Nantes Carrot
Yellowstone Carrot is a direct-seeding variety that reaches harvest-ready maturity in just 70 days, making it one of the faster options for home gardeners eager to pull sweet roots from the ground. This cultivar thrives in full sun with moderate watering and adapts well to cool-season growing, tolerating frost to extend your harvest window into fall. With roots that mature at a slender 2 inches wide, Yellowstone produces tender, sweet carrots that are best harvested when they reach ½ to ¾ inches in diameter, at which point their flavor and texture are at their peak.
Full Sun
Moderate
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?in H x 2in W
Biennial
Moderate
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Yellowstone carrots demand patience during germination but reward it with reliable, fast growth from seed. They thrive in loose, deeply-worked soil and actually prefer your least-weedy garden bed, since young seedlings are vulnerable to weed competition during their slow 10-day emergence. Once established, these frost-tolerant roots can be harvested in stages over several weeks, allowing you to extend your season and enjoy tender carrots at their sweetest moment.
Yellowstone carrots are eaten fresh as tender, sweet roots harvested at their most delicate stage. Their slender size and quick maturity make them excellent for succession planting throughout the growing season, allowing gardeners to time multiple sowings for continuous harvest from mid-spring through early fall.
Dig a shallow furrow in loose soil and direct sow seeds from mid-April until early August. Yellowstone carrots typically germinate best when soil temperatures are between 45 and 75°F. Expect germination to take around 10 days, so patience is essential. Keep the seedbed consistently moist until seedlings emerge.
Yellowstone carrots are sweetest and most tender when harvested at ½ to ¾ inches in diameter. Irrigate well the day before harvest to ensure roots have absorbed their maximum capacity of water, which enhances both sweetness and crispness. For smaller roots, grip the carrot firmly at the base of the foliage, push down gently, then twist as you pull upward. Harvest in stages as carrots reach maturity to extend your harvest window over several weeks.
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