Carrot top nutrition: original tops Vs windowsill regrowth

[Cheekypigs]

Hi folks,

I'm pondering the nutrition of carrot tops. I know that in general carrot tops, as in the ones that are attached to the carrot when it's dug up, are high in calcium, and therefore we have to be careful not to overfeed them to guinea pigs. And this advice is applied also to regrown carrot tops, grown by putting the top end of a carrot in water on a windowsill.

But is that actually the case? As far as I know, carrot roots are low in calcium, and leaves grown in water like this have no way to access minerals other than those that are already in the root. The calcium in normal carrot tops would come from the soil, but there's no soil in this situation. As far as I understand it, the only thing the new leaves could gain that wasn't already in the bit of root is sugar from photosynthesis, and carbon from the air.

Anyone got any plant expertise to add to my knowledge on this?

 

[Cheekypigs]

Just to add, after further pondering: is this a hard water vs. soft water thing? I have always lived in a very soft water area so I tend to think of water as not containing anything much in the way of minerals. But perhaps hard water contains enough calcium that the carrot tops could still become high in it?

 

[piggieminder]

What an interesting question. I hope someone knowledgeable can answer it. I shall follow this thread with interest.