For centuries, vegetables have travelled across continents, carried by explorers, merchants, and botanists. Aubergines, potatoes, celery, cabbages, carrots, and other parsnips… The vegetables so familiar in our everyday cooking often come from the antipodal cells, or at least from distant territories. We learn in our history classes that tomatoes and corn were brought to us from America. But what do we really know about the epic journey of our vegetables?
From Antiquity to modern hybridizations, vegetables from Asia and the Near East or native to America, I invite you on a spatio-temporal journey to the four corners of our planet. You may discover what the oldest vegetable in the world is, which vegetables are the most consumed today worldwide, and some tasty tales about their history and how they reached us!
Origin of vegetables: the continents that gave birth to them
Three major regions of the world are the source of most of the vegetables that make up our diet today: the Near East, Asia, and the Americas. It is important to note that when we refer to this origin, we are talking about the geographical areas where these vegetables were cultivated, not where the vegetable was recorded as a wild plant. This sometimes explains the discrepancies we notice regarding the origin of certain vegetables (a good example being the unresolved debate about the aubergine, which is said to be either Chinese or Indian).
Here are the origins of some of the most commonly used vegetables today, by continent and major regions of the world:
- America: tomato (Mexico and Central America), bean, squash and courgette (Mexico), potato (Peru and Bolivia), pepper (Central America), sweet potato (Peru), corn (Mexico)
- Asia: aubergine and cucumber (India), spinach (Persia), garlic, shallot and onion, carrot, cucumber, turnip, crosne (Japan)
- Near East: pea* (Fertile Crescent), radish, lentil, chickpea, rocket, and cabbage, which was likely domesticated there.
- Middle East: carrot (Afghanistan), onion (Iran and Afghanistan)
*(often accepted as one of the oldest vegetables in the world, its cultivation dating back 7,000 to 10,000 years)
Europe and Africa are also the cradle of several vegetables in our daily lives. Cabbage, fennel, Swiss chard, parsnip, broad bean, and many salads like lamb's lettuce (from Sicily and Sardinia), escarole or chicory for Europe, beetroot and artichoke coming from North Africa.
While all these vegetables were brought back by the great expeditions of the 15th and 16th centuries or by the Arab conquest (the Silk Road and the Incense Route concerned not food, but spices, fabrics, and precious woods), they underwent a slow evolution, being domesticated and then hardened in regions with climates very different from their areas of origin.
Vegetables through time: a brief timeline of an announced success
The consumption of vegetables is documented in numerous ancient writings and manuscripts across different cultures and eras, but also through paintings and still lifes from the Renaissance onwards. Archaeologists have thus identified the pantry of our distant ancestors, historians have investigated their introduction, and naturalists and botanists have studied their acclimatization in our countries.
As we learn it in school, nomadic man did not cultivate; he was a hunter-gatherer. When he settled down, around 10,000 BC, he began to domesticate certain animals… and to plant! The first centres of settlement in the Near East, what is called the Fertile Crescent (corresponding to Iran, Iraq, and Turkey) report the cultivation of cereals such as barley (Hordeum vulgare), then wheat, oats, and rye. Considered the first cultivated food, barley was indeed on the menu of our Mediterranean ancestors.
Ancient Egypt, which has left us numerous testimonies of its dietary practices in its temples, tombs, and papyri, cultivated cabbage and cucumber, as well as chickpeas and, more surprisingly, radishes, as well as the nut sedge (papyrus) which was consumed. It was a predominantly vegetarian people.
Closer to us, in ancient Rome, we were able to identify the vegetables that the inhabitants of Pompeii ate: peas, broad beans, and lentils encountered in Egypt, thus many legumes, but vegetables such as cabbage, leek, onions, and asparagus also already appeared. All these vegetables are mentioned by Columella, a Roman agronomist, and by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History.
Later still, in the Middle Ages, many manuscripts recount the vegetables that graced the tables: mostly leafy vegetables, such as spinach, orache, and borage, root vegetables (chervis, parsnip, carrots, turnips…) and so-called perpetual or perennial vegetables. There is still much evidence of legumes such as chickpeas and lentils. The beetroot makes its appearance, and Charlemagne attempts to impose it in the vegetable garden. He includes it in his Capitulare de Villis and recommends it as a vegetable crop for the Empire. Medieval cuisine often consisted of all these vegetables, consumed in the form of soups, broths, pies, and stews, with meats, game, and fish reserved for the noble classes.
The Age of Discoveries in the 15th and 16th centuries further enriched this mapping of vegetables. The discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492 led to the introduction of many new vegetables to Europe, such as tomatoes, potatoes, corn, peppers, and squash, to name just a few. These vegetables from the New World literally fascinated our old continent. They graced the tables of monarchs and European courts, ensuring the splendour of banquets during the Renaissance, and later integrated into European cuisines in the modern era.
Subsequently, we witnessed the acclimatization of these vegetables growing in warm climates, adapting them to our regions, our humidity, and our four seasons. The greenhouses that developed from the 18th century onwards allowed for an unprecedented boom in market gardening. Farmers gradually began to produce many types of vegetables throughout the year, increasing both diversity and productivity.
Aubergine, carrot, and artichoke: three domesticated vegetables under the microscope
Alexandra has already explored the fascinating history of certain vegetables in My Vegetable Garden Comes from Afar, such as potatoes, tomatoes, or squashes. I will complete this list by discussing here the aubergine, carrot, and artichoke, three vegetables rich in flavour and colour... well... not all at the beginning!
- Aubergine
The Aubergine (Solanum melongena L), long referred to as the madman's apple or the apple of Sodom in the 14th century, had a rather poor reputation before becoming this much-loved summer vegetable in Mediterranean, Lebanese, and Asian cuisine. It was said to be dangerous, as it was associated, as was the tomato, with belladonna, which belongs to the same botanical family, the nightshades. It was attributed with fevers, epileptic fits, and those who ate it were even said to lose their sanity.
Aubergines were thus, like some other vegetables, initially considered ornamental plants in Europe, but soon gained popularity as food in southern Europe. They are documented in cultivation around 500 BC in India and Burma. The white aubergines are believed to be the oldest cultivated forms. In India, Burma, and China, mentions of light or white varieties can be found in ancient texts, as early as the 5th century.
They are still called "eggplants" in English because they resembled… chicken eggs!
It was the Arabs who discovered it in the Middle Ages and brought it from Asia, likely from India in the 15th century. They named it "al-bâdinjân", introduced it into the Mediterranean basin, and quickly adopted it through their trade with the Arab world. The aubergine passed through North Africa, then Spain, and into other Maghreb countries. However, it was the Italians who truly popularised it in the 19th century. It would then be more consumed in Spain and Italy, as well as in Greece. The aubergine would not appear in markets in northern France until the mid-19th century.
The aubergine remains widely consumed in the Middle East, where it is the star of iconic dishes like baba ghanoush in Lebanon, or Imam bayildi in Turkey, for example. In Turkey, where aubergine jam is a specialty, it is also consumed sweet, and in Andalusia, cooked with honey as a dish, the aubergine regains its status as a fruit, as botanically it is indeed one.
The aubergine is now among the top 7 most cultivated vegetables in the world, with over 60 million tonnes produced annually. The global production of aubergine is primarily Chinese and Indian, with China accounting for about 63% of global production and India about 24%. It remains predominantly consumed in Asia. Today, there are no fewer than 341 varieties of aubergines listed in the official catalogue!
- Carrot
Iran is credited with a developed culture of the carrot (Daucus carota), but it is in Afghanistan that it is said to have appeared in the 10th century, quite recently in fact. It was initially produced in Europe, mainly in Spain, and after crossing the Pyrenees, it arrived in France, then Italy in the 14th century.
Yellow, white, and red carrots, ancestors of the orange carrot, delighted the royal tables of Europe in this colour until the Renaissance. Like other vegetables or fruits that gradually changed colour, the carrot originally had whitish hues. It was the Dutch who, in the 17th century, through numerous hybridizations, transformed this pale carrot into an increasingly orange one.
We now find yellow and purple carrots on the stalls, a curious turnaround! Fashion and trends...
- Artichoke
The artichoke (Cynara scolymus), a symbol of Brittany for us, originates... from the Mediterranean basin, specifically North Africa. It is nothing other than a domesticated wild thistle! It was probably already consumed in Antiquity by the Egyptians and the Berbers, in its wild form, the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus).
It is from this species that the cultivated artichoke is obtained through selection. It reached Italy in the 1st century under the Roman Empire, where it was mainly used, like in Greece, for its medicinal properties. It was during the Renaissance, around 1644, that it was truly popularised and cultivated in aristocratic gardens, particularly in Naples and Sicily. It was then credited with digestive and even aphrodisiac properties. It appeared in France thanks to Catherine de Medici, who introduced it to royal gardens in the 16th century. Louis XIV adored this vegetable… La Quintinie cultivated five different varieties.
It was not until the early 19th century that the artichoke became popular, thanks to the creation of the famous large Camus de Bretagne. It thus became a significant market gardening crop in Brittany, Provence, and the Loire Valley. There are several varieties, such as the Gros vert de Laon, the purple artichoke of Provence, or the poivrade—which appeared later—a small tender variety often consumed raw or in oil. The artichoke remains an emblematic vegetable of Mediterranean cuisine, found stuffed, in barigoule, or Roman-style.
Italy, Spain, and Egypt are now among the three main producers of artichokes in the world, far ahead of France.
The 'new vegetables'
While we often think that all our vegetables are ancient, some have only recently appeared in our gardens and on our stalls, particularly with the globalization of food, the rise of organic produce, and new consumption habits (gluten-free, vegetarianism).
Among the vegetables that have recently arrived in our gardens and markets are exotic vegetables, but not only...
- Chayote (or christophine), a cucurbit from Central America, widely used in Caribbean and Reunion cuisines, now well acclimatisated and cultivated in France, in the mild Atlantic zone or in the south.
- Kale – making a comeback since the 2010s, a star of health diets. It is now widely cultivated in urban, organic, and alternative gardens.
- Romanesco cabbage arrived in our markets in the 1990s.
- Sweet potato: it was rare just 30 years ago and is now ubiquitous in markets, even cultivated in the southwest of France. Some varieties are adapted to the French climate.
- The yacon (earth pear): Originating from South America, it is still marginal but is entering organic circuits and AMAPs (Associations for the Maintenance of Peasant Agriculture). Its taste is sweet, similar to that of the Jerusalem artichoke.
Also added to this list is black radish, an ancient vegetable rehabilitated by modern cuisine and wellness trends. Long relegated to herbalism, it is now reappearing in winter salads and detox plates. These vegetables reflect the plant renaissance of the 21st century, between exoticism and culinary innovations.
We are also witnessing the rediscovery of forgotten vegetables such as chervis, orache, helianthi, crosne, or even cardoon, and herbs like wild garlic, often brought back to the forefront by chefs or organic gardens.
21st-century agriculture has also seen the emergence of hybrid or crossbred vegetables, such as broccolini (a cross between broccoli and kai-lan), or kalette (kale + Brussels sprout), reflecting our growing taste for plant innovation, but also the need to adapt to new climatic conditions.
These vegetables that might never have existed!
Finally, there are also vegetables that never came to be... and those that could have remained unknown in Europe.
