Daucus carota subsp. sativa
Origin: Maine via Minnesota
Improvement status: Cultivar/Grex
Seeds per packet: ~200
Germination tested 11/2023: 80%
Life cycle: Biennial
Award-winning, long-time, Minnesota organic farmer Greg Reynolds swears by this carrot mix. He received the seed several years ago from Fedco, and has since had two separate populations over-winter in his field and produce seed the following year. Very hardy.
This is a main season carrot, and Greg says they have remarkable carrot flavor, cream of the crop. Greg is an exceptionally talented market vegetable grower, who is getting into more serious seed work. We are excited to be developing a relationship with him, and hope to offer more of Greg's stuff as time goes on.
This is the original description from Fedco:
"(48-75 days) If there’s a better carrot mix than this one, it must be somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. We took a good formula called Rainbow Mix, especially strong in the lighter shades of yellow and orange, and boosted it with our own choice of dark orange, purple and red varieties. In doing so, we sacrificed some of the uniformity our European supplier maintains, so not all the roots are perfectly slender and tapered, nor will they all mature at the same time. But oh the colors!"
This could be a great population to begin with for breeding purposes. There is a lot of genetic diversity. Our seed was grown by Clint Freund and Kass McKinnon of Cultivating The Commons.
GROWING TIPS: Carrots can take a long time to germinate, sometimes up to three weeks, and at least 7-10 days. Keep soil wet so the seeds don't dry out. Direct seed in late April, May, or June. Thin to 1 inch apart in rows that 12-14 inches apart.
