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Purple Carrot is a stunning heirloom variety that delivers a delightful color surprise: deep purple skin that reveals a bright orange core when sliced. These tapered roots grow to about seven inches long and mature in 60 to 69 days, thriving in full sun across zones 1 through 10. Beyond their eye-catching appearance, they're notably sweet and tender, and they pack more antioxidants and minerals than standard orange carrots, making them as nutritious as they are visually striking.
Full Sun
Moderate
1-10
18in H x ?in W
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Moderate
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The magic lies in the contrast: a dark purple exterior that belies the vibrant orange flesh within. These carrots are cold hardy enough to overwinter in the ground, and their exceptional nutritional profile puts them among the most antioxidant-rich carrots available. Gardeners grow them as much for the showy color and visual impact as for their genuine sweetness and tender texture.
Purple Carrots shine both raw and cooked. Their striking color makes them exceptional for slicing into salads or platters where the contrast between purple skin and orange flesh creates visual drama. They're equally at home roasted, steamed, or grated into slaws, and their sweetness makes them a natural choice for juicing or incorporating into soups where their color and nutritional benefits can shine.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Direct sow Purple Carrot seeds in early spring as soon as soil can be worked, or in mid to late summer for fall and winter harvest. Sow seeds directly into well-prepared garden beds with loose, friable soil.
Purple Carrots are ready to harvest around 60 days from sowing, though some sources indicate 65 to 70 days for full maturity. Check readiness by gently uncovering the top of the root; it should be about one inch in diameter and fully colored in deep purple. Twist or pull gently to harvest, or use a garden fork to loosen soil around the root before pulling. These carrots are cold hardy and can be left in the ground well into winter for harvest as needed, offering extended harvest windows compared to spring-sown varieties.
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“Purple Carrot is classified as an heirloom, indicating it has been preserved and passed down through generations of gardeners and seed savers. The variety represents a return to the diverse colors carrots displayed before the orange varieties became standardized in European agriculture, making it part of a broader movement to reclaim vegetable diversity in home gardens.”