We will thus try to consume the tuber of the Dahlia, brought to France in 1802 from Mexico via Spain. This plant was cultivated, used decoratively in flowering tiaras, but also consumed by the Aztecs for centuries. Botanist André Thouin thought he could use it here, somewhat like the potato, as the tuber had a floury consistency. But its peppery taste did not appeal to the testers of the time, and thus it was relegated in 1804 (to our great delight) as the only ornamental plant!
Some of the vegetables we cherish today almost didn't make it into our kitchens. The potato and the tomato are good examples; the former long deemed unfit for consumption, indigestible, only good for feeding animals, and supposedly transmitting the plague, while the latter retained its image as a toxic plant for a long time. It was only adopted by the French from 1731, and by the Germans even later, around 1870. These plants, labelled as poisonous, were also the fate of some fruits, but we will return to this in a future article.
Further reading
I highly recommend one of the books that recently received the French Saint-Fiacre Prize 2024: "Tour de France of Fruits and Vegetables" by Noémie Vialard and Stéphane Houlbert, as well as History of Vegetables: From Origins to the Dawn of the 21st Century, by Michel Pitrat and Claude Foury.
If you are wandering in Anjou, visit the gardens of Puygirault, a unique place that traces the evolution of the vegetable garden from the earliest times.
Want to discover heirloom vegetables? Check out our articles and recipes on the subject:
- 9 Heritage Vegetables to Grow in the Vegetable Garden
- Jerusalem Artichoke: A Forgotten Vegetable to Rediscover
- Chervis, an Easy-to-Grow Forgotten Perennial Vegetable
- Borage Leaf Soup: A Simple and Tasty Recipe
- Orache in the Kitchen: Plant-Based Recipes of an Ancient Vegetable to Rediscover
- Helianthi: How to Harvest, Store, and Cook It?
Find an interesting article from National Geographic on a thermopolium discovered intact in Pompeii.
The Cluny Museum inspires us with its medieval recipes!
For centuries, vegetables have travelled across continents, carried by explorers, merchants, and botanists. Aubergines, potatoes, celery, cabbages, carrots, and other parsnips… The vegetables so familiar in our everyday cooking often come from the antipodal cells, or at least from distant territories. We learn in our history classes that tomatoes and corn were brought to us […]
An overlooked vegetable, the Jerusalem artichoke, also known as Earth pear, Jerusalem artichoke, or Canadian truffle, is a root vegetable and perennial, cultivated for its edible tuber. Long dethroned in favour of the potato, it is now making a grand return to the vegetable garden and our plates! We explain why it is generating so much interest, what its qualities are, and how to grow it.
To learn everything about the Jerusalem artichoke and its cultivation, check out our complete guide: "Jerusalem Artichoke: planting, harvest, cultivation".
What is the Jerusalem artichoke?
The Jerusalem artichoke or Helianthus tuberosus is a perennial plant from the Asteraceae family originating from the central United States, where it was cultivated by Native American tribes. It was imported to France in 1607 and was widely consumed during World War II, as it was not requisitioned by the Germans, unlike the potato. It was later dethroned in favour of the latter, probably because it was associated with that dark period and synonymous with famine.
The Jerusalem artichoke forms large clumps reaching heights of 2.5 m to 3 m (but there are also dwarf varieties that do not exceed 50 cm in height). Its long, upright, rough stems bear dark green, oval to lanceolate leaves, 10 to 20 cm long, and at their top, from August to October, lovely yellow flowers resembling those of the sunflower, which belongs to the same family. It produces fleshy, nodose tubers that resemble ginger roots. This very vigorous plant spreads quickly thanks to its tubers, making it somewhat invasive. The Jerusalem artichoke is also closely related to Helianthus, another forgotten vegetable.
There are many varieties of Jerusalem artichoke, offering different shapes and colours of tubers, as well as different flavours. The variety 'Culinary Spindle', for example, is distinguished by its elongated, beige tubers with a slightly sweet flesh. There are also pink Jerusalem artichokes or purple ones.
Why is the Jerusalem artichoke back in the spotlight?
The Jerusalem artichoke is back in the limelight for several reasons:
- Its taste qualities: The tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke have a delicate flavour reminiscent of artichoke, water chestnut, or salsify, with a slight sweetness. The Jerusalem artichoke is now being rehabilitated by top chefs. The famous Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse makes a delicious velouté from it.
- Its nutritional qualities: The Jerusalem artichoke is reputed to be rich in fibre, phosphorus, potassium, iron, and B vitamins. It contains no starch. Although it has a slightly sweet taste, this is due to the presence of inulin, a natural fibre that does not affect blood sugar levels: the Jerusalem artichoke is therefore particularly suitable for diabetes. Additionally, inulin has the advantage of helping to regulate transit. Low in calories, the Jerusalem artichoke contains only 60 to 80 kcal per 100 g.
- Its ease of cultivation: In addition to being a perennial vegetable, the Jerusalem artichoke is very easy to grow. It even tends to be a bit invasive! However, there are now dwarf varieties that adapt to pot cultivation, which can be placed, for example, on a terrace. The Jerusalem artichoke is also perfectly hardy.
- Its productivity: The Jerusalem artichoke is very productive, even in poor soils. It can yield up to 3 kg of tubers per square metre under ideal conditions.
Adding to this is its lovely yellow flowering, which makes it a very ornamental plant! The Jerusalem artichoke will fit wonderfully into a productive ornamental garden, both beautiful and productive.
How to grow it?
The tubers are planted from February to June, for a harvest from November to March. The Jerusalem artichoke thrives in full sun or partial shade and prefers light, well-drained soils that are fairly rich in humus. However, it grows in any type of soil as long as it is sufficiently draining. For more information, feel free to consult our advice sheet "Planting Jerusalem artichokes".
Being somewhat invasive, it is important to allocate an appropriate space for the Jerusalem artichoke. Place it away from the vegetable garden (where it might smother other vegetables), for example, in a neglected corner of the garden. The dwarf varieties, which generally do not exceed 50 cm in height, can be planted in pots and are particularly suited for small gardens.
The tubers are harvested about 7 months after planting. Dig them up with a fork as needed. Once harvested, they do not keep well (only 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator), so it is better to only take what you need. It is also because the tubers do not store well that they are very rarely sold commercially… All the more reason to grow the Jerusalem artichoke in your garden!
How to cook it?
The tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke are usually peeled before consumption, but they can also be rinsed or brushed to remove dirt. The largest and least knobby tubers are obviously easier to peel. To prevent their flesh from oxidising and turning brown, you can soak them in water mixed with lemon juice. It is best to consume the Jerusalem artichoke in small quantities, as it has carminative properties and can be somewhat difficult to digest.
The Jerusalem artichoke lends itself to many recipes! Here are some suggestions for cooking it:
- In salad: sliced or grated, like carrots, dressed with vinaigrette, for example.
- In gratin: you can make a variation of gratin dauphinois by replacing the potatoes with Jerusalem artichokes.
- In soup or velouté: with fresh cream and roasted hazelnuts.
- Sautéed: with potatoes, mushrooms, and onions. You can enhance your dish with garlic, herbs de Provence...
- In purée: combine them with potatoes to make a delicious purée. Season with cumin and nutmeg.
- Baked: you can roast Jerusalem artichokes, seasoned with thyme, for example.
An overlooked vegetable, the Jerusalem artichoke, also known as Earth pear, Jerusalem artichoke, or Canadian truffle, is a root vegetable and perennial, cultivated for its edible tuber. Long dethroned in favour of the potato, it is now making a grand return to the vegetable garden and our plates! We explain why it is generating so […]
Let’s continue our summer journey with travelling plants. This week, we head to tropical America in search of the origins of Ipomoea batatas, more commonly known as "sweet potato". We will follow this great traveller on her journey from America to China, passing through the islands and our European continent. Recently acclimatised, she is becoming increasingly present in gardens as well as on our plates. Let’s discover her journey and history.
The origins of the sweet potato
Unknown in the wild, the origin of Ipomoea batatas has long been debated. Scientific and archaeological studies have established that it is likely native to tropical or subtropical America. A great diversity of Ipomoea can be found from southern Mexico, in the Yucatán Peninsula, to the Orinoco basin in Venezuela. Given this large number of varieties, scientists believe this is its cradle of origin.
Thanks to archaeological excavations, we also know that this tuberous plant was present in Peru 8,000 to 6,000 years BC. Evidence of its intentional cultivation dates back to 4500 BC, but it is highly likely that it was used in agriculture long before that.
The journey of the sweet potato
Between the years 1000 and 1100, the sweet potato is believed to have set off to conquer Polynesia alongside travellers. It then continued its journey to New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii.
The sweet potato arrived in Europe following the expeditions led by Christopher Columbus in 1492. It was primarily cultivated in the Mediterranean regions. Next, the Philippines discovered its flavour in the 16th century thanks to Spanish traders. It enjoyed great success there, which then led it to China in 1594, and to Japan around 1605. Portuguese merchants introduced it to Africa around the same period.
In France, it was not until 1750 that it garnered some interest, thanks to Louis XV, who appreciated its sweet flesh. However, its cultivation in France remains shaky and it has struggled to establish itself up to the present day.
The origin of its name: Ipomoea batatas
The genus name Ipomoea is composed of "ips", meaning "worm" in Greek, and "homoios", which means "similar". It can be translated as "worm-like plant", referring to its creeping stems.
The term "batatas" was the name given to it by the "Tainos", the people of the Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492.
Where does the term 'sweet potato' come from?
The origin of this name is uncertain, but here is the explanation that seems most plausible to historians: shortly after the discovery of "batatas", Spanish conquistadors brought back the potato from Peru, which was then called "papa" by the indigenous peoples. Since both plants are tuberous and come from the same continent, it seems that Spanish traders referred to them as "patata", a contraction of the two names. In France, "patata" translates to "patate". However, to avoid confusion, the adjective "sweet" was added to distinguish the sweet potato from the common potato.
Sweet potato in the garden
In our latitudes, the sweet potato is primarily grown in the garden for its unique flavour. Preferring warmth and humidity, it thrives especially in southern regions, in open ground, where its yield will be better. Elsewhere, it prefers cultivation in greenhouses or pots. Farmers in northern regions even achieve excellent harvests in open ground by protecting its tuberous roots with a black tarp placed over the soil. The sweet potato grows in most soil types, but particularly enjoys loose, sandy, rich, never dry, and well-drained soils.
Its creeping stems and attractive foliage mean that the sweet potato is now invited into pots and window boxes, alongside annuals. It can be paired with the blue of lobelias and the bright pink of pelargoniums.
Cooking sweet Potato
Although they are not from the same family, sweet potato tubers can be cooked like those of the common potato. You can prepare them in gratins, purées, soups, stir-fries, and even fries or chips. Their slightly sweet taste is also suitable for desserts, such as cakes, tarts, and jams. Even their leaves are edible and can be cooked like spinach. The sweet potato appears to be rich in beta-carotene, vitamin B6, and minerals (copper and manganese).
