Monday, April 11, 2011

A carrot flower surprise

Yes, a carrot flower.
Those mini-baby-carrots are so convenient to use - it's about the only way I buy carrots anymore. But back at the end of January {yes, about three months ago!} I used some big-regular-sized carrots for a stew I made. I can never resist putting a couple of carrot tops in a little dish of water on my kitchen window sill just to watch them sprout.

This little ritual has been repeated with me many times and always ends up with the sprouts becoming so tall that the whole thing tips over, thus ending the little experiment and leaving me with nothing more than a water-stained dish.
But this time, three months into my quirkiness, there are flowers growing out of the carrot tops!
Who knew they'd do this?
Oh sure, some of you might say "Plant them in some dirt, Deb!" but I'd say no thanks. I'm afraid that if I do they'll fizzle out and be no more.

These days I live by the philosophy "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."


19 comments:

helena said...

love the flower. but even mroe I love that you do the thing with the carrot top in the dish of water, repeatedly. seems like a metaphor for a good outlook on life

Mom said...

I suppose all plants flower in order to reproduce but who knew a carrot would have such a unique bloom! Never seen that in all my years on this earth!!! Nice job, Sweetie! xo

Cheri said...

I never knew carrots would flower! Looks a bit like queen anne's lace.

Anonymous said...

love this post, love the flower but most of all love the quirkieness that is Deb xxx

Rhona said...

That's so cool! I wouldn't necessarily think of putting the tops in water and I'm afraid if they showed any sign of doing something I probably would put them in the ground. It reminds me a bit of baby's breath flowers. xx

Alison said...

Who knew indeed?!
Alison xx

Maria Ontiveros said...

What a great tradition! Back when Henry played at the Little League field, we had a nice tradition of catching polliwogs and bringing them home to watch them grow into frogs. Haven't done it for a while, and I kindof miss it.
Rinda

Beverly said...

totally cool!!!!!

debs14 said...

After reading Rinda's comment, I'm really wondering what a polliwog is but as they grow into frogs, I'm guessing they are what we call 'tadpoles'. Anyhow, back to the carrots - I never knew they would grow like that either, so pretty. And having them in a bowl of water in the house means you can really watch them grow a little every day.

Unknown said...

I still can't believe this happened! I guess usually we don't leave them for long enough - I'm impressed you've kept them for this long. And you should totally plant it!

Renae said...

iThey are so pretty. I grew up in Michigan and they look like a smaller version of queen anne's lace flowers that grew wild in our fields. I think I might give growing one a try. My favorite plant or flower to have in my kitchen or on my dining room table is fresh dill. They are pretty and make the room smell wonderfully delicious. Hugs!

Denise said...

I nevr knew carrots flowered either! Catching up on your last post too- looks like you had a fab time with Carrieand I love the little project you made x

Anonymous said...

Actually, I'd bet you'd get some carrots! I'm trying to decide whether to plant some carrots in our community garden this year or not.

Cheryl said...

LOve it, I always have plants of herbs on my kitchen window and I love to watch them sort of the same x

Sian said...

I had totally forgotten that we used to do this when the kids were little! Thank you for the reminder - it's never too late to have a little fun with something like this! Your photos are beautiful

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita said...

I'm impressed Deb - I would have given up after a week or two! And they look pretty -sort of like Queen Anne's Lace. I'm getting an inferiority complex - you even rock carrot tops!

Rachel Brett said...

Ooh it looks so pretty, hard to believe it is a carrot! :)

Ilke said...

Never had seen one until I visited your blog! Lovely! Yes, if this works for you, don't worry about the dirt!

Anonymous said...

I just planted carrots (Rotild) for first time March 15th, 2014. I would check periodically for maturity (within last week) and yesterday (5-30-14) decided to call the local nursery I bought them from on what is the best way to determine full maturity of carrots and when they are ready to pull? Nursery told me that the tops of the carrots would surface (known as shouldering).

I then asked what is an indicator or how would I know that I left the carrots in too long? Nursery commented that if flowering on stalks occur, the are drying out and over ripe (term is called woody). So watch out for flowering on carrot stalks. I am glad you shared the pic, now I know what to look for. My carrot seed packet stated 70 days approx for full term, it has been 75 days. So, now I am at the time frame of are my kids ready to be uprooted? :) Anyone plant Rotilds? Next time I will try baby carrots.

Happy carroting and thanks for the share.

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