 for viable seed
20-50 for Variety maintenance
80+ for Genetic preservation
As recommended in my books, I have snapped the bottom 3rd of the roots off to inspect the inside and to make transplanting easier, then I am leaving the roots for a day to scar over to avoid any rot. Ready for transplanting tomorrow back in the same bed that they came out of.. with a little seaweed and compost to give them a boost.
Today I decided to dig up the rest of my Black Nebula carrots to select the best roots for re-planting for Seed production. I first thought I would just leave them in the ground and let them go to seed but upon closer inspection of my Seed Saving books they all recommend examining each root to weed out undesirable traits, like forking and splitting. I am very glad I did because there were lots of crazy carrots to weed out!
I definitely recommend digging them up if you overwinter them, I found lots of small ones hidden low in the dirt that were too small for good seeds.. but great for roasting! I was also able to weed the entire bed as the sheep sorrel was getting a little out of control.. surprisingly it didn't effect the growth of the carrots though.. I'm beginning to find symbiosis with my 'weeds'
I've decided to go with 30 plants for Genetic Diversity.. this is about the maximum number I can fit in my garden space (aprox2.5sqm, 3 rows of 10) I think this is a nice number for a home gardener to achieve.
Looking at the recommendations from the Seed Savers Exchange book - The Seed Garden, one of my favourie books! Their recommendations for GD are..
5 for viable seed
20-50 for Variety maintenance
80+ for Genetic preservation
As recommended in my books, I have snapped the bottom 3rd of the roots off to inspect the inside and to make transplanting easier, then I am leaving the roots for a day to scar over to avoid any rot. Ready for transplanting tomorrow back in the same bed that they came out of.. with a little seaweed and compost to give them a boost.
The last harvest
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The final 30 roots ready for re-planting
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The crazies weeded out
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Perfect inside colour
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Before the last harvest
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Weeded and ready for re-planting
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