Further reading
- Discover all our varieties of sweet potato
- To learn everything, explore our complete guide on sweet potato: planting, cultivation, and harvesting in the garden
Let’s continue our summer journey with travelling plants. This week, we head to tropical America in search of the origins of Ipomoea batatas, more commonly known as “sweet potato”. We will follow this great traveller on her journey from America to China, passing through the islands and our European continent. Recently acclimatised, she is becoming […]
On 16 January 2018, the Eat Foundation published a report in the medical journal The Lancet that confirms what we had suspected for several years: for our health, to feed the world and the inhabitants of the planet, there is an urgent need to move to a plant-based diet.
Do you find this dull, or worry that it might be bad for your health? Do you think that becoming vegetarian, even a few days a week, means condemning yourself to tofu? Think again! When well planned, vegetarian (and vegan) diets are healthy and balanced. If you choose your vegetables well and cook them with a dash of ingenuity, they are rich in flavours... The other advantage is that it can be grown in the kitchen garden!
Legumes: essential proteins
"But where do you find the proteins?" is one of the most common questions. First of all, it's important to know that all vegetables contain protein, but it is mainly in legumes (lentils, beans, peas, broad beans…), and in oleaginous (walnuts, hazelnuts) that they are most present. Cereals also contain them, but they are a little more tricky to grow in the garden!
My selection:
- Flambo dwarf shelling bean : this improved variety yields two to three successive harvests per year, from July to October. I really like its white beans speckled with pink and its very delicate flavour. They can be eaten fresh, dried or semi-dried. Once cooked, they lose their colour, but it's not a big deal—the pleasure also lies in shelling these little wonders! In cooking, it's very easy to prepare, with tomatoes, for example. You can also make delicious veloutés.
- Aguadulce long-pod broad bean : Early, very productive and vigorous, this broad bean produces spectacular pods that can reach 40 cm! They contain large fleshy seeds, tender to the bite. It's one of the first legumes harvested in the kitchen garden, as early as May if you sow it in February. Great in spring Buddha bowls, with radishes and young carrots, broad beans also allow you to prepare tapenades for dipping your breadsticks.
- Canadian Wonder red shelling dwarf bean : this red flageolet is an old variety also known as "Rooster's Kidney." Very productive, it also stores well when dried. It's a Mexican cuisine classic that remains the base of chili, even when it's "sin carne" (without meat). It can also be cooked as a patty and replace the steak in veggie burgers.
- Chickpea : it is a crop that many gardeners do not immediately think of. Yet chickpeas are easy to grow in warm, dry climates. They yield, in four months, round, beige seeds. Rich in protein (19 g / 100 g), chickpeas are widely used in vegetarian cooking, as is or mashed, with condiments and tahini for the indispensable hummus.
- Garden soybean : soybean is a well-known legume that grows in a mild climate, as simply as beans. The more experienced gardeners can turn its seeds into soy milk or tofu… but it is easier to grow it to enjoy greens, with the pod, as edamame.
Colorful vegetables, sweet taste, for vitamins and fun
In the pleasure of eating, presentation matters almost as much as taste. Crafting an appetising salad is a ritual for those who seek to eat mindfully. In winter, colour is also important, but the gentle flavours are particularly comforting—don’t deprive yourself!
My selection :
- Indigo Rose tomato : it’s a cocktail tomato with a bluish-purple skin, almost black, and pink to deep purple flesh. It owes its colour to the presence of anthocyanin, a pigment found in fruits such as blueberries or grapes and rich in antioxidants. When sliced, it adds depth to salads, especially if mixed with other distinctive varieties like Pineapple tomato. In the garden, it grows like any tomato and shows good vigour and frost resistance.
- Chioggia beetroot : early, this small round beetroot is very decorative. Sown from April to May, it is harvested from early summer and shows pink flesh striped with white and a sweet flavour. It’s the beetroot to eat raw, in carpaccio or grated, in salads!
- Butternut squash : one of my favourite squashes, not only because it does everything (purée, gratins, chips, soups), but especially because its sweet, mellow flavour is incomparable. If I love it so much, it’s also because it is particularly easy to cut, which is handy when you’re in a hurry! In the kitchen, in a cool climate, it’s not always the most productive, but its flavour more than makes up for this small drawback!
- Sweet potato : originating from South America, the sweet potato is a vegetable that loves warmth and regular watering… but it will reward your efforts with handsome orange-fleshed tubers, wonderfully comforting in the heart of winter! Depending on your soil and climate, you can plant it in the ground or in pots, from mid-May. In my garden, it does particularly well when slightly caramelised with honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds… but it can also be simply roasted in the oven!
Litlle extras and boosters
Last winter, I told you about "superfoods": chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, kale, goji berries... They are, of course, included in my selection! (I invite you to read about them in this article). To this list, this year I add these French books:
On 16 January 2018, the Eat Foundation published a report in the medical journal The Lancet that confirms what we had suspected for several years: for our health, to feed the world and the inhabitants of the planet, there is an urgent need to move to a plant-based diet. Do you find this dull, or […]
The festive season often leaves its mark: a muddled complexion, an overloaded liver, and mysteriously shrunk clothes… It’s no wonder that Eating better is among the top 10 New Year’s resolutions. To achieve this, nothing beats "superfoods"! Here’s my little selection of "healthy" fruits and vegetables that are particularly good for your health, which you can grow in your garden; this will also allow you to get a bit of exercise 😉
1) Chia Seeds
Chia seeds come from an annual sage, Salvia hispanica, native to Mexico. Cultivated for thousands of years on the American continent, this tiny seed has only recently made its way onto our plates. Packed with numerous benefits, it is an excellent source of omega-3 and fibre. Additionally, it has the unique ability to thicken preparations by forming a mucilage when in contact with liquid, which increases the satiety effect of foods.
- How to use chia seeds?
Chia seeds have a mild flavour, although some find a pleasant nutty note. They can be sprinkled on salads, mixed into homemade bread, or added to yoghurts. Virginie makes an excellent pudding in the morning with almond milk and seasonal fruits. - How to grow chia seeds in the garden?
Chia grows easily in a mild climate, in good soil. Sowing takes place in spring, and the seeds are harvested in autumn. Be careful, this sage is not hardy!
Chia seeds: a "superfood" from a sage, Salvia hispanica
2) Kale
A true trendy vegetable, kale has garnered a lot of attention in recent years. And if Americans are crazy about it, it’s because of its high content of fibre, iron, vitamins A, C, and K, as well as antioxidants. Excellent for eye health due to the lutein and zeaxanthin it contains. It is also a very good source of calcium.
- How to use kale?
Kale is best consumed raw to retain maximum vitamins. It can easily be juiced to "boost" a smoothie or juice. It can also be cooked, for example, in a gratin. But I won’t lie to you: kale leaves are quite tough! Before consuming, they should be softened after removing the central rib. To do this, look, it’s easy (it’s in English but you’ll understand quickly):
- Growing kale
This cabbage is grown like any curly cabbage. It requires rich soil but has the advantage of being very resistant to diseases and pests. To learn more, check out our advice sheet: "growing kale and curly cabbage in the vegetable garden."
Kale, a "super cabbage" that loves massages
3) Flower Sprout
The Flower Sprout or Kalettes (BrusselKale for English speakers) is a promising newcomer. A hybrid of kale and Brussels sprouts, it produces, like Brussels sprouts, stems adorned with leaf buds. These mini-cabbages, serrated, dark green, and purple, are low in calories and very rich in vitamins C, K, and B6. The icing on the cake is that this cabbage also tastes good… Indeed, it is not bitter, and its sweet and mild flavour is accompanied by a pleasant nutty note. Original, it will also delight busy cooks as it cooks very quickly and retains a pleasant crunchy texture.
- Flower sprout in the kitchen
Quick to cook, it can be prepared in any way you like: steamed, quickly sautéed, or boiled in just 4 minutes… all with little to no smell. Versatile, it can serve as a side dish, but also as a base for many salads and, like kale, can be added to fruit juices. - Growing flower sprouts
In the vegetable garden, these small cabbages are grown just like Brussels sprouts. To learn more, follow our advice: "Growing Brussels sprouts"
The Flower Sprout: half kale, half Brussels sprout - Photo: www.kalettes.com
4) Ginger
Exotic, ginger has long been known for its aphrodisiac effects. Popularised with the rise of sushi restaurants, it is now appreciated for its taste as well as its tonic, digestive, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties.
- Fresh ginger in the kitchen
The health benefits of ginger are numerous, but it is especially essential in Asian cuisine (in marinades, broths, or stir-fries to enhance a wok), as well as in traditional cooking. At home, I often use it in baking to add a kick to apple compotes. I also love it candied; its spicy flavour is perfect for a little boost during moments of fatigue. Finally, ginger can also be used in infusions with lemon as part of a detox cure. - Growing your own ginger:
Ginger is not complicated to grow, but it needs warmth. Unless you live in a tropical zone, it is best grown in a large pot, indoors or under a heated veranda.
Ginger rhizome can be used in infusions as part of a detox cure
5) Goji
Goji berries come from an Asian bush, the Lycium. They are consumed fresh or dried. This small fruit has long been popular for its content of vitamins B, C, and E, but especially for its richness in antioxidants. However, its popularity has somewhat diminished following the discovery of batches, even certified organic, containing high levels of pesticides. All the more reason to grow them yourself!
- What to do with goji berries?
Fresh, goji berries can be added to homemade mueslis and granolas, yoghurts, fruit salads, or even juices. They can also add a sweet note to salads. Dried, they easily incorporate into cookies and other cakes. - Can you grow goji in your garden?
Yes, absolutely! Like many Asian shrubs, Lycium barbarum thrives in our climates. It is hardy and even tolerates lime. However, it is in the sunniest regions that it will fruit best. To learn all about growing these delicious berries, check out our advice sheet: "Cultivation, harvest, and drying of goji berries"
Goji berries lend themselves to many preparations. Add them to your mueslis daily
6) Black Radish
The black radish is one of those vegetables that can be a bit puzzling at first glance. Generally large, it has a black skin that covers a white, crunchy flesh, rich in potassium and magnesium. Slightly laxative and detoxifying, black radish aids digestion and "cleanses" the liver, but it is especially appreciated for its antibacterial properties. Rich in raphanine, it helps treat winter ailments like coughs.
- How to use black radish?
This radish is simply consumed raw, in thin slices or grated, in salads or on a slice of buttered bread. You can also choose to extract its juice, which, when mixed with sugar, makes an excellent syrup for a productive cough. The radish greens can also be prepared in soup. - How to grow black radish in the vegetable garden
This is a winter radish that is sown in summer. Its cultivation is not difficult, but due to its long root, it requires fairly deep and well-loosened soil.
Long Winter Black Radish
7) Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are very rich in protein (between 20 and 25%), unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, including magnesium and iron. Often consumed as part of a vegetarian or vegan diet, they are also indicated for relieving urinary problems.
- How to incorporate pumpkin seeds into your diet?
Roasted, pumpkin seeds are perfect as a snack or nibble. Whole or crushed, they can be sprinkled on salads or incorporated into bread or cake mixtures. - How to produce your own pumpkin seeds:
All pumpkins are suitable, but to avoid the tedious peeling process, you should choose the Lady Godiva Pumpkin. This variety has the advantage of producing seeds without a shell. To succeed, proceed as with other pumpkins: give it a spacious area and plant it in rich soil or heavily enriched compost, even if it is not fully matured.
