THE JOY OF HARVESTING CARROTS

One of the highlights of our Sukkot Open Day was the field tour, highlighted by the magical moment when vibrant carrots were unearthed and lifted high in delight. Even after over 20 years of harvesting carrots at Chubeza, the very sight of this fiery orange root with its wild green crown peeking out of the soil remains a thrilling surprise. As the season cools (gradually…), the carrot claims its rightful place in your boxes, as winter is its time. Carrots don’t fancy too much heat and thrive in the chill, growing even beneath a layer of snow. In Chubeza’s fields, from late summer throughout the winter, we plant beds of carrots every few weeks. After several months, we harvest them bed by bed, week by week, yielding juicy, spear-shaped orange root treasures.

Carrots (Daucus carota) belong to the Umbelliferae family, home to such vegetables and herbs as celery, fennel, parsley, dill, and cilantro. Wild carrots grow across five continents: in the Mediterranean, South Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. They were likely first cultivated in Afghanistan and Turkey. The Arabs introduced the carrot to Spain, where it spread throughout Europe.  Early domesticated carrots came in varied colors: red, purple, yellow-green, yellow, and white. In 18th-century Holland, the Dutch grew orange carrots (matching the official Dutch “William of Orange” royal family color), now today’s most common variety. In Israel, orange carrots have been grown since early Jewish settlement, while the Arabs cultivated a dark purple carrot, now making a comeback as a “boutique” crop, primarily for its beauty (Personally, I find it less tasty than the classic gingie).

Carrots are usually biennial. In their first growing season, they develop leaves and a root. Once mature, the carrot plant requires a dose of winter chill to encourage the development of a thick stalk in the second season, growing upwards. The stalk branches out, ending in an umbrella-shaped flower cluster (the characteristic shape of the Umbelliferae family). The   dry fruit each contain a single seed, holding an essential oil that provides their distinctive scent. However, when cultivating carrots for food, we’re aiming for a crisp, juicy taproot, not an old, woody one already producing flowers and seeds. Thus, we harvest the carrot before flowering begins.