Thursday, February 12, 2009

A Purple Dragon Carrot


It's purple, it's fairly tasty and it came from Seeds of Change. [Please note, Homegrown Evolution Reader Jeremy comments: "Seeds of Change, those super-friendly people who are owned by the Mars Corporation, who tried to shut down the HDRA's Heritage Seed Library, and who registered am ancient Hopi "mandala" as their trade-mark? Enjoy." Thanks Jeremy, we'll be doing some research on this one.] According to the seed package it was bred by someone named John Navazio who I can find no information about on the internets. John clearly has more important things to do than updating a Facebook page.

My dragon carrots grew without a hitch in our "guerrilla" parkway garden. As you can see from the photo, the carrot has a deep purple color reminiscent of the domesticated carrot's wild ancestors, which were probably tamed in what is now Afghanistan. Wikipedia identifies the purple hue of these carrots as anthocyanin a possible source of antioxidants and a common pigment in many red-hued fruits and vegetables.

Also note all that foliage. It's edible. I tossed the carrot tops in with some couscous, olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a tasty dinner. The carrots themselves were served as a side dish mixed with a dressing made out of olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
Posted by Mr. Homegrown at 6:20 PM
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17 comments:

  1. Absolutely beautiful specimen!
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  2. Seeds of Change, those super-friendly people who are owned by the Mars Corporation, who tried to shut down the HDRA's Heritage Seed Library, and who registered am ancient Hopi "mandala" as their trade-mark? Enjoy.
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  3. is the purple skin deep or does it go all the way through.
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  4. Jeremy,

    Ah, the perils of hasty blogging. Thanks for the tip--note amended post.

    Spelled with a K.,

    It's orange in the middle, just like a regular carrot.
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  5. I love those carrots, but I always thought carrot tops were toxic? Is that just a myth?
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  6. More detail about Seeds of Change:
    http://www.theecologist.org/pages/archive_detail.asp?comments=y&content_id=1210
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  7. Wow. thanks. I'm going to grow those.
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  8. Dragon is by far my favourite carrot. At least in my garden, it's a sure crop, has only minimal bitterness in poor conditions and is pretty!
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  9. Folks should get to know the Seed Savers Exchange. http://www.seedsavers.org/

    All the members and organizers are true revolutionaries, these days.
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  10. I got something similar from Baker Creek Seeds here in MO. Because I am in MO, they are not cool and grown yet, they are still sitting in my seed packet.
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  11. More bad news - Seeds of Change is owned by Monsanto. Google "seeds of change monsanto". Kind of ironic, Monsanto owning a seed company named Seeds of Change...get it?
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  12. Seeds of Change is most definitely NOT owned by Monsanto. Please check your facts. Seeds of Change is owned by Mars.
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  13. About John Navazio: He currently works for an organization called Organic Seed Alliance. There is an interview with Dr. Navazio on the Seeds of Change website here: http://www.seedsofchange.com/market_growers/field_report_navazio_32.asp?UID=2009022510171655 The interview was conducted sometime before 2003, as they suggest visiting a website (www.abundantlifeseeds.org) for a non-profit that no longer exists. Abundant Life Seed Foundation was the earlier incarnation of Organic Seed Alliance. To see what Dr. Navazio is up to these days, go to www.seedalliance.org
    The Purple Dragon carrot is indeed tasty. Nice find, Homegrown Evolution!
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  14. I must admit, that with further research, I find that my sources were incorrect. Seeds of Change is owned by Mars, Corp, who bought them out to keep them from going under. As far as I can find, there is no legal connection between Mars and Monsanto. So if you like Purple Dragon carrots, enjoy. mea culpa
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  15. Mars bought the English pasta sauce company "Seeds of Change." Is that the same as the American seed sellers called "Seeds of Change?" That sounds dubious to me. Why would a company sell one product in England and another in America?
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  16. Anonymous,

    It's the same company.

    Since writing this post, I've concluded that I just don't really care much about the fact that Seeds of Change is owned by Mars. What I do care about is that you don't get many seeds in a package, so I don't buy their product anymore.
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  17. John Navazio and Matthew Dillon areco-founders of Organic seed alliance. I interviewed the duo on May 9th last year on my radio program America's Home Grown Veggie Show(www.radiosandysprings.com). The work with both heirlooms and newer hybrids to'improve crop germoplasm for regional seed independance' - that was a quote from the info they sent prior to the radio show.
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