‘What’s up, Doc?’ with varieties of baby carrots

If Bugs Bunny has a Flatbush Avenue accent why is his catchphrase from Texas? Bugs’ famous line was a casual "Eh... What's up, doc?” usually said while chewing a carrot. Director Tex Avery, who wrote the line, explained later that it was a common expression in his native Texas.  It was really a spoof of Clark Gable in the film “It Happened One Night,” where Gable eats carrots as he talks with Claudette Colbert. Seems carrots are involved in another spoof or trick, the baby carrots that aren’t.

Mike Yurosek of Newhall, Calif. hated to see perfectly good carrots wasted because they were misshapen or twisted so he began cutting the rejected whole carrots into two-inch long “baby carrots” and selling them in plastic bags, prewashed and ready to snack.  Americans now eat more carrots than ever.

But gardeners can go one better and grow true baby carrots (Daucus carota).  Instead of taking a nine-inch carrot and cutting and peeling it down to size, grow carrots that when mature are only three or four inches long.  “Little Fingers” carrot is a smooth skinned, dark orange color, one-half inch-by-three-inch long that really is the shape and size of your little finger. Because the roots turn orange early, they can be picked when young and tender. “Little Fingers” is a true gourmet carrot bred in France for pickling and canning whole.  Seeds are available from nurseries such as Park Seeds (800-845-3369).

In addition to finger-type baby carrots, you can grow perfectly round golf ball-sized carrots such as Paris Market.  This early round, bright reddish orange carrot is just two inches across   It is very sweet and tender and makes a great presentation.  Like all true baby carrots it is showy when pickled.  Seeds are available from Seedsavers Exchange (seedsavers.org).

A more modern round carrot is the aptly named Thumbelina carrot which won the All-America Award.  Best harvested at golf ball size “Thumbelina” is a high yielding round orange carrot with outstanding flavor. Thumbelina seeds are available from many mail order nurseries such as Burpee (burpee.com).
Plant baby carrots directly in the garden. Well dug loose, rich soil with a pH 6.0 to 7.0 is best. Because your true baby carrots will only grow a few inches deep before you harvest them, you can grow baby carrots in soil that might cause larger varieties to have crooked roots.   Soak seeds for up to 12 hours to encourage germination.  For a constant supply of carrots make successive plantings every three or four weeks.

When your carrots are an inch tall, thin to stand three inches apart. Carrot seeds can take up to three weeks to germinate so some gardeners mix radish seeds in with the carrot seeds.  Since radishes sprout quickly they can “mark the row” and be pulled in three weeks, leaving the carrots to mature. Avoid planting in shade or poor drainage and never plant root crops such as carrots in the same spot year after year. Carrots can stay in the garden for a few weeks before they become too old and woody tasting.

Because of their shallow roots, both the finger carrots and globe carrots can be grown in containers.  And they are always a big hit with kids.

Your own baby carrots will be higher in vitamins than carrots in stores, an excellent source of fiber, calcium and phosphorus.  Good nutrition and great taste in baby carrots truly is what’s up, Doc.