These cylindrical roots have a great holding ability in the field, so you can time your harvest a bit more gradually. As with all carrots, sow the seeds in intervals of several weeks in spring and late summer, so that they don't mature all at once. But if you have more ready than you want, don't worry -- with YaYa you can wait for several weeks without loss of flavor or texture!
The 12-inch tops of these carrots are beautiful and nutritious, making good additions to soups and stews. But it's the short fat roots that are the real prize, and you will enjoy plenty as this YaYa sets big bunches of delectable eating!
Carrots need deeply worked, light soil to grow straight, thick roots. Direct-sow the seeds when the ground has warmed up in spring, or in late summer for a fall crop. Thin the seedlings to avoid crowding (and use the thinnings to flavor soups). A touch of frost will do the roots no harm. Packet is 1/32-ounce, which is at least 400 seeds.
Root crops are popular with both commercial growers and home gardeners because they're versatile, delicious, and in many cases, perfect for canning or over-winter storage. Beets, Radishes, Turnips, and Carrots contain numerous vitamins and nutrients, offer a wide range of flavors and textures, can be enjoyed raw or cooked, and are wonderfully easy to grow!
Choosing Root Crop Varieties
When choosing which Beets or Radishes to grow there are several factors you will want to take into consideration. First of all, both come in a variety of interesting shapes and beautiful colors, so pick whatever appeals to your eye! Also, Radishes offer varying degrees of heat and Beets have flavors that range from earthy to sweet. Smaller Beets are usually the best for canning and pickling, and many people enjoy the nutritious Beet greens as well as the root itself. As far as choosing a type of Carrot to plant, you will be deciding mostly by color and shape.
When to Start Root Crops
Direct sow your root crops in early spring or late summer. They're cool-weather crops, most preferring temperatures of around 70 degrees F in order to germinate. All but Carrots will germinate in a week to ten days. Carrots can take up to 3 weeks.
How to Start Root Crops
Direct sowing is preferable to transplanting because there is less root disturbance. Before sowing, cultivate deeply.
Beets: Soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours before sowing -- this will aid in germination. Early spring is the typical time to sow your Beets, but in zones 9 to 10 you can sow outdoors in the fall. Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds, planting successively at 3-week intervals for crops throughout the season. Site in full sun in a loose, rich, well-drained soil. Expect germination in 10 to 15 days and harvests within 50 to 60.
Radishes: Early spring is the typical time to sow your Radishes, but in zones 8 and warmer you can sow outdoors in the fall for a winter crop. Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds, planting successively at 2-week intervals until mid-spring and then again in late summer. Site in full sun in a loose, rich, sandy, moist, well-drained soil. Expect germination in 6 to 10 days.
Carrots: Early spring is the typical time to sow your Carrots, but in warm climates you can sow outdoors in the fall for a fall crop. Sow at a ¼-inch depth, planting successively at 3-week intervals until early summer. Site in full sun in rich, loose, deeply worked and well-drained soil. Expect germination in 14 to 21 days.
Turnips: Sow in early spring after all danger of frost is past but while the ground is still cool. You can make successive sowings up to 5 weeks before temperatures are above 80 degrees F, then again in late summer if you want a fall harvest. In zones 8 and warmer you can also sow from early fall through spring for continuous crops over the winter. Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds. Site in full sun in fertile, moist, well-drained soil. Expect germination in 8 to 10 days.
Special Considerations
Growing Tips: Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Carrots
Beets:
Radishes:
Turnips:
Carrots:
Pests and Problems to Watch For
A biennial (Zones 3-8) grown in culinary gardens as an annual. It grows 20 inches tall with umbels of tiny white flowers (like Queen Anne’s Lace). The orange or yellow, cylindrical or rounded roots are eaten fresh, canned, or frozen. Harvest the carrots when the shoulders push up through the soil; size will vary depending on cultivar. The bright green, ferny foliage is good food for rabbits and guinea pigs
Superior Germination Through Superior Science
First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.
Superior Standards - University Inspected
Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians
Park Seed has been handling and packing vegetable and flower seeds for 145 years, a history that has given us a great understanding of how each variety should be cared for and maintained throughout every step of theprocess, from collection to shipping.
When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.
The Park Seed Gold Standard
Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).
Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.
