Lovely fall carrots

A harvest sample

I'd bought some carrot seeds in late summer from a "seed collector" - an eclectic fellow who had obtained these seeds from a source in India, bred traditionally by a researcher looking for heat tolerance.  The seed collector was mentioned in Organic Gardening magazine (now Organic Living). His business is called The Rare Vegetable Seed Consortium.

I had acquired purple and deep orange varieties, sowed them late, without much anticipation of anything, as we were traveling in late September and October, so not around to water.

But much to my surprise, my harvest (prompted by the late 20° F overnight temperatures) yielded a small bunch of totally delicious purple and orange carrots.  They were good both fresh and roasted.  Encouraging, to be sure.

Carrots are NOT an easy vegetable to grow in the Southern US!

The best looking one!

P.S.
I see that Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has picked them up from the original collector, who introduced them here.  Good news for keeping these great varieties alive.  I bought them from the collector's small company, but Baker Creek is "mainstream" now.  This is a good thing as these are a delicious and productive variety that needs wider distribution.