Growing Guides

Royal Chantenay is the carrot for tough soil, a short, stocky, broad-shouldered root with a slightly tapered blunt tip. Because it stays around 5 to 6 inches, it pushes through heavy or clay ground that would twist a long carrot,...

Parisian is the charming round carrot, a small, golf-ball-shaped Paris-market type that is ideal where soil is shallow or rocky. Because it grows down rather than deep, it sizes up in containers and heavy ground that would ruin a long...

Tendersweet lives up to its name, a long, tapered, deep-orange carrot with smooth, near-coreless flesh that is exceptionally sweet. Roots reach 8 to 10 inches in about 70 to 75 days, making it a favorite for juicing and fresh eating....

White carrots are the palest of the rainbow, with creamy-white roots and a mild, sweet, gentle flavor. They reach 6 to 8 inches in about 70 days and grow exactly like orange carrots. Their soft color and mellow taste make...

Little Fingers is a slim, tender baby carrot, a Nantes-type that grows just 3 to 4 inches long and stays sweet and crisp. It matures fast, in about 55 to 60 days, and its small size makes it ideal for...

Scarlet Nantes is the classic all-purpose carrot, a bright red-orange, cylindrical root that stays sweet and crisp with almost no core. It grows quickly, reaching a blunt-tipped 6 to 7 inches in about 65 to 70 days, and does not...

Thai basil is the spicier, sturdier cousin of sweet basil, and growing it from seed opens the door to real Southeast Asian cooking at home. This heat-loving annual (Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora) sprouts quickly, loves full sun, and produces anise-scented...

Purple basil earns its place twice over, as a striking garden ornamental and a genuine kitchen herb, and it grows from seed much like the sweet kind. This warm-season annual (Ocimum basilicum 'Dark Opal') brings deep-purple leaves to salads, garnishes,...

Lemon basil gives you all the fragrance of basil with a bright citrus lift, and it grows from seed just as quickly as the sweet kind. This warm-season annual (Ocimum x citriodorum) germinates fast, wants full sun, and produces slender,...