Meet the plants: carrots!

Everything worthwhile is done with  other people

-- Mariame Kaba

Daucus carota

Carrots have one of the longest and richest histories preserved in the journals of agriculture. The earliest carrots date back to the tenth century in Persia and Asia Minor and would have been quite unlike the domesticated, orange-rooted carrot of today. It is believed that carrots were originally purple or white with a thin root, then a mutation occurred which removed the purple pigmentation resulting in a new breed of yellow carrots from which orange carrots were subsequently born.

The health benefits of carrots include reduced cholesterol, lower risk of heart attacks, prevention of certain cancers, improved vision, and reduced signs of premature aging. Furthermore, carrots have the ability to improve the skin, boost the immune system, improve digestion, protect cardiovascular health, detoxify the body, and boost oral health in a variety of ways. They also provide a well-rounded influx of vitamins and minerals.

Carrots often symbolize desire, incentive, or lure (think carrot before the horse). The sweet flavor, health benefits, and pungent smell, explain the symbolism. The aforementioned combined with long growing times make them particularly desirable to many garden pests and growing carrots alone in the garden is near impossible. Planting carrots next to onions, leeks, rosemary, tomatoes, parsley, black salsify, radishes, sage (or all of the above) helps to protect the carrot by masking the desirable sweet scent from the hungry pests. 

You take souls for vegetables.... The gardener can decide what will become of his carrots but no one can choose the good of others for them.-- Jean-Paul Sartre

ed & fancy jenn at solitary gardens harvesting carrots!

Carrots rely on community and diversity to survive. For humankind, diversity comes in many forms: gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, personality, culture, socioeconomic background, etc. The evidence in favor of diversity is overwhelming; productivity, happiness, and creativity are all quantifiably increased in diverse environments.

What does diversity mean to you? When you look at your friend circle, workplace, or school, is there diversity?

Where in the world do you perceive a lack of diversity? Where might this stem from?

In what ways have you surrounded yourself (intentionally or not) with like-minded folks? Is this actually beneficial to personal growth? How could you expand your spheres of influence?