The Lady Godiva pumpkin (Photo: Ferme de Sainte Marthe), a perfect pumpkin for seed production. Its medium flesh is very suitable for soups.
And you, do you consume one or more of these "superfoods"? Let us know!
The festive season often leaves its mark: a muddled complexion, an overloaded liver, and mysteriously shrunk clothes… It’s no wonder that Eating better is among the top 10 New Year’s resolutions. To achieve this, nothing beats “superfoods”! Here’s my little selection of “healthy” fruits and vegetables that are particularly good for your health, which you […]
The first morning frosts have appeared, and it's a bit of the beginning of the end in the vegetable garden, unless, like me, you have a garden greenhouse.
The term greenhouse is broad and encompasses various types of structures that offer varying levels of protection against the cold. For vegetable cultivation, the most commonly used model by market gardeners and gardeners is the tunnel greenhouse.
Although unheated, this greenhouse, known as a "cold greenhouse", is nonetheless very practical. The main advantage is that temperatures rise quickly inside. In the heart of winter, even the slightest ray of sunshine can provide a gentle warmth, conducive to vegetable development. Additionally, by blocking the wind, the greenhouse also limits the effects of the cold.
Let’s explore everything you can do in it, as well as the precautions to take when cultivating under cover.
A greenhouse in the vegetable garden: possibilities and advantages
- Significantly extend the seasons
The greenhouse, by creating a favourable microclimate and protecting vegetables from light frosts, allows for earlier and later cultivation and harvesting. The soil warms up quickly in spring, enabling seeds to germinate rapidly. Thus, in a mild climate, it is possible to sow carrots, early lettuces, radishes as early as January, and to harvest courgettes in June, as well as tomatoes, aubergines, and cucumbers until the end of October.
- Increase productivity
The warmth of the greenhouse also allows for successful cultivation of a wider range of vegetables, particularly those "of the sun" such as tomatoes, peppers, and other more exotic varieties like sweet potatoes or kiwano, which are often less productive in regions with a "hostile" climate. Planted in a warm environment that suits them perfectly, they grow better and faster, thus offering higher yields.
Growing under a tunnel allows for grape harvests, even in a cold climate. Photo credit: Local Food Initiative
- Protect against certain diseases
As mentioned in our advice sheet: "Tomato: downy mildew, other diseases and pests", the best protection is to cultivate them under cover. Indeed, the greenhouse, by sheltering from rain, significantly reduces the risk of cryptogamic diseases.
- Sow and propagate without clutter
Anyone who grows their vegetable plants knows: from March to May, the house is usually very cluttered with tender vegetables that cannot be planted in the garden before the Ice Saints. Although the cold greenhouse is not suitable for very early sowing, sometimes done as early as February, it still allows for storage, or even planting, as early as April, with appropriate additional protection (thick fleece, frames, or specific installations like a heated box) in anticipation of cold nights.
The greenhouse is also the ideal place to grow cuttings, such as those from blackcurrant and gooseberry bushes prepared in autumn, which will be planted in the following spring.
The cold greenhouse is well-suited for sowing and sheltering cuttings. To protect your plants, consider adding extra protection to prevent potential damage from a cold night.
The limitations of the cold greenhouse
- Temperature regulation
It may not be immediately obvious, but in an unheated tunnel greenhouse, it can freeze. It can also get very hot very quickly. The thermal inertia is very low, and without your intervention: temperatures can, within 24 hours, swing dramatically: dropping to -5 °C at night and rising to +40 °C during the day. This temperature range is uncomfortable for plants!
To avoid this, there is only one solution: ventilation… which is usually done by opening the doors or side openings, if the tunnel has them. Regular ventilation also helps to expel excess humidity that encourages the appearance of diseases like powdery mildew. As you can see, managing the climate of a greenhouse can sometimes be a bit tricky and requires, above all, almost constant presence!
Under cover, regulating ambient humidity is important to avoid diseases.
- Watering management
In the greenhouse, don’t rely on the sky for watering (unless you opt for the "Cabriolet" model from Serres Tonneau) but on your own strong arms or, if not, your clever mind… This may seem obvious, but to cultivate in this enclosed environment, planning for water supply, storage, and possibly an autonomous watering system is crucial. That said, the issue of watering is certainly the easiest to resolve. In our case, the greenhouse is over 50 meters from the house: the collected rainwater is transferred via a small pump to a dedicated reservoir for the greenhouse. The automatic watering system is gravity-fed and does not require electricity.
- Questionable aesthetics
While glass greenhouses generally blend well into gardens, let’s be honest: the same cannot be said for tunnel greenhouses. At night, under the full moon, it may look almost pretty, but the same cannot be said during the day! Nevertheless, there are solutions to integrate it: cultivate around tall plants (Jerusalem artichokes, giant sunflowers, cardoons…) or place it at the back of the garden.
However, know that the appearance of the greenhouse is quickly forgotten when you experience the joy of cultivating and gardening under it on rainy days!
A greenhouse is also a little haven of peace where gardening, even in winter, is a pleasure! Photo credit: Caltriana Nicholson
Finally, discover a Selectos selection of the best garden greenhouses.
The first morning frosts have appeared, and it’s a bit of the beginning of the end in the vegetable garden, unless, like me, you have a garden greenhouse. The term greenhouse is broad and encompasses various types of structures that offer varying levels of protection against the cold. For vegetable cultivation, the most commonly used […]
Have you heard of the cucamelon? I hadn't either… well, until I came across it among the new additions to our wide range of vegetable seeds.
Cucamelon: what is it?
The cucamelon (Melothria scabra) is a climbing plant belonging to the cucurbit family. Also known as the pickling cucumber or "Mouse Melon" in North America. It originates from Central America and Mexico, where it is grown as a perennial plant.
Curious by nature, I sowed my first cucamelon at the end of March to plant out in June. After a rather disastrous start (heatwave + forgotten watering rarely produce good results), it soon recovered and lived up to its reputation as an easy-to-grow plant.
Cucamelon: tiny flower followed by an adorable little fruit
Quickly, its thin, tendril-bearing stems grabbed the wire mesh to form a pretty tangle of lobed leaves. Thanks to a relatively rainy summer, my cucamelon plant developed without any care (nor any sign of powdery mildew!) and is giving me a very respectable harvest this late summer!
In terms of flavour, it was a pleasant surprise: this adorable mini-watermelon has, as promised, a cucumber taste with a slight tang that is far from unpleasant. It is eaten with the skin on, which adds an equally pleasing crunch.
... needless to say, cucamelon is a vegetable children love!
What can you do with cucamelons?
Don't be mistaken, cucamelons are not only there to feed an army of hungry Playmobil figures... They can be eaten and prepared in various ways.
Quite simply, cucamelons are best eaten raw with a pinch of salt, as an aperitif. They can also be used to garnish cocktails such as mojitos: your lemon slice will feel less lonely! A few cucamelons added to a salad of cherry tomatoes or served with radishes also make a lovely addition… Finally, they will delight pickle lovers as they keep very well pickled in vinegar, like gherkins.
For a large jar of 500 g of pickled cucamelons, here is my recipe:
- pick cucamelons just before full maturity (neither too thin nor too plump),
- wash them thoroughly,
- prepare white vinegar (400 ml) by adding 1 teaspoon of salt, 4 tablespoons of cane sugar, 1 tablespoon of mint leaves, 1 tablespoon of dill leaves (washed and chopped beforehand), coriander seeds,
- put the cucamelons in the jar, pour in the vinegar and close the lid,
- store in the fridge for one month then enjoy!
Storing cucamelons: quick and easy!
And you, have you ever grown cucamelons? How do you prepare them?
Have you heard of the cucamelon? I hadn’t either… well, until I came across it among the new additions to our wide range of vegetable seeds. Cucamelon: what is it? The cucamelon (Melothria scabra) is a climbing plant belonging to the cucurbit family. Also known as the pickling cucumber or “Mouse Melon” in North America. […]
There are many good reasons to grow your own vegetable garden, and the ability to cultivate unique vegetables that are not easily found in shops is one of them. Among these are Asian vegetables as well as aromatic plants, which, unless you live in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, are a rare commodity at greengrocers!
However, these Chinese vegetables, as well as Japanese ones, sometimes curious, can thrive quite well in our latitudes... and here is a small list that will delight all lovers of exotic cuisine... as well as those who enjoy more traditional dishes.
1) Daikon or white radish
The Daikon (raphanus sativus longipinnatus) is a large winter white radish. A cousin of the black radish, it offers a sweet, juicy flesh and stores very well.
In Japanese cuisine, it is consumed raw, in salads, much like grated carrots. It is sometimes pickled or cooked by steaming or stir-frying. Diuretic and draining, it is often regarded as a true health food.
Its cultivation in the vegetable garden poses no difficulty if you ensure the soil is well loosened beforehand.
2) Pak choi or Bok choy
The Pak Choï, also known as Bok choy (Brassica rapa chinensis), is a Chinese cabbage with tender heads, composed of light green leaves with white bases. This cabbage offers a flavour that evokes both chicory, classic cabbage, and turnip.
You can prepare it raw or cooked, quickly stir-fried in a wok or braised. Its flavour pairs well with ginger, as well as with shiitake mushrooms, if you are lucky enough to find them near you (no need to search in the wild, these Japanese mushrooms do not grow spontaneously here!).
3) Pe-tsai or Napa cabbage
The Pé-Tsaï, also known as Napa cabbage (Brassica rapa pekinensis) is another type of Chinese cabbage, quite different from Pak choi. A bit closer to our traditional white cabbages, it produces beautiful dense, elongated heads. Its shiny green leaves are equipped with large midribs.
You will enjoy its sweet and delicate flavour by tasting it raw in salads, but also cooked in a wok with crunchy vegetables. This Chinese cabbage can also serve as a base for less exotic recipes, accompanying sausages and other charcuterie.
In the vegetable garden, these two cabbages are grown somewhat like classic cabbages but require a bit more warmth. For all you need to know about their cultivation, feel free to consult our advice sheet: Succeeding in growing Chinese cabbages.
Pak choi and Pe-tsai: two very different Asian cabbages
4) Japanese crosnes
The Crosnes du Japon (Stachys affinis) belong to the category of perpetual vegetables. These are rhizomatous vegetable plants grown not for their aerial parts, but for their tubercles, which remind me of the roots of the oat with a necklace.
If crosnes are so renowned, it is for their fine flavour, somewhere between artichoke and Jerusalem artichoke, but also because they are sold at a premium price as their harvest cannot be mechanised.
In the garden, they thrive best in fairly rich and sandy soil. And since they need to be dug up with a fork, harvesting is made easier. Be careful, they look a bit like mint, so avoid planting them nearby to prevent having to "untangle" them before harvest!
Introduced to France in the 19th century, crosnes have already made their place in our kitchens where they are generally consumed, French-style, sautéed, fried, or mashed.
Japanese crosnes: a root vegetable of Asian origin
5) Mizuna or Japanese mustard
The Mizuna (Brassica rapa nipposinica), like rocket, belongs to the large family of brassicas. It is a pleasant little salad with fine laciniate leaves. This Japanese vegetable offers a rather mild flavour with a peppery note that works wonders in salads.
