Carrot 'Kuroda'

Grew these last year with good results---in spring and fall. I've fairly heavy, rocky soil but these did very well planted in a raised r...Read Moreow; perhaps this has something to do with their robust Chantenay-esque shape. They received no particular coddling, but both times were thickly planted in a ridge lightly enriched with hardwood ash, thinned to an inch or two apart at the appropriate time, then well mulched with rotted leaves and given a dose of fish emulsion/kelp extract. They received another foliar feeding with the same about mid-season and were watered when required. The resultant carrots, which were harvested as needed, were sweet and crisp with only occasional deformities. I also grew a Chantenay variety in fall, and do believe it had a *slight* edge on Kuroda in terms of texture and flavor. Still, this is a fine carrot---and one that gardeners who feel limited by heavy soil ought to try.

A few comments from you friends at Botanical Interests, Inc:
Popular in Asia, this high moisture carrot is one of the sweetest car...Read Morerots your will ever eat! A deep orange-red Chantenay type, it has smooth, tapered roots that are 8” long with 2” shoulders. With good heat resistance compared to other carrot varieties, Kuroda is a good choice if you are getting a late start to planting carrots in your garden. Although carrots “prefer cool soils to begin life and warm soils to finish it”, you can grow both a spring and fall crop. Carrots will germinate in soils as cool as 45 degrees, and in the fall they can still be dug from the garden and eaten until the ground freezes. When to plant outside: RECOMMENDED. First sowing should be 2-4 weeks before average last frost. Successive plantings can be sown every 3-4 weeks until 60 days before the first fall frost. In warm climates with lows above 25 degrees, they can be grown all winter. When to start inside: Not recommended. Special Sowing & Germination Instructions: Soak seeds for 12 hours before sowing. (Press them dry between paper towels afterwards to reduce clumping.) Plant 4 seeds per inch. When inch tall, thin to 1 plant per every 3 inches. A favorite gardening tip is to alternate carrot seeds and radish seeds. The radishes will mature first. As they are pulled, the carrots then have more growing room and water going towards their roots from the spaces in between.

This is an oriental hybrid. Eight x two inch roots. This cultivar is said to be heat resistant.