Not All Carrots Are Orange

 We talked last week about growing beets. Today we have advice about growing another root vegetable, carrots. 

上星期我們討論了甜菜的生長，今天，我們來討論另外一種根菜即胡蘿蔔的生長。 

Carrots are easy to raise and easy to harvest. They taste good. And they contain a lot of carotene, which the body makes into vitamin A. 

胡蘿蔔易於種植也易於收穫，而且味道鮮美，富含胡蘿蔔素，補充身體所需的維他命 A 。 

When people think of carrots, they usually picture in their mind a vegetable that is long, thin and orange. But carrots come in many different sizes and shapes. And not all carrots are orange. For example, Paris Market carrots are about five centimeters around.Imperator carrots are thin and about twenty-five centimeters long.And Belgian White carrots are, as their name suggests, white. 

一提起胡蘿蔔，人們的腦海裏往往會出現一種又長又細，橙色的蔬菜形象。但其實胡蘿蔔的大小和形狀不盡相同，而且並不是所有的胡蘿蔔都是桔黃色的。比如說，巴黎市場上的胡蘿蔔周長約 5 公分 ，古羅馬的胡蘿蔔是細長的，長約 25 公分 ，比利時的白鬍蘿蔔一如它們的命名，是白色的。 

For the best results, carrots should be grown in sandy soil that does not hold water for a long time. The soil also should have no rocks. 

爲了達到最佳的種植結果，胡蘿蔔應該生長在沙質土壤中，且長期不能含水，土壤中也不能有岩石。 

To prepare your garden for carrots, dig up the soil, loosen it and turn it over. Then, mix in some plant material or animal fertilizer. 

準備種植胡蘿蔔的菜園，開挖土壤，鬆動並翻動它，然後混合入一些植物肥或動物肥。 

Weather, soil conditions and age will affect the way carrots taste. Experts say warm days, cool nights and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing carrots that taste great. 

天氣、土壤狀況及土壤年份將會影響胡蘿蔔的味道。專家稱白天溫暖、夜間涼爽的天氣環境加上適中的土壤溫度是種植口感良好的胡蘿蔔的最佳條件。 

Carrots need time to develop their full sugar content. This gives them their taste. If they are harvested too early, they will not have enough sugar. But carrots loose their sweetness if you wait too long to pull them from the ground. 

胡蘿蔔需要時間來發展它們的全部含糖量，從而使之口感清甜，如果太早收穫的話，胡蘿蔔還沒有達到充足的含糖量，但太晚收穫的話，又會損失糖分。 

The best way to judge if a carrot is ready to be harvested is by its color. Usually, the brighter the color, the better the taste. 

判斷胡蘿蔔是否合適收穫的最佳方法就是根據它的顏色，通常來說，顏色越鮮亮，味道越好。 

Many people do not know that carrots can be grown during the winter months. If the winter is not cold enough to freeze the ground, you can grow and harvest carrots the same way as during the summer months. If the ground does freeze in your part of the world, simply cover your carrot garden with a thick layer of leaves or straw. This will prevent the ground from freezing. You can remove the ground cover and harvest the carrots as they are needed. 

很多人都不知道胡蘿蔔可以在冬季生長，如果冬天天氣不會冷到地表結凍的話，也可以按照夏天一樣的生長方式進行或蘿蔔種植和收穫。但如果在你的地區，冬季地表結凍的話，僅僅只需要用一層厚厚的樹葉或稻草蓋住胡蘿蔔菜園即可。這種方法可以防止地表結凍。收穫胡蘿蔔的時候，你可以根據需要移開地表的覆蓋物。 

Carrots are one of the world's most popular vegetables. They can be cooked and prepared many different ways. Or, once they are washed, they can be eaten just as they come out of the ground. 

胡蘿蔔是世界上最收歡迎的蔬菜之一，有多種方式進行烹飪以及準備（食用），即使剛剛從地裏採摘的胡蘿蔔，只要經過清洗，即可食用。