In the garden, mizuna cabbage is very easy to grow, it can be sown directly in the ground or under cover (greenhouse, frame) from May to September. It has the advantage of growing and regrowing quickly, offering its delicious leaves even in winter.
In the kitchen, it is highly appreciated in salads but can also serve as a base for pesto, decorating and accompanying all sorts of Asian dishes. Cooked, mizuna is consumed much like spinach: quickly sautéed or even in soup.
Mizuna: a Japanese salad to discover!
Discover all our tips for succeeding in growing Mizuna.
6) Japanese burdock or Gobo
The Japanese burdock (Arctium lappa) is a large plant cultivated for its long root, which resembles and tastes like salsify. It is a biennial, but you won’t have to wait long to harvest it as it can be extracted just 3 months after sowing.
The burdock root, rich in vitamins, is also known for its many properties (purifying, antiseptic, antifungal…).
I won’t sugarcoat it, burdock is not an easy plant to grow in the vegetable garden. It is quite demanding regarding soil, which it prefers to be loose and deep, as well as on watering, which must be regular and abundant throughout the growing period. If you have good soil... and a reliable automatic watering system, go for it!
Its long brown root can be consumed raw or cooked. Extremely rare in France, this root vegetable, a bit fibrous, is finely grated for salads or cut into julienne and then stir-fried.
Japanese burdock, an Asian root vegetable almost impossible to find in France
7) Lemongrass
The lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), not to be confused with lemon balm or lemon verbena, is a herbaceous plant also known as Madagascan lemongrass. And if English speakers call it "lemongrass", it is because it is indeed a grass and exudes a delightful lemony fragrance. It is widely found throughout Southeast Asia, and all those who have discovered it during a trip to Vietnam or Thailand cherish wonderful memories.
In the garden, lemongrass prefers rich soils, warmth, and water, especially during its growing period. It is a tender plant, not hardy, often grown in pots and sheltered during winter. Its cultivation is possible in a cold greenhouse in regions with mild winters (successfully tested here in Brittany).
Note that lemongrass (both the plant and essential oil) is reputed to repel mosquitoes.
In the kitchen, the bases of its stalks are consumed. Once peeled, they are chopped to flavour sauces for white meats (the famous "chicken with lemongrass"), fish, broths, and marinades. It pairs very well with ginger, curry, and coconut milk.
Lemongrass: an aromatic plant that will take you on a journey!
This list of Asian vegetables is, of course, not exhaustive. If you are curious, enjoy exotic flavours, and have a taste for travel, even just gastronomically, I invite you to discover our selection "World Flavours" which features a lovely range of fruits, vegetables, and herbs from all five continents... to cultivate in your garden!
There are many good reasons to grow your own vegetable garden, and the ability to cultivate unique vegetables that are not easily found in shops is one of them. Among these are Asian vegetables as well as aromatic plants, which, unless you live in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, are a rare commodity at greengrocers! […]
Sowing beans is always fairly late for us and takes place in June. Partly because I time it so first harvests coincide with our return from holiday… (sowing date + about 60 days) and partly because I need time to build the structures that will support them.
In fact, I favour climbing beans (pole beans) over dwarf beans, which are quicker to sow and easy to grow. So why go to all that trouble? Because climbing beans have other advantages, of course!
Climbing beans: an ornamental crop
The first reason I grow pole beans is vanity! Our vegetable garden is visible from the terrace (very handy for giving the beds a quick hoe while chatting to those lounging on the sunloungers…) so it needs to be ornamental. Tall bamboo canes or steel reinforcing bars, set up as teepees or Canadian tents, immediately create beautiful vertical lines. Once the beans are well developed, the structure disappears under the luxuriant foliage, giving the garden a slightly jungle-like feel that I quite like. And that doesn’t even take into account their pretty flowering!
A teepee installation - Source: Pinterest
A space-saving crop
The second advantage is that this crop occupies very little ground space since the plants grow vertically. If you plant them in a single south-facing row, climbing beans also have the advantage of providing welcome shade to other vegetables, such as lettuces, which dislike high heat.
They are also very easy to grow in a small garden and even in a pot on a terrace or balcony, since the supports can be propped against a wall or a fence.
Abundant harvests
The third benefit is the high productivity of this type of bean. Indeed, relative to ground area they give good yields, around 2 to 2.5 kilos per m2 (compared with only 1 to 1.5 kilos per m2 for dwarf beans), on average.
Easier harvesting
Ease of harvesting is the fourth advantage: no more bending down and stooping along the row to pick them: they’re within reach. You may have to stretch occasionally but it’s nothing insurmountable, even if your supports reach three metres high, and here’s why:
Great flexibility!
The final asset of pole beans is their flexibility… not in climbing the supports but in being harvested late. As mentioned above, many varieties, such as Mélissa, Blauhilde, Phénomène, can be eaten both as mange-tout and as shelled beans.
Put away the stepladder because the principle is simple: pick young and eat whole whatever is within reach and leave the high-up pods to mature. At the end of the season, take down the structure and gather everything that remains to eat as shelled beans, fresh or dried.
Finally, note that climbing beans can be added to flower beds and even planted in the middle of the lawn, combining the useful with the pleasant by turning into a little den for children.
Two playful structures - Source: Pinterest
Sowing beans is always fairly late for us and takes place in June. Partly because I time it so first harvests coincide with our return from holiday… (sowing date + about 60 days) and partly because I need time to build the structures that will support them. In fact, I favour climbing beans (pole beans) […]
Growing your garden is a political act. I am not the one who says it, Pierre Rabhi is.
And where politics is involved, it often implies doctrine, majority, opposition and protest movements.
You must be wondering what got into me or what I put in my morning coffee! Rest assured, it is about growing, pruning and management of tomatoes that I will talk about today, since it is a perfect example of a subject that divides gardeners.
Indeed, for decades it has been accepted that tomatoes, with an iron hand in a rubber glove, are firmly staked, are trained with rigour and are pruned. It is a tradition with strict rules: plants standing to attention on unyielding stakes and the systematic, merciless removal of "suckers". Order and method.
Everything would have been simple without the arrival of a new generation of gardeners, rebellious enough to question what they consider horticultural myths. Above all, curious or cheeky enough to experiment with alternative methods such as growing tomatoes in cages, laid flat on the ground, free and unpruned, and even without water.
Sterile protest, dangerous laxity, or the start of anarchy? (Tell me how you grow your tomatoes and I will tell you who you vote for...)
But before commissioning pollsters, let us explore these different, not exactly conventional methods...
Tomatoes in cages: supervised freedom
Putting into a cage to free may sound somewhat contradictory. In practice, let us say it is freedom under supervision.
This method consists of growing tomatoes without pruning, surrounding plants with a wire cage to support them and contain their abundant foliage. These cages have a double advantage: they free the gardener from both the slavery of hunting "suckers" and the servitude of daily watering, thanks to the water reservoir provided within the cage itself. To make them, we have prepared a step-by-step tutorial that explains everything: building a tomato cage
Tomatoes also benefit from this technique: unpruned, they no longer have wounds and therefore suffer fewer diseases. The axillary shoots, once removed, produce flowers that turn into fruit, thus offering larger harvests than with conventional training.
Tomato growing in cages - Photo: "Le sens de l'humus"
Tomatoes without stakes or pruning: independence, plain and simple
The principle could not be simpler and suits lazy gardeners perfectly since you simply plant the plant (preferably laid on its side, its favourite position) and let nature take its course!
Tomatoes naturally run along the soil. Only constraint: keep them away from moisture with a thick mulch made of dry materials (straw, dry grass) or with crates. Like squashes, your tomatoes will spread out… The advantage is obvious: you will have nothing to do except harvest. But beware, this method requires space and the absence of mice, voles and other burrowing rodents that would be delighted to sample them.
Note, incidentally, that it is perfectly possible to grow tomatoes in a traditional way without stakes. For this, choose determinate varieties, which form a bush more or less "self-supporting"… depending on wind strength. This is the case for the tomate buissonnante (… merciless logic) but also for dwarf and cherry varieties such as Totem or Gold nuggets.
And tomatoes without watering? A revolutionary alternative movement
Change is now… so let us start by turning off the taps! Because growing tomatoes without water is possible and Pascal Poot proves it, cultivating no fewer than 450 varieties, never watering them. But there is no magic powder here — just a long process that consists of "teaching" vegetables, over generations of seeds, to live frugally, with a guaranteed minimum of a simple dose of compost.
Here is the demonstration:
And you, are you more in favour of maintaining order and mandatory depilation of the axils (of the tomatoes… needless to say) or do you campaign for the mass confiscation of stakes and pruning shears?
Come on, I admit it, at home we are more the good-pupil type who lack consistency: we remove the suckers during the first weeks only to end up delightfully overtaken by an uncontrollable jungle that seems to proudly wave a sign: "Long live the free tomato"!
Growing your garden is a political act. I am not the one who says it, Pierre Rabhi is. And where politics is involved, it often implies doctrine, majority, opposition and protest movements. You must be wondering what got into me or what I put in my morning coffee! Rest assured, it is about growing, pruning […]
Installing a balcony vegetable garden and growing vegetables and herbs, even in town, is perfectly possible. In previous articles, we saw that there are many solutions for urban gardening even without a garden: grow bags, and also raised beds.
Still, you can’t make the walls any bigger! What other option is there? Choose vegetables and varieties suited to small spaces. These compact or dwarf vegetable plants are often productive. They yield full-size or small-scale vegetables, which is perfect when you don’t need to feed a large family or when you grow as much for enjoyment as for flavour!
To prevent you from restricting yourself to radishes, we have prepared on the site a wide selection of vegetables perfectly suited to small spaces and also ideal for mini vegetable gardens (including square beds); here is a sample:
1) Salads
Almost all lettuces can be grown in pots, but admit that a large heading lettuce, for example, takes up a lot of room. That’s why we recommend cut-and-come-again lettuces and mescluns. However, if you insist on harvesting neat heading lettuces, I recommend:
- Tom Thumb butterhead lettuce: a butterhead type that forms small heads about 15 cm across.
- Little Gem lettuce, the romaine cousin, produces small tender-headed lettuces with excellent flavour.
2) Tomatoes
Cherry tomato is queen of the balcony. If you have a large balcony, you can grow any variety. Otherwise, to avoid the plant taking over the space with its generosity, choose varieties that are productive but of moderate vigour. Some trailing types can even be grown in hanging pots.
- Cherry tomatoes Balconi Red and Balconi Yellow are two F1 hybrids. They produce small ruby-red and golden-yellow fruits about 3 cm in diameter. Their advantage is an ultra-compact habit, with bushy plants that only reach about 30 cm high and as wide.
- Pendulina Red and Pendulina Yellow are similar. From Sweden, they are well suited to hanging pots and will form cascades of pretty cherry fruits weighing 15–30 g, red or yellow depending on the variety.
3) Courgettes
Non-vining courgettes are also available in miniature forms and are easy to grow, such as:
- Courgette 'Patio Star' F1. Ideal for pots, it forms plants about 45 cm high and 60 cm wide and yields delicious small cylindrical dark-green fruits.
- Round 'Eight Ball' courgette stands out for its round fruits: excellent quality and harvestable once about 5 cm in diameter. This variety is repeat-bearing and produces over a long period.
