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Dulcinea Carrot
60 days to harvest
Daucus carota
Don’t judge a book by its cover……or a carrot, either! Friends, Fruition has collaborated to create a new carrot we fondly call Dulcinea, though I must warn you: She is long, orange and tapered and at first glance, she is simply a carrot. But she is so much more. And if we’ve done our work well, Dulcinea will outlast us by countless generations.
Dulcinea Carrot is one of the sweetest carrots we’ve ever tasted, growing sweeter in storage. She manages to grow straight regardless of the multitudes of stones in our gravelly loam soil and she grows abundant leaves quickly, making her more competitive with weeds than most. We love her in the height of summer and she feeds us through the winter ’til spring in our root cellar, as well.
Dulcinea is the dream and delectable collaborative exploration of a biodynamic farmer (Nathaniel Thompson of Remembrance Farm), a public plant breeder (Irwin Goldman of University of Wisconsin Madison) and a seed company (Fruition Seeds). Nathaniel wanted an organic alternative to the F1 Hybrid carrot (Bolero) he was dependent on. Grateful for countless generations of indigenous seedkeepers who have saved carrot seed for millennia, we are thrilled to share a brand new variety of carrot, as delicious as she is reliable. We call her Dulcinea with a tip of the hat to her sweetness as well as Don Quixote’s muse, honoring Bolero’s Spanish roots.
For the full story, enjoy our video below or hop on over to our blog!
Organic Dulcinea Carrot
See our Sowing & Growing: Carrots page for in-depth keys to carrot success!
Planting Method: Direct Sow Only
When to sow: 2-3 weeks before last frost through mid-July
Sowing and seedling care: Sow 2 seeds/inch & keep soil moist to germinate (1-3 weeks). The longest, sweetest carrots thrive in deep, loose & fertile soil with ample moisture. (We plant radishes every 6 inches in the row & weed around the row as they germ.) Keep carrots well weeded as they grow.
Seed Depth: 1/4 inch Sun Needs: Full
Days to Germination: 7 days in 75°F; 21 days at 50°F
Spacing after thinning: 2 inches; 16-24 inches between rows
Height: 18 inches
Days to Harvest: 60
Harvest: Sweetest harvest is in fall 🙂
Seed Saving: Dulcinea is thrilled to be part of the Open Seed Source Initiative (OSSI), ensuring that her genetics will never be patented or in any way restricted. Such seeds are the heirlooms we make today to feed this and all generations to come 🙂
The OSSI Pledge
We have the freedom to use these OSSI-Pledged seeds in any way we choose. In return, we pledge not to restrict others’ use of these seeds or their derivatives by patents or other means, and to include this Pledge with any transfer of these seeds or their derivatives.
Fruition’s Growing Guide
millerf16 (verified owner) –
As a certified organic farm in the PNW, we trialed these last season and were so pleased that we’ve decided to use them as our primary carrot for all seasons this year, replacing our other previous solid performers! They are tasty, quick to harvest size, beautiful & properly proportioned, strong stems to help with harvest & bunching – all around great carrot. I expect they are good in storage as well, but we’ve eaten / sold them so quickly that they haven’t been around long enough to know.
Matthew Goldfarb –
thanks for the feedback. Its great to know how they are doing in the PNW. Yes we have been primarily selecting them for storage qualities based on storage quality and taste in February. But strong top and good early vigor are field qualities we look for as well.
JScott (verified owner) –
I grew Dulcinea carrots for the first time this year (2022) and Wow! they are great! We are in SE Ohio, Zone 6,organic. This was a challenging growing season(early heat wave, late frost, flooding rains, pests, more heat) but Dulcinea met and exceeded expectations. Rapid germination, vigorous growth of tops and roots, no splitting or forking, and pure, sweet carrot flavor. Bonus was the swallowtail caterpillars loved the tops, but the tops were so thick it didn’t hurt the carrots’ growth at all. After we tasted the first harvest of Dulcinea, we made a second and third sowing. Just harvested the last ones to store. Also saved the tops and made carrot top pesto, used them in chicken stock, and dried some for winter cooking. Tips: grow them in raised beds for a good size and shape, don’t delay thinning as they grow fast, and use plenty of mulch.
Melissa Knox –
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! We are so glad you have had much success.
alexander.record (verified owner) –
These carrots are straight and sweet, as advertised. The big problem I had was with germination. It took 3+ weeks for plants to sprout and they came in very spotty, so the yields were low. This is the second year in a row we’ve had this problem. The other carrots we grew germinated in about a week under the same conditions and came in a lot fuller. I want to love Dulcinea but for now I can only say they’re OK.