To most of us, carrots are simply a vegetable we eat with pie and peas.

But to John Stolarczyk, they are something of an obsession – and on a visit to the Ukraine, he found out why.

John has always had an interest in the quirky side of life, often visiting unusual museums with his family.

“We would see collections of things like toilet seats, playing cards, horseshoes and dog collars – I like eccentricity.”

Wishing to start a similar attraction, John hit upon the idea of a virtual carrot museum, though at the time he had no idea why.

“It is the question I get asked most of all, and I don’t really have an answer. When people are asked why they climbed Everest, they say because it is there – well, I settled upon a carrot museum because there wasn’t one.”

He started the World Carrot Museum ten years ago, offering reams of detailed information about the vegetable, including its history, health benefits, medicinal uses, recipes, festivals and amusing carrot trivia.

With 125 pages, the colourful, lively site – the only one of its kind in the world – receives around 150 hits every day. “It has been amazing – so many people are interested,” he says.

The site even contains a carrot art gallery. “Carrot references can be found in many areas of science and the arts,” Says John, “Carrots have been included in several major works of art and helped in identifying species in the 16th century using the paintings of the Dutch masters.”

While the museum is virtual, John’s love of all things carroty has spilled into his home in Cross Hills near Keighley, where he has more than 1,000 artefacts including Russian stacking ‘dolls’ shaped like carrots, plates and crockery decorated with carrots, carrot ornaments and a carrot-shaped baseball bat.

Carrots became part of John’s life before he realised they were in his blood. His Polish parents were displaced during the Second World War and did not return to their homeland.

On a trip in 2006, to trace his family’s roots, John found Pavlo, one of his mother’s half brothers.

“After talking about the war, and what happened, he asked if I wanted to have a look around the farm,” he recalls. “I could hardly believe my eyes – he was growing carrots. It was like fate.”

John updates the website every couple of days, with any interesting information that comes to hand.

He has met like-minded, carrot devotees at special carrot festivals in places as far afield as California – where the town of Holtville calls itself the ‘carrot capital of the world’ – New Zealand, France and the aptly-named community of Bradford in Ontario – one of Canada’s biggest carrot-producing areas.

“Ohakune in new Zealand has a giant carrot as its symbol,” says John, a retired council administrator. “On my visit, I was delighted to be asked to judge the carrot cake contest.”

John has corresponded with a professor of carrots, who works for the department of agriculture in the USA, and has become friends with a man who collects carrot sacks and bags.

His research into the humble vegetable is extensive, with details on its path through history, from the Eocene period 55 million years ago, when fossilised pollen was identified as belonging to the Apiaceae – the carrot family – to present day.

“Carrots were originally purple or white. History books say the Dutch invented the orange carrot in the 15th Century but there are examples from ancient Egypt, around 500AD.”

He adds: “I’ve found out a lot about the Second World War, when carrots became very popular in Britain as people looked for an alternative to meat.”

His passion for the subject led to him visiting the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, where he searched the archives. “The Pilgrim Fathers took carrots on board the Mayflower in 1620. I found shipping lists, which included them. It was fascinating – they took seeds, growing carrots and harvested carrots.”

Last year, John grew every known carrot colour – red, yellow, purple, white, black and orange – in his garden. Factors affecting the colour include the amount of water and daylight, the temperature and soil type.

John, whose wife Sharon “tolerates” his all-consuming hobby, passes on his love of carrots through talks at schools, clubs and institutes.

He also stages an annual Carrot Museum Roadshow every August at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate.

“I didn’t think it would escalate like it has,” he says, “But I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it.”