4) Peppers and chillies
Still in the "sun veg" category, peppers and chillies love sunny small spaces. Among miniature varieties, you will probably fall for:
- the Mini Chocolate Bell pepper: productive, producing small red-brown fruits 3–5 cm across.
As for chillies, I invite you to discover:
- Red Cherry chilli (small) produces round fruits the size of a cherry tomato, bright red. Beware, it is very hot!
5) Aubergines
Aubergines love heat and will be perfectly happy on a balcony or terrace sheltered from draughts. Lack of space is a great opportunity to discover surprising varieties.
- 'Patio Baby' aubergine is a very early and productive variety that produces compact plants with small fruits, ideal for container growing or confined spaces. Plant in April–May for harvest from July to October.
- Pusa Purple Cluster aubergine has much to recommend it: originating from India, it is productive and forms clusters of small purple fruits on plants of normal size, very decorative and tasty.
- White Round Egg aubergine is a dwarf variety, producing pretty white, round fruits the size of an egg on plants about 30 cm high.
- If you prefer classic types, the Ophelia aubergine is perfect: the plant stays under 35 cm and its dark-purple fruits reach about the size of a golf ball.
6) Carrots
Growing carrots on a balcony is not difficult, but you must choose a container deep enough for root development. Half-long carrots (such as Carotte de Luc) are therefore well suited, but in pots or standard window boxes, peg-top varieties give the best results. I particularly recommend:
- Carrot 'Marché de Paris': an early variety with round, reddish-orange roots, tender and flavoursome. These small carrots are great glazed or as a snack.
7) Cucumbers
Cucumbers are often seen as space-hungry, but they trellis easily. In small gardens or containers, snack-type cucumbers such as 'Rocky', 'Broumana F1' or 'Iznik F1' are popular. They are just as crisp as standard types, but fruit size does not exceed 15 cm.
8) Beans, peas, broad beans
Dwarf beans and dwarf peas are not necessarily the best answer to limited space… Prefer pole varieties of beans and peas that use vertical space by climbing trellises. Plants occupy less ground area and provide abundant harvests. If you like broad beans, I especially recommend the variety Robin Hood, which yields nice short pods with green seeds on plants about 30 cm high.
The list is not exhaustive and for other vegetables, such as cabbages, leeks, sweetcorn... please consult our collection of balcony vegetables on our site.
To conclude, allow me to remind you of key success factors for growing beautiful vegetables on a balcony or terrace:
- use quality potting compost (avoid the cheapest bags that dry out very quickly)
- remember to fertilise regularly
- monitor watering, as container-grown crops are more vulnerable to dry spells.
Installing a balcony vegetable garden and growing vegetables and herbs, even in town, is perfectly possible. In previous articles, we saw that there are many solutions for urban gardening even without a garden: grow bags, and also raised beds. Still, you can’t make the walls any bigger! What other option is there? Choose vegetables and […]
Do you know cut-and-come-again salads? Among the many types of salads, heading varieties appeal to many gardeners, both for their generous appearance, the crunch or the thickness of their leaves. But once harvested, they must be sown again... unlike the one I'm going to talk about today!
Cut-and-come-again salads are largely represented by lettuces, in particular Oak Leaf, but also by the different varieties that make up mescluns. This type of salad does not form a head: its leaves, smooth or curled, fairly thin, are arranged in rosettes, more or less compact. Although visually a little less attractive (perhaps…), they offer many advantages and deserve a place in the vegetable garden.
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Cut-and-come-again salads grow… and regrow quickly
As their name suggests, these salads are cut. They are harvested without pulling up the root but simply by cutting the leaves. What makes them particularly interesting (and productive) is that they regrow, and quickly. Not indefinitely, of course, but two or three times at least. Harvest as needed, from the young-leaf stage or later, at maturity.
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They can be sown almost all year round!
These small salads are easy to grow and can be sown almost all year round: generally under cover from October to February and outdoors from March to September.
Sow them as you prefer: in plug plants or in a pot for lettuces (which will help prevent them being eaten by slugs and snails) or directly in open ground, in rows or broadcast, especially for mescluns.
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Greens to grow anywhere: in the vegetable garden or in pots
Less bulky than heading lettuces or heading chicories, cut-and-come-again salads also have the advantage of being able to be grown almost anywhere. They can be planted on their own, in a space dedicated to the vegetable garden, or interplanted between the rows of other vegetables (they are generally good neighbours), which will shade them in summer.
They are perfect for anyone with limited space in the garden or no garden at all! They take up little room in a raised bed and can even be grown indoors in winter then on a balcony or windowsill, in pots, in planters and even in a vertical garden.
En jardinière ou sous châssis, en hiver : les salades à couper sont faciles à cultiver
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Cut-and-come-again salads: a wide selection
With green, blonde or purple leaves, smooth or curly, these salads come in a wide range of colour, texture and flavour. Simply put, there's something for everyone! Among the best-known varieties are lettuces, represented by Oak Leaf, the Salad Bowl (red or green) and the superb Lollo Bionda and Lollo Rossa.
Laitues à couper : Feuille de Chêne blonde - Lollo Rossa - Red Salad Bowl
If you particularly enjoy variety and the convenience of seed mixes, go for mescluns. As well as being "all‑in‑one", they offer often bold flavours that are perfect for enhancing summer dishes.
Among my favourites are:
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Organic Niçoise mesclun (Ferme de Sainte Marthe). Composed of lettuces, chicory, spinach, rocket and chervil (among others!), it's a rich mix that allows you to make the traditional Provençal mesclun. Presented as a seed tape, it is very quick to sow and largely removes the chore of thinning. Sowing: March to July |
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"Speedy Mix" blend (Thompson & Morgan) offers, in a single packet, a fine assortment that grows at speed. It is composed of rocket, watercress and oriental mustard and delivers a pleasantly piquant flavour. Sowing: March to September. |
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The assortment "The Good Life Mix" (Thompson & Morgan) is perfect for growing under an unheated shelter in late autumn and winter. It includes rather rare varieties (Komatsuna, Mizuna, mustard, Pak choi), delicious and ideal for harvesting young shoots. Sowing: March to October |
And you, do you grow these cut-and-come-again salads in your vegetable garden? Which are your favourite varieties?
Do you know cut-and-come-again salads? Among the many types of salads, heading varieties appeal to many gardeners, both for their generous appearance, the crunch or the thickness of their leaves. But once harvested, they must be sown again… unlike the one I’m going to talk about today! Cut-and-come-again salads are largely represented by lettuces, in […]
Radishes are often the first vegetables grown in the kitchen garden: early in the season, but also by beginner gardeners, as they are reputedly easy. We all know it, perhaps from sowing it as early as primary school, the famous 18-day radish… but far less the other varieties.
As we enter the peak season for sowing radishes, I invite you today to explore the range of possibilities offered by this irresistibly crisp little vegetable, which can be sown almost year round!
Forcing radishes
Forcing radishes are very early. They can be sown from January to February under protection (cold frame, frame or tunnel) or a little later, outdoors in the kitchen garden. Quick to mature, they grow quickly and brighten plates by Easter.
- The Fluo F1 radish: a F1 hybrid variety that stands out for its precocity. This radish yields semi-long roots, red with white tips. Sowing: from December to April
- The Gaudry 2 radish: very early, it produces beautiful round roots, bright pink with white tips. Sowing: from January under cover to September.
- The scarlet-round forcing radish : it grows quickly and produces pretty spherical roots, entirely red, with white, crisp flesh. Sowing: March to September
Gaudry 2 radish - La Ferme de Sainte-Marthe
Radishes all year round
The label "all year round" might suggest a certain blandness. It is far from it! If all these varieties share the flexibility of their broad sowing window (generally from mid-March to mid-September), they can be classic but also display original colours.
- The Flamboyant radish is one of the most popular varieties. Fast-growing, it yields cylindrical semi-long roots, red with a white tip. It is not spicy and stores very well. Sowing from March to August.
- The National 2 radish, semi-early, yields pretty pink roots with white tips. We like its pleasant flavour, a little peppery. Sowing from March to October.
- The Amethyst radish is a round radish distinguished by its colour: a pretty violet with metallic reflections. Very striking on the plate, it also offers a pleasant flavour and will only become sharp if you forget it in the garden. Sowing from March to August.
- The Pernot clair radish is versatile; it can be sown very early and offers elongated roots, bright red with white tips. Sowing from March to September.
Amethyst and Pernot Clair radishes
Summer radishes and daikon radish
- The Ice Candle radish offers a long white root, almost translucent, shaped like a stalactite. Its crisp flesh is fine and offers a slightly biting flavour. Sowing: March–April to November.
- The Zlata daikon radish comes from Czechoslovakia. Round, it wears a yellow skin that covers white flesh with an original taste, a little lemony, peppery. It does not hollow and resists bolting. Sowing: March to August.
- The Giant scarlet round radish from Würzburg forms very large round roots. Its flavour remains mild. Sowing: April to August.
Ice Candle radish
What a choice, isn’t it? If you’re not sure how to decide, don’t hesitate to opt for seed mixes… It’s an economical and practical option when you enjoy growing several varieties in a small kitchen garden.
Finally, although radish sowing is reputedly easy (our tips: "Sowing radishes"), it can, for the less deft, lead to a tedious thinning job. To avoid this, think of seed tapes: simple and easy, they will save you a lot of time!
Radishes are often the first vegetables grown in the kitchen garden: early in the season, but also by beginner gardeners, as they are reputedly easy. We all know it, perhaps from sowing it as early as primary school, the famous 18-day radish… but far less the other varieties. As we enter the peak season for […]
April is the ideal month to prepare for autumn! Because now is the time to sow squashes and pumpkins. Choose potimarrons Huchi Kuri, squashes Butternut and Rouge vif d’Étampes: their flavoursome, sweet flesh will give you the best soups, gratins, purées and pies.
Atlantic Giant pumpkin: a competitive variety!
But if you have children (or a childlike soul and neighbours to impress), get ready for Halloween by planting Jack O Lantern, or better still, grow giant pumpkins: the pumpkins Atlantic Giant.
Jack O'Lantern and Atlantic Giant squash
It is from these particular seeds — not genetically modified but carefully selected over the years — that you can obtain large, very large pumpkins.
For decades Americans broke all the records. But currently a young Belgian grower, Matthias Willemijns, is world champion with a pumpkin weighing 1,190.5 kg. That is the weight of ten baby elephants. Or of a hippopotamus. Or, if it makes it clearer, of a Peugeot 206.
Growing giant squashes: an expensive but lucrative sport!
In the USA, growing such “monsters” is almost a sport, which can cost a lot of money (fertilisers, nutrients, plant protection products, greenhouses, irrigation and heating systems at the start and end of the season, shading in summer, etc.) but which can also pay off: major competitions offer significant prizes of up to several tens of thousands of dollars. Champion pumpkin seeds can also sell for around $20 to $50 each, even more. At specialised auctions, a seed was recently sold for the modest sum of... $800! Given that a pumpkin can contain 300 to 600 seeds, that’s a business that can become very interesting…
Giant pumpkins are often then carved into monstrous lanterns for Halloween.
How to grow a record-breaking pumpkin?
