Daucus carota subsp. sativus.
A little marvel inherited from the Parisian market gardeners of the 19th century, who cultivated their vegetables in the heart of the city, in walled gardens with often shallow, heavy or stony soils where the classic long carrots refused to grow straight. Their answer: select a round, short, almost spherical carrot, content with twenty centimetres of loose earth to produce perfect roots. Small bright orange globes 2 to 5 cm across, like ping-pong balls, with smooth skin and fine, sweet flesh.
Ideal for gardeners coping with difficult soils — clay, rocky, or simply not deep enough — for growing in pots or containers on a balcony, and for impatient gardeners: harvest possible in 50 to 60 days, sometimes less with a late sowing. Delicious picked young, barely bigger than a marble, just rinsed and crunched raw. Sublime glazed in butter and honey to accompany a roast, or tossed whole into a pot-au-feu where it holds its shape and texture. Children adore it — its bite size makes it irresistible.
Grower's tip: Take advantage of its speed for successive sowings every three weeks, May through late July — it's probably the most forgiving carrot for that kind of juggling. Same requirements as other carrots for good germination: surface-loose soil, no crust under any circumstances, moisture maintained until emergence (14 to 21 days). But good news for depth — 20 cm of loose soil is plenty, which opens the door to window boxes, deep containers and shallow beds.
- Open-pollinated. Biennial — flowering only occurs in the second year.
- Top height: 20 to 30 cm.
- Maturity: 50 to 60 days.
- Exposure: full sun.
- Surface-loose soil (minimum 20 cm deep), free of stones and fresh manure. Thin to 5 cm.
- Direct-sow as soon as the soil can be worked (late April / early May in Québec), in successive rows every three weeks through late July. Ideal in pot or container culture on a balcony.
