Just wanted to share my experience on growing the Purple Haze variety of Carrot. I planted PHC last November in my first grow bed frame along with Spinach, several varieties of lettuce, Garlic, and Red Ursa Kale. To my dismay the Spinach suffered burned leaves inside the canopy after the first cold snap but all others came out looking better. The PHC survived all the harsh night temps in the teens and put on a nice deep purple maroon color for winter.
Since it has been real warm these last couple of weeks the Purple Haze Carrots are growing like never before. I know that carrots are semi cold hardy but if given some shelter from the immediate weather it seems as though my carrots did just as well as my Kale. Unfortunately my Kale suffered a demise as cabbage worms found their way in and stripped them down to nothing more than twigs. I lost the Kale and had a brief plague of mites from the excessive humidity in the canopy that almost wreaked havoc on my spinach. Luckily having the top open for a couple of days allowed the mighty 7-Spot (Coccinella septempunctata) to help my spinach out.
I have since replanted most of this bed but still have the Purple Haze Carrots, Lettuce, and Spinach.
Purple Haze Carrots
I am suprised they survived the cold, how do the PHC taste?
C
Will let you know when I pull them.
I lost all my ornamental kale seedlings in the last cold spell
Those are pretty hardy too, did you cover them? I didn't have too much to worry about so not many lost plants thus far.