Cultivation of Atlantic Giant is exactly the same as for ordinary squashes or pumpkins: sow indoors in small clumps in mid-April, and plant out in the vegetable plot from mid- to late May, when all risk of frost has passed.
Provided you manure the soil very heavily where you plant it, ensure regular watering and keep only ONE fruit per plant, you can quite easily reach a weight of 100 to 200 kg.
And afterwards, what do you do with it?
I grew Atlantic Giants for a few years. The biggest weighed 212 kg!
Of course, ideally you need strong friends and neighbours to move the pumpkin out of the vegetable plot, and then to enjoy soup, gratin, flan, ice cream, purée and pumpkin pie. Even if this variety is not the best from a flavour point of view, it can still provide a substantial soup base for a school fête, a scout camp or a soup kitchen evening. Guaranteed effect if you celebrate your children’s birthday in autumn, or if you display the monster in front of your house: passers-by coming to have their photo taken beside the squash are worth their weight in gold!
So, for a few years, at the very beginning of creating the garden, we grew giant pumpkins. Beside them, my little boy looked tiny.
That is how I named my garden “Pumpkins and Elf”.
April is the ideal month to prepare for autumn! Because now is the time to sow squashes and pumpkins. Choose potimarrons Huchi Kuri, squashes Butternut and Rouge vif d’Étampes: their flavoursome, sweet flesh will give you the best soups, gratins, purées and pies. Atlantic Giant pumpkin: a competitive variety! But if you have children (or […]
Promesse de Fleurs offers no less than 2000 varieties of vegetable seeds: classic seeds, organic seeds certified AB, as well as F1 hybrid varieties (and even organic F1 hybrids!). With such a wide range of options, what should you choose?
To help you, today I propose to clarify these different types of seeds.
What is an organic seed?
What differentiates an organic seed from a conventional seed is the cultivation method of the seed-bearing plant. Indeed, organic seeds or "AB" are derived from plants grown without phytosanitary products (insecticides, synthetic herbicides, etc.). These seeds also do not undergo any treatment after harvest. They carry the AB label for Organic Agriculture and are certified by Ecocert, an independent control and certification body.
Why buying organic seeds?
- Are vegetables from organic seeds better for health?
On a garden scale, no, vegetables from organic seeds are not necessarily better because it is your way of managing your garden that will determine whether you have good vegetables or any pesticide residues in your harvests. However, on a global level, yes, because by buying organic seeds, you support the ecological practices of organic farming and thus protect the environment… since your supplier does not pollute.
- The specific case of untreated seeds
Untreated seeds or "NT" are derived from plants grown conventionally; they are not organic: during cultivation, the use of phytosanitary products is permitted. What differentiates them is that they do not undergo any treatment after harvest. For your information, these seeds are allowed in organic market gardening when organic seeds are out of stock.
organic seeds: Sainte Marthe Farm, Vilmorin, Sluisgarden
What is an F1 hybrid seed? Should we be wary of them?
- What is an F1 hybrid?
F1 hybrid varieties are the result of crossing selected parent plants to combine their qualities. This results in varieties that are often earlier, more productive, and resistant to certain diseases. The productions are also more homogeneous, the vegetables are better sized and have better shelf life. The resulting plants can also be more compact and suitable for small spaces. As for taste, opinions vary: some find them generally bland, while others appreciate their flavour. But again, the way you cultivate the vegetables will certainly influence this.
Be aware that seed producers carry out selection and crossing work to regularly offer new varieties. These so-called improved varieties are not necessarily F1 hybrids!
- What is the problem with F1 seeds?
The main problem with F1 hybrid seeds is that it is impossible to save seeds from them. Their qualities do not pass on to the next generation. You will therefore have to buy them again. For the amateur gardener, even if the seeds are more expensive, it is an investment quickly recouped by the harvests… but it is a bit more complicated for market gardeners and farmers who become dependent on seed producers.
Stonehead Cabbage, Previa Tomato, and Bonica Aubergine: all productive, resistant, and reliable F1 hybrids.
And what about classic seeds?
Unlike organic seeds, classic seeds are cultivated conventionally. It is very rare for ranges intended for individuals, but sometimes seeds may have undergone treatment after harvest to eliminate any risk of mould and remove potential pests. If this is the case, the treatment will be mentioned on the packet.
By the way, coated seeds are not treated but simply covered with a natural substance (based on clay) that makes them much easier to sow and reduces the chore of thinning.
Organic or classic seeds… what about heirloom varieties?
Producers of organic seeds are known for maintaining heirloom varieties, selecting them to preserve their characteristics. Thus, it is more likely that you will find some rare gems, once cultivated in your region or by your grandfather, in organic. However, this is not a monopoly; traditional seed producers also offer heirloom vegetables, regional varieties known as "terroir" varieties.
Viroflay Giant Spinach, Violet Artichoke from Provence, and Walloon Endive: heirloom or regional varieties offered in organic and classic seeds.
No F1 in an organic garden?
To conclude, and at the risk of sparking some debates, in my garden, Previa tomatoes sit alongside Black Crimea, Gynial cucumbers with English long greens... and I’m not even mentioning colourful sunflowers! Why? Because I believe that in an organic garden, F1 hybrids, AB seeds, and classic seeds can coexist perfectly without being inconsistent. And it’s not even contradictory; there are organic F1 varieties, such as Brussels sprout Igor, for example.
Why? Because I am pragmatic: the reliability and resistance of F1 hybrids allow for cultivation without any treatment (not even a little Bordeaux mixture spray, that’s not organic, is it?) and to achieve, almost certainly, abundant harvests. This assurance allows for trying out older, tastier varieties without fear, even though their results can be a bit more uncertain. On the other hand, what matters most is how you cultivate the vegetables: healthy soil, compost, good mulching, nothing simpler to grow your vegetables naturally!
What about you? Do you prefer classic seeds, certified AB, or are you more into F1?
Promesse de Fleurs offers no less than 2000 varieties of vegetable seeds: classic seeds, organic seeds certified AB, as well as F1 hybrid varieties (and even organic F1 hybrids!). With such a wide range of options, what should you choose? To help you, today I propose to clarify these different types of seeds. What is an […]
Tomato is a fruit-vegetable offering many varieties, sometimes highly original. Old or more recently bred, almost all varieties have distinct personalities well worth exploring. So, to impress friends or simply for the pleasure of tasting new types, here is a small selection of curious, decorative and flavoursome tomatoes:
1) Tomato ‘Indigo Rose’
'Indigo Rose' is an American variety developed by Oregon State University. A cocktail-type, its fruits wear a superb midnight-blue, almost black coat, ripening through to reddish-brown. It attracts curiosity both on the plant and on the plate. Its flavour is not unforgettable but is quite acceptable and, above all, it is known for its antioxidant content.
2) Tomato ‘Jack White’
'Jack White' is almost the opposite of Indigo Rose: its large creamy-white fruits, round and ribbed, can weigh up to 1 kg. They contain a Beefsteak-type flesh of excellent eating quality. Connoisseurs will appreciate the complexity of its taste, a mix of acidity and sweetness. Perfect in a colourful salad (with 'Black from Crimea' for a Yin Yang effect?) but also good for stuffing.
Indigo Rose and Jack White tomatoes - Photo: La Ferme de Sainte Marthe
3) Tomato ‘Lemon Tree’ (lemon tomato)
Yellow tomatoes are not unheard of… What is more unusual is when they take on the look of a lemon, as is the case with this old Russian variety. Productive, this tomato produces clusters of fruits 6–8 cm long. Its taste is, unsurprisingly, slightly tangy, very pleasant in a summer salad.
4) Tomato ‘Elberta Peach’
In a similar vein, 'Elberta Peach' stands out for the downy appearance of its superb foliage and the velvety texture of its fruits. Yes, a hairy tomato does exist! Its fruits are large for a cocktail-type. Colour, red striped with yellow, can be quite variable. It develops a mild flavour and has a fairly firm flesh.
Lemon Tree and Elberta Peach tomatoes - Photos: La Ferme de Sainte Marthe
5) Tomato ‘Green Doctor's Frosted’
Here is another American variety but this time of the cherry type! Very productive, it produces pretty small green fruits, slightly translucent, that have much to offer: firm texture, crisp bite and a very sweet juicy interior.
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6) Yellow pear tomato or ‘Yellow Pearshaped’
This cherry (well, pear) tomato is probably the cutest in the selection! It can be grown in a pot and produces many small yellow, pear-shaped fruits with a sweet flavour. Very decorative, it is particularly popular with children who will enjoy growing it.
Cherry tomatoes: Green Doctor's Frosted and Yellow Pear - Photos: La Ferme de Sainte Marthe
7) Tomato ‘Tlacolula Pink’
This late Mexican variety is notable for its large, dark-pink, pear-shaped fruits. They can even "fuse" to form very large, curious fruits. When sliced they reveal a superb beefsteak-type flesh, easy to cook with, ideal for stuffing or making delicious purées, gazpachos or juices.
8) Tomato ‘Aunt Ruby's German Green’
One of the largest green tomatoes and we love it! Its origin is a little uncertain: native to the United States or perhaps brought to the US by German immigrants? In any case, it is a superb variety that can produce fruits weighing up to 500 g. Its originality? Superb green flesh covered by an emerald skin tinged with pink at the shoulders! Its flavour is very well balanced: sweet with a slight acidity.
Tlacolula Pink and Aunt Ruby's German Green tomatoes - Photos: La Ferme de Sainte Marthe
9) Tomato ‘Green Sausage’
Forget rubbery party sausages: try green sausages instead! Its fruits, cylindrical and about 8 cm long, have an attractive mottled yellow and green skin. Their taste is fruity, slightly tangy, also very suitable for sauces and purées. As it is a dwarf tomato, it requires no pruning and grows very well in a pot on a terrace or balcony! Vegetarian friends will thank you…
10) Tomato ‘Voyage’
And because it’s good to keep the best for last, allow me to present 'Voyage' or “travellers'” tomato. An old variety that is genuinely surprising. Indeed, at first glance its somewhat misshapen fruits make you think of a well-travelled tomato! Averaging 100 g in weight, it appears to be an agglomeration of small fruits. Curious but productive… and tasty, revealing a juicy, sweet flesh.
Green Sausage and Voyage tomatoes - Photos: La Ferme de Sainte Marthe
We are right in the middle of sowing season... Which varieties have you chosen for your vegetable patch this year?
Tomato is a fruit-vegetable offering many varieties, sometimes highly original. Old or more recently bred, almost all varieties have distinct personalities well worth exploring. So, to impress friends or simply for the pleasure of tasting new types, here is a small selection of curious, decorative and flavoursome tomatoes: 1) Tomato ‘Indigo Rose’ ‘Indigo Rose’ is […]
Aubergine, pepper and chilli share a strong taste for heat. That's why their sowing is done indoors, from February if you plan to grow them under glass and in March for outdoor cultivation in the vegetable garden.
How to succeed with your sowings and obtain healthy young plants?
This is a sowing sometimes feared by beginner gardeners because seeds need heat to germinate and are somewhat susceptible to damping off. However, if you follow a few simple rules, anyone can succeed.
