French Heirloom Parisienne Carrots

 

My little Grandson Mathew simply had a blast helping harvest this funny little French Heirloom Carrot, The Parrisienne. It is a Thumbelina carrot that was made popular in the 19th century by the French Farmers Markets in Parrisienne.  It's average size is said to be that of a golf ball. It is quite small compared to  what we are use to here at Thyme Square Gardens. I have to say though that they smelled wonderful as we pulled them up from the raised beds. We've had such extreme drought this year and I didn't think any of the carrots we planted would do well. Almost all of these sweet little carrots germinated and grew very well. I received the seeds as a free gift with one of my orders from Baker Creek Seeds. My favorite Heirloom Seed Company.

 

 As you can see in this picture, I am big on companion planting. I have eight large raised beds that are mainly home for the Heirloom Tomatoes. Each raised bed is also chocked full of carrots. The soil is soft and rich in compost, allowing the carrots to easily grow to their full potential.  The timing works so well with several things shared in the beds. Onions, lettuce, basil and bee balm all nestled together quite nicely in here. I've learned the more diverse you are in the garden with companion plants the less bad insects and disease there is. Also you will get far more beneficial insects and even less weeds. I now have butternut squash looming down between each raised bed. I'm hoping the timing will work out okay and I'll still be able to get down between the beds to harvest the tomatoes. They are kind of taking me by surprise at how fast they are growing.  At any rate, I've a full day tomorrow cleaning and putting up little carrots. I still have a bushel basket of potatoes sitting in the kitchen that are screaming for my attention from some harvesting a few days ago. I did want to share my toad with you that I found while digging in the potato patch. What a cutie pie!!

He had a fat little belly, so I'm sure he had been very busy eating whatever had been trying to eat my potato tops. I am suspecting grasshoppers. He did a great job keeping them in check. With the help of a few garden friends we decided to officially Knight this sweet toad "Sir Tator Tot." It seems a couple of my single garden friends were willing to part with a kiss in hopes of their handsome Prince. Somehow I don't think Sir Tator Tot would have minded a little smooch from a pretty girl one bit!. 

Happy Gardening!

Pammy