These cylindrical roots have a great holding ability in the field, so you can time your harvest a bit more gradually. As with all carrots, sow the seeds in intervals of several weeks in spring and late summer, so that they don't mature all at once. But if you have more ready than you want, don't worry -- with YaYa you can wait for several weeks without loss of flavor or texture!
The 12-inch tops of these carrots are beautiful and nutritious, making good additions to soups and stews. But it's the short fat roots that are the real prize, and you will enjoy plenty as this YaYa sets big bunches of delectable eating!
Carrots need deeply worked, light soil to grow straight, thick roots. Direct-sow the seeds when the ground has warmed up in spring, or in late summer for a fall crop. Thin the seedlings to avoid crowding (and use the thinnings to flavor soups). A touch of frost will do the roots no harm. Packet is 1/32-ounce, which is at least 400 seeds.
Root crops are popular with both commercial growers and home gardeners because they're versatile, delicious, and in many cases, perfect for canning or over-winter storage. Beets, Radishes, Turnips, and Carrots contain numerous vitamins and nutrients, offer a wide range of flavors and textures, can be enjoyed raw or cooked, and are wonderfully easy to grow!
Choosing Root Crop Varieties
When choosing which Beets or Radishes to grow there are several factors you will want to take into consideration. First of all, both come in a variety of interesting shapes and beautiful colors, so pick whatever appeals to your eye! Also, Radishes offer varying degrees of heat and Beets have flavors that range from earthy to sweet. Smaller Beets are usually the best for canning and pickling, and many people enjoy the nutritious Beet greens as well as the root itself. As far as choosing a type of Carrot to plant, you will be deciding mostly by color and shape.
When to Start Root Crops
Direct sow your root crops in early spring or late summer. They're cool-weather crops, most preferring temperatures of around 70 degrees F in order to germinate. All but Carrots will germinate in a week to ten days. Carrots can take up to 3 weeks.
How to Start Root Crops
Direct sowing is preferable to transplanting because there is less root disturbance. Before sowing, cultivate deeply.
Beets: Soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours before sowing -- this will aid in germination. Early spring is the typical time to sow your Beets, but in zones 9 to 10 you can sow outdoors in the fall. Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds, planting successively at 3-week intervals for crops throughout the season. Site in full sun in a loose, rich, well-drained soil. Expect germination in 10 to 15 days and harvests within 50 to 60.
Radishes: Early spring is the typical time to sow your Radishes, but in zones 8 and warmer you can sow outdoors in the fall for a winter crop. Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds, planting successively at 2-week intervals until mid-spring and then again in late summer. Site in full sun in a loose, rich, sandy, moist, well-drained soil. Expect germination in 6 to 10 days.
Carrots: Early spring is the typical time to sow your Carrots, but in warm climates you can sow outdoors in the fall for a fall crop. Sow at a ¼-inch depth, planting successively at 3-week intervals until early summer. Site in full sun in rich, loose, deeply worked and well-drained soil. Expect germination in 14 to 21 days.
Turnips: Sow in early spring after all danger of frost is past but while the ground is still cool. You can make successive sowings up to 5 weeks before temperatures are above 80 degrees F, then again in late summer if you want a fall harvest. In zones 8 and warmer you can also sow from early fall through spring for continuous crops over the winter. Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds. Site in full sun in fertile, moist, well-drained soil. Expect germination in 8 to 10 days.
Special Considerations
Growing Tips: Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Carrots
Beets:
Radishes:
Turnips:
Carrots:
Pests and Problems to Watch For
A biennial (Zones 3-8) grown in culinary gardens as an annual. It grows 20 inches tall with umbels of tiny white flowers (like Queen Anne’s Lace). The orange or yellow, cylindrical or rounded roots are eaten fresh, canned, or frozen. Harvest the carrots when the shoulders push up through the soil; size will vary depending on cultivar. The bright green, ferny foliage is good food for rabbits and guinea pigs
Superior Germination Through Superior Science
First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.
Superior Standards - University Inspected
Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians
Park Seed has been handling and packing vegetable and flower seeds for 145 years, a history that has given us a great understanding of how each variety should be cared for and maintained throughout every step of theprocess, from collection to shipping.
When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.
The Park Seed Gold Standard
Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).
Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.