Cross pollination question...

[opiate69]

My wife was wondering if there would be any cross pollination issues with planting white and orange carrots near each other?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. short answer, yes

carrots will cross pollinate, they should be separated by 1/4 mile when growing for seed.
If you're just going to eat them, it doesn't matter.

[opiate69]

2. 1/4 mile.. yikes.. but yeah, these would just be for eating..

So, would the white carrots potentially wind up not being white then?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. nope, you'll be fine.

carrots are harvested to be eaten the first year. If you want seeds, you leave them in the ground and they flower and seed the second year.
I'm doing a mix this year.. purples, oranges, whites and yellows. I'm hoping it will tempt the grandson who hates all vegetables

[opiate69]

5. Sweet! Thanks for the help!

And good luck with the grandson... I think we lucked out. our youngest boy loves carrots (and crab, clams, and a bunch of other stuff kids his age usually wont go near!)

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. The seed you are planting

Carries the genetic material for the carrot that that seed will grow into.

If the seed that you plant into the ground is sold as orange carrot; the carrot that grows from that seed will be orange.

Cross pollination affects the next generation, your seed's children, so to speak. If the orange carrot plants that grow from your seed are allowed to flower, and the flowers from your orange carrot are pollinated by pollen from a yellow carrot plant flower, the seeds produced from that union may grow to produce carrots that are orange, or yellow, or something in between.

Your carrot plants can have sex right out in your yard, and you wouldn't even know it.

Edit to add: fresh carrots are yummy!

[opiate69]

6. woohoo veggie porn right in my yard! lol

Yeah.. I should have thought about that, actually.. makes complete sense.. thanks!

[Cracklin Charlie]

7. One of my girlfriends

Was complaining about the oak pollen that my area is absolutely plagued with every year in April. (I live in the forest).

I told her that meant that her trees had been having sex right above her white, though tinged with green from the pollen, car. And this fall, after spending a few weeks hoping not to get hit on the head by one falling out of the tree, she will get to pick up, rake, and shovel away all their children (acorns).

[opiate69]

8. lol

no idea why I never thought of it that way!

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. they would possibly cross, but it wouldn't be seen unless you save seeds and plant next year.

Actually, since carrots are biennial, it would take a year just to get seeds.....

[opiate69]

10. Cool.. yeah I think we're just gonna plant them next to each other and see what we get..

We wouldn't be trying to grow commercially, so if we wound up with a weird kaleidoscope of carrots in a couple years, so be it, as long as we can still eat them.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. crossing of plants really depends on so many things....bees, wind, flowering time, temp, humidity -

I plant tomatoes next to each other and save seed - typically find less than 5% crossed even if I save in the summer with bee activity around; if I save seeds very early (pre-bee busy-ness), I get nearly 100% purity.

I spent much of today working with tomato plants and dreaming about the coming summer's harvest!

[opiate69]

12. Nice! We're pretty much brand new to this, but I've played around with gardening in the past...

Very relaxing, and rewarding, though I pretty much only got into it as far as "plant it, water it, eat it".. really looking forward to expanding our knowledge!