Haddington terroir produces a great carrot

This is Annie Preston, who's chosen "urban farmer" as her current and future profession. She helps manage a 3/4-acre organic farm at 53d and Wyalusing, in the Haddington section of West Philly, that's surrounded - you might say protected - by rowhouses. It's an interesting place, one that I'll be visiting again tomorrow to talk to Annie again and to check on the progress of the crops - radishes, chard, spinach, carrots - Annie gave me this one - potatoes, garlic, onions, collards, kale, spring onions, beets, green beans ... and the list goes on.

There's one bee hive, and a desire to harvest and sell honey, a tidy composting operation, kids' programming, a farmer's market, cooking classes, and a healthy network of neighbors and volunteers helping out. It's all done under the auspices of the Urban Tree Network.

Tell you what. I put that carrot in the pocket of my jeans, then on the seat of my car, and its fragrance carried me home at the end of a long week. I made a carrot/orange/ginger soup a few days later.

People talk about the "terroir" of local vegetables. I'll bet there's something to that. If it's true of grapes and coffee and tea, it must be true of carrots. This one, anyway. Magnifique.