Rainbow Hybrid Carrot Seeds

Days to Maturity: 70 from direct sow

You might assume this is a mix of varieties, but Rainbow hybrid is a single type of bunching carrot that just happens to arise in every color from white to cream to yellow to all shades of orange to coral. The long, slender roots are firm and crunchy. And the best part—every color has a slightly different flavor.

Growing 7 to 8 inches long beneath lush, peppery tops that reach 12 to 14 inches high, these roots are packed with terrific flavor. And because they are bunching, you get a handful of carrots from every seed.

In addition to its unusual beauty and flavor, Rainbow hybrid is quite disease resistance. It really stands up to early blight, leaf blight, black rot, and root-knots—many of the worst scourges of the carrot patch.

As you know, homegrown carrots are higher in vitamins A and B than their store-bought counterparts, not to mention calcium and phosphorus. Their green tops are nutritious as well—try chopping them and sprinkling them in the tops of soups and stews, or work them into cooked dishes just before serving to retain their delicate flavor and texture (while maximizing their nutritional impact).

Carrots are a cool-weather crop, best direct sown as soon as the soil is workable in spring, and sown successively every few weeks until midsummer. Heavy soils are one of the few serious problems for carrots, so prepare the soil thoroughly before planting or, if you are in a clay soil area, consider growing in raised beds or containers. Carrots also need moisture to keep their roots from splitting. With these needs met, they are virtually trouble free.

Sow the seeds an inch apart and then thin them when the seedlings emerge, or space the seeds 4 to 6 inches apart and do not thin. Onions make excellent companions in the vegetable garden. You'll love Rainbow hybrid in all its many sunny colors, sweet flavor, and crunchy bite.