Daucus carota sativus 'Black Nebula'
Duration: Annual
When to Sow: Spring Ease of Germination: Easy
Eat it or use it as a natural dye! Stunning dark purple roots can be eaten raw, boiled, roasted or steamed just like other carrots. They can also be used as a natural dye for textiles and other materials. richters
Black Nebula Carrot
75 days. One of the darkest carrots available from skin to core. A delicious raw or cooked carrot that is so dark. It’s also used as a dye. Makes a stunning dark purple drink when juiced; when a squeeze of lemon is added, it turns bright pink. Amazingly, it retains its color after cooking and is incredibly high in anthocyanins. If left in the garden, it makes an exquisite white umbel tinged with lavender.
What are the pros? Taste great
What are the cons? Didn't grow well
Review: Plant these last summer they didn't germinate that well. The ones that did were big and sweet. Really enjoy juicing these carrot. Will be planting again this spring.
What are the pros? Prolific, sweet & juicy
What are the cons? None
Review: Grew extremely well. Liberally broadcast along with other blended carrot seeds in black clay soil with coffee grounds, sand and ground egg shells. They really were the best of the bunch. Very large, long tap roots (hairy yes! But they peel easily). Crisp and sweet even after a dry summer. Stored well too. I'll grow them away from other varieties next year only because I'd like to pull them separately when I'd like to use them. I've heard a wide range of differing results from growers around the Northern hemisphere - not all good. I guess you just have to try them in your area & see if they work for you. They're definitely worth a try.
What are the pros? Color
What are the cons? Bolts easy, taste like a beet
Review: These carrots bolted pretty quickly for us in our spring planting. We then tried growing them in our hoophouse for winter production and they did better. However the actual carrots are extremely hairy and did not germinate well. Really the taste on these reminded me of a mild beet and not a carrot at all. As I am not a fan of beets we will probably not grow these again. We will probably try these as a dye though for our wool and see what that will do. The color is pretty amazing.
What are the pros? Fun to grow, easy
What are the cons? Hairy, texture,flavor
Review: Fun to grow deep purple carrots. However they were weirdly hairy. The flavor was unremarkable and the texture was not very crisp. I'm going to enjoy trying out some of the other colored carrots from rareseeds. -rareseeds

BLACK NEBULA CARROT (70 DAYS) - Daucus carota
Long before orange carrots existed (16th century) the purple carrot was the most commonly cultivated, along with yellow rooted ones. Not just the skin that is deeply colored , the midnight purple color goes all the way through to the core. This variety is more rustic, not as refined , as traditional orange or hybrid carrots, but well worth growing. Foliage is tinted purple and roots can be used as a natural coloring, just check out your tongue after you take a bite out of one. Roots are tapered, 6-8” in length and flavor is pure carrot. 300 seeds $ 1.95
PLANTING
Germination:6-14 days
Germination Temperature:Optimum soil temperatures 60-85 degrees F. The cooler the soil the longer it takes for germination, up to 3 weeks.
Seed Sowing Depth:1/4” deep
Outside Sowing:Starting 3 weeks before last frost into mid-summer. Sow lightly, thin to 1-3” apart. The larger the carrot variety the more space needed between them. The soil moisture should be maintained regularly until germination, letting soil dry out during this period may result in lower germination.
How much does a packet plant:10-12 foot row
Harvest: Start when carrots reach finger size for baby carrots or when they turn to a bright orange. Late season carrots hold longer and become sweeter in the cooler weather.
Tips: Using a row cover helps to maintain moisture for germination. Carrots prefer a loose soil, free of rubble. Use the shorter varieties for heavy soils. Keep well weeded and cover any exposed carrot with soil or mulch to prevent greening. An excess of nitrogen in the soil cause to roots to become hairy.
A NEW REGULARIN MY GARDEN
Loved it! These are truly near black! The color is amazing, my kids adore them too. There is a distinct hard to describe taste...more carrot-y than usual without being too strong flavored. All had good sugar content as well. Def a new staple for my kiddos
GORGEOUS FOR COOKING
I love the amazing variety that Pinetree provides and these seeds are no exception. These performed lovely in my California garden. The flower display even surprised me with the most colorful carrot flowers tipped with red. While these were not a family favorite for fresh eating, they are amazing as a cooked carrot. The flavor was great and the color permeates with a deep red so these should not be overlooked for the dramatic impact. My vegetable soup was a hit with these carrots.
WOODCHUCK ATE THE TOPS
I sprouted them inside in trays, exposed to sunlight and they germinated just fine. I expect putting seed in the garden would not have worked in my clay soil. I then transplanted outside when 2 inches tall.. The woodchuck topped them all 6 weeks later. But ignored the other chantenay carrots that had been my second planting. I think it was the high amount of antioxidant nutrients the woodchuck was after. If the woodchuck ate them and didnt touch the other carrots they must be very nutritious. This nibling off of the tops stopped their growth. My soil was dry and this may have been a factor in their not sending up new leafs. I will put them on drip irrigation to make sure they get enough water next year. Will try mulching some to hold moisture in and other tricks to see what these carrots like. They sure are harder to grow than normal carrots. I plan to do successive planting of them.
NOT A FAN
I grew 5 varieties and this was the only poor performer. Low germination, but after a couple plantings they grew. Tops looked great. Unfortunately the carrots were extremely "hairy" with tiny side roots covering the carrot. I had to peel them to be edible. That took the black skin off, leaving a white carrot that was somewhat bitter. Taste was "OK" but there are much better varieties in the catalog.
Pinetree Garden Seeds
Hi Tom,
We're sorry your disappointment in the Black Carrot that you grew. The root hairs are formed to get nutrients and water from the soil. It's quite possible that the carrot wasn't grown long enough, therefore was bitter. Or there wasn't enough water supplied, and deep enough.Pinetree Garden Seeds