Garden Tips: Give in to the dark side of carrots

I received a packet of Black Nebula carrot seeds from Ed Hume in the mail the other day. Black Nebula has black roots both inside and out. The black color, actually very dark purple, is due to a major group of plant pigments called anthocyanins.

Scientists have uncovered over 300 different anthocyanins in plants. Anthocyanins are phenolic plant compounds that give plants the colors we perceive as orange, red, purple or blue due to the quality of light they reflect. There are some anthocyanins that absorb ultraviolet light and are not visible to humans, but are visible to pollinating insects. These anthocyanins attract certain insects to flowers to aid in pollination. This fact alone makes anthocyanins extremely important, but scientists are also discovering their considerable value in the human diet.

Research is continuing to reveal how these colorful antioxidants help neutralize the free radicals in our body. Free radicals are linked to cancer and age related diseases. Studies also indicate that anthocyanins are involved in improving heart health, preventing disease, slowing the aging process, preventing urinary tract infections, reducing the risk of blood clots, improving eyesight, and boosting the immune system.

Now, more about black carrots. In recent years, gardeners have been introduced to carrots in a rainbow of different colors including yellow, purple, red, and now black. However, the western world still predominantly thinks of carrots as being orange in color.

It is believed that the cultivation of carrots may have started in the region of Afghanistan and Turkey in the 900s. Those early Afghanistani carrots had purple or yellow roots. Carrot cultivation later spread to Western Europe where “improvements were made” and by the early 1600s, white and orange carrots were being grown. The World of Carrots Museum reports that housewives preferred growing and cooking orange carrots because they kept their bright orange color after cooking and did not stain their cooking implements.

Not only did carrot cultivation spread to Western Europe, it also moved eastward to China and India where an Asiatic carrot with red roots was developed. Today, gardeners can select from a variety of differently shaped orange-rooted carrots, but the more adventurous may also choose to grow a yellow, red, purple, or black-rooted variety, each with its own mix of different healthful plant pigments.

In addition to the Black Nebula carrots that Ed Hume Seeds offers, there are other “black” carrot varieties available to home gardeners including Beta Sweet, Deep Purple and Purple Haze. While most of the other black and purple carrots have an orange core, Black Nebula is dark purple-black all the way through and it retains its color even after cooking. Like most carrots, it tastes best when the roots are harvested when young and relatively small. They can be roasted, juiced, steamed or eaten fresh. Black Nebula can also be used for making a natural plant dye.

If you are a gardener that wants to go all the way over to the dark side, there are black (very dark purple) tomatoes, sweet peppers, chili peppers, hot peppers, beans, popping corn, and watermelons available for home garden growing. Check them out when shopping for seeds or plants at your local garden store or on-line garden supply purveyor.

Need to know how to grow carrots? Check out the WSU Fact Sheet, Growing Carrots in the Home Garden FS118E at: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS118E/FS118E.pdf

This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Garden Tips: Give in to the dark side of carrots."