carrot strategies

I have never had such a huge crop of carrots as this year.  Many were 10 inches long!  The varieties I planted were White Satin and Purple Haze.  The white carrots are very sweet and tender, but tend to get green shoulders because the top of the roots tend to pop out of the ground.  And they get badly chewed by wire worms.

The purple carrots are a little stronger tasting, are more hairy and forked, and the colour bleeds into the cooking water.  When I used the purple carrots, I ended up with an unapetizing violet coloured cream chowder.  But they are not bothered by wire worms.
My theory:  the insects can easily see the bright white carrots underground, and so are attracted to them.  The dark purple carrots blend into the soil colour, and are not as noticeable.

At the moment, the insect damage is only on the surface.  But if the carrots are not pulled by the third week in September, the damage is extensive, with black trails all through the roots.

I will continue to plant the white carrots for their delicate flavour, but make sure to get them out of the ground by early September.  The slices of purple carrot reveal the inner structure of the root, and they are really pretty on a plate:

To store the carrots, I take off the tops, soak them in water and scrub off the soil, and then pack them into double plastic bags, seal them tight and store them in the refrigerator.  They take up a lot of room in the fridge, but they keep fresh for a long time.  Last year, we ate home grown carrots until March!