Daucus carota
Parisian Carrot, Little Ball Carrot, Round Paris Carrot: this heirloom variety from Parisian market gardeners elegantly solves carrot number one problem—the need for deep, stone-free soil. Its golf-ball-shaped root needs only 10 cm of soil, making it suitable for growing in pots, planters, or heavy soil.
Characteristics:
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Round root: small and spherical, it requires almost no depth.
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Container growing: one of the few carrots truly suited to balconies and terraces.
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Fast growth: can be harvested just 70 to 80 days after sowing.
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Reproducible heirloom variety, with tender, sweet flesh.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: sunny.
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Soil: loose, or even sandy, cool, and rich in humus. Its great strength: unlike the Nantes, it tolerates shallow soil and even slightly stony soil. Always avoid fresh manure, which causes the roots to fork.
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Method: sow from March to July, directly in place or in a large pot at least 20 cm deep, in 1 cm-deep furrows. Carrots should never be transplanted. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Thin to 4 or 5 cm apart, preferably in the evening, immediately removing the waste, whose smell attracts carrot flies.
- Water regularly without excess: permanently damp soil causes the roots to rot, while alternating drought and watering makes them split.
Harvesting advice:
- Harvest young, as soon as the root reaches 3 to 4 cm in diameter: this is when it is most tender. If it grows too large, it becomes fibrous. Stagger sowings every three weeks rather than allowing the roots to grow larger.
Beneficial companion planting:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Let one plant go to seed in its second year: its white umbels attract large numbers of hoverflies, whose larvae devour aphids.
- Like all members of the carrot family, it is a host plant for Swallowtail caterpillars.
Uses:
- Its round shape makes it a highly decorative vegetable: glazed whole in butter, roasted without being cut, pickled, or eaten raw as a snack. A perfect size for children.
Harvesting your own seeds:
Leave a few roots in the ground over winter: they will go to seed in their second year. Harvest the umbels when they turn brown and close up like a bird's nest. Beware of crosses with wild carrot and other varieties. See how to save your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcanoes of Auvergne, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our conviction: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
The carrot for balconies and poor soils.