- Sowing in a mini‑greenhouse or propagator
The classic method is to sow seeds in trays filled with a good seed compost. Sow seeds about 2 centimetres apart then cover them with a few millimetres of sieved compost. Water very gently, using a spray bottle… as a fine mist so as not to displace the seeds. To prevent damping off, then cover with a very fine layer of powdered charcoal.
The optimal germination temperature for these three vegetables is between 20 and 25 °C. Unless you live in an overheated flat, you will need to find the ideal spot. For these sowings, heated propagators (Garland, for example) are very handy but you can also use the top of or a place near a radiator. Personally, I put the trays on top of our masonry stove until germination.
Place sowing in warmth: in a propagator (Photo: Garland) or, as with me, on top of a soapstone stove
With chillies, be careful when handling the seeds and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards: contact with the eyes may cause painful irritation.
- The "Scottex" method, have you heard of it?
There has been quite a lot of talk in recent years about the "Scottex" method… which gets its name not from some obscure botanist but from a brand of kitchen roll! This sowing technique is a little like germination tests. It involves placing the seeds on a piece of absorbent paper, previously moistened (with hot water, if you like), and enclosing them in a glass jar or a plastic tray. The advantage of this method lies in the speed of germination: the time spent at heat is therefore shorter. Having tried the method one year, I found it effective but… you mustn't have sausage fingers when it comes to'placing germinated seeds into pots: the operation requires precision and a gentle touch!
The "Scottex" method
From potting on to planting out in the vegetable garden: precautions to take
Once young plants are well developed (at least two true leaves but don't wait too long), you can prick them out into pots. They still need warmth (normal room temperature is sufficient) but also light, otherwise they will become leggy. Place them on the windowsill and wait… at least until after the last frosts (usually after 15 May) before planting out in the garden. Initially, if you live in a rather cool area, provide light protection against night‑time cold.
Which varieties to choose?
There are many varieties of chillies, peppers and aubergines… For chillies, choosing them according to their heat level will save you from growing something your palate couldn't handle. And for aubergines, if your climate isn't ideal for growing them, opt for sturdy F1s such as 'Bonica' (as seeds or as grafted plants), early and easy to succeed with.
For my part, here is my small selection for this year :
- The chilli 'Penis', a new arrival in our collection… which I must test, if only to see my neighbours' faces (and a little that of my mother‑in‑law... the gardener is mischievous)!
- The pepper 'Purple Bell', very unusual, which will complement my 'Californian Wonder'
- The aubergine 'Rotonda Bianca Sfumata di Rosa' and the aubergine 'Ronde à œuf', alongside the traditional 'de Barbentane'.
And you, have you started sowing for the vegetable garden? Any tips to share?
Aubergine, pepper and chilli share a strong taste for heat. That’s why their sowing is done indoors, from February if you plan to grow them under glass and in March for outdoor cultivation in the vegetable garden. How to succeed with your sowings and obtain healthy young plants? This is a sowing sometimes feared by […]
It's soon time for the first sowings in the vegetable garden. And in this year, rich in weather surprises, it is more than wise to protect them from the cold. Indeed, to harvest early peas, salads, carrots, and lovely radishes, you must not delay in sowing them. But, as you know, until the Ice Saints, frost can still bite, and cruelly! Here are all the solutions available to you to prevent the cold from annihilating all your hopes.
1) Growth or winter fleece
Fleeces come in different thicknesses. The heavier ones (60 g or even 90 g per m2) are mainly used in market gardening, in areas with very cold winters. For the amateur gardener, P17 (17 grams per m2), known as growth fleece, and P30, called winter fleece, are commonly found. The thermal protection varies, as you will have understood, depending on this weight. Their main action is to break the wind and attenuate the effects of heavy rain or hail. Being water-permeable and breathable, they help create a microclimate favourable to plant growth. However, they do not provide complete protection against frost, especially if it is severe. These fleeces are reusable, provided you choose good quality ones and take care of them!
The advantage of fleeces is their great ease of installation: simply cover the young sowings and hold them in place with, as you prefer, large stones, bags filled with sand, wooden boards…
2) Mini tunnels with forcing films or rigid ones
Alongside growth fleeces, there are forcing films. Made of plastic, varying in thickness, perforated or not, they help accelerate plant growth by creating not just a microclimate, but rather a greenhouse effect. They are generally placed on hoops to form small tunnels (known as “Nantes tunnels” or “caterpillars”). If you install them correctly, using proper metal market gardening hoops and string, you can easily lift the sides for ventilation and possible watering. As with fleeces, invest in quality films to use them for many years!
Another solution is to use rigid mini tunnels. They are well designed and some models even have a removable hatch on top for watering. Quick to set up, they are really practical… but a bit pricey.
Different ways to protect your crops: rigid tunnel and bell (Photo: Garantia) and forcing fleece (Direct-Filet)
3) The cold frame
Generally made of a wooden box covered with a glass (or polycarbonate) pane, the cold frame is mainly intended for early sowings, which will be transplanted into the vegetable garden once spring is well established. However, nothing prevents you from growing your first radishes or salads in it. But be careful, as with tunnels, you will need to think about ventilating or even fully opening the frames on the first nice days!
4) Other types of protection: bells, mulching, and recycling!
The glass bells, so lovely, are now rare in vegetable gardens… and when found in stores, they are also very expensive. They have been replaced by plastic models which, for the best ones, have ventilation. They are quite suitable for protecting young plants, but not really for sowings. And as with frames, beware of overheating!
The protective effect of mulching is often underestimated. However, it exists, but it is more intended to shelter young plants rather than sowings. Dead leaves and straw spread in a thick layer often help prevent the effects of frost.
Finally, you can improvise many shelters with available materials: upturned crates, dressed or not with fleece and placed over the sowings at night, small tipis made of twigs… and if you use insect-proof fleeces in summer, know that they also provide good protection against wind in early spring! But, do not forget to remove them for vegetables whose flowers need to be pollinated to produce: no insects = no vegetables!
It’s soon time for the first sowings in the vegetable garden. And in this year, rich in weather surprises, it is more than wise to protect them from the cold. Indeed, to harvest early peas, salads, carrots, and lovely radishes, you must not delay in sowing them. But, as you know, until the Ice Saints, […]
Kiwis grow very well in Brittany. Did you know? Last week I received a whole crate of them! Since I readily give away my surplus summer harvest, I suppose it's the boomerang effect…
Meanwhile, it's proof that Actinidia does not necessarily come from New Zealand and that it grows very well in our climates. But, having spent part of my Sunday peeling them to make jam, you'll understand that today I'm talking about another kind of kiwi: Kiwaï.
What is Kiwaï?
Kiwaï (Actinidia arguta) or "Siberian kiwi" is a miniature kiwi species that has the undeniable advantage of being eaten with the skin. Admittedly, the fruits are smaller but hairless. Their smooth skin conceals flesh that is just as sweet and fragrant as that of the common kiwi. And because they are just as productive (an adult plant can yield nearly 100 kg of fruit) as their larger cousin Actinidia deliciosa, you only need to eat several to obtain an equivalent or even higher dose of vitamin C.
Another advantage of Kiwaï: no confusion possible (Image Pinterest)
How to grow Kiwaï?
Kiwaï is grown exactly like kiwi (see our care sheet): a voluble climbing plant, its long lianas must be trained on a sturdy support. Like kiwi, it is dioecious: female varieties must be accompanied by a male variety. But there are self-fertile varieties. They are a little less productive but have the advantage of being planted alone. Where Kiwaï becomes even more interesting is its extreme hardiness. Native to forests of China, Japan and Russia, it will tolerate temperatures around -20°C, even -25°C (remember… Siberia!), so it can be planted almost anywhere, even in regions with severe winters.
Kiwaï fruit is harvested in late summer to early autumn, earlier than that of common kiwis, and keeps very well when refrigerated.
Male Kiwaï flowers and fruits of Kiwaï 'Ambroisia' - Photos Cerdys SA
Varieties
- 'Ambrosia': a female variety that produces small green fruits speckled with red
- 'Ken's Red': a Kiwaï with red skin and purplish flesh, delightfully tangy
- 'Nostino': a male variety that acts as pollinator. It produces flowers but no fruit. Its presence is essential to obtain fruiting of female plants (allow at least one male for 5–6 female plants).
- 'Issai': self-fertile, it produces pretty small green fruits on its own in late summer.
Convinced? Maybe you've already planted this very distinctive actinidia in your garden, do not hesitate to tell us about it!
Kiwis grow very well in Brittany. Did you know? Last week I received a whole crate of them! Since I readily give away my surplus summer harvest, I suppose it’s the boomerang effect… Meanwhile, it’s proof that Actinidia does not necessarily come from New Zealand and that it grows very well in our climates. But, […]
February marks return to the vegetable patch. January's frost, combined with the marked thaw of recent days, has given the soil an ideal texture. Pure bliss! It almost feels like spring and first plantings can finally begin. For us, garlic, onion and shallot lead the way… planting them is so easy you simply choose varieties!
Garlic, onion, shallot
Garlic, onion, shallot: choose the right variety before ordering
These three bulb vegetables, all members of the Allium family, come in a very large number of varieties. Of various colours and shapes, they also differ in their planting period: autumn or spring. Choice is mainly based on this criterion.
So let's look at varieties that can be planted from today in mild climates and, elsewhere, up to March/April.
Garlic
In spring, favour pink garlic. Said to be slightly less productive than autumn varieties, it has the advantage of keeping longer. Flavor, Printanor, Gayant, Arno … all these varieties keep well, even very well!
Alongside common garlic (Allium sativum), mention also a very interesting perennial or "perpetual" species that establishes itself once and for all, or almost: bear's garlic (Allium ursinum). It grows in shade or partial shade and naturalises easily where conditions suit. It bears large narrow leaves and, from April to June, a charming display of white umbels. It's both a culinary and medicinal plant. Everything is edible: bulb, flower buds and leaves!
Bear's garlic: a perennial variety that naturalises
Onion: white, red or yellow
White, yellow, pink or red, onions come in a riot of colours…
Like garlic, onion can be planted in autumn. I never do, though, because in my heavy soil rot would be certain. And this year's sub-zero temperatures early in the year have confirmed my caution!
Here we grow three types:
- small white onions which, harvested early as baby onions, pair wonderfully with first late-spring salads,
- red onion Red Karmen to brighten summer salads,
- yellow onion Paille des Vertus, with white flesh, which we eat year-round because it keeps very well.
For a perennial option, why not try the rocambole onion (Allium cepa proliferum) ? It's a charming old-fashioned vegetable, a little bit eccentric, which bears pretty bulbils at the top of its flowering stem. Its leaves are also eaten.
Red onions, white onion and rocambole onion
Shallot
Long, semi-long or round, once again choices are many! The grey shallot is for autumn planting while the pink shallot is planted in late winter/early spring. We like the late variety Jermor… but if you want an earlier variety, go for Longor. Both keep very well!
Where and how to plant them?
Garlic, onion and shallot are grown in the same way. They prefer full sun, in well-drained soil that is not too rich (do not add compost beforehand!), and that does not retain water. If drainage is poor, plant them on a raised bed to avoid any risk of rot that would affect storage. Finally, if you only have a balcony or terrace for your vegetable garden, these three vegetables can also be grown in planters or pots!
Planting is very easy; you will find all useful information in our Guide: "Planting garlic, shallot and onion".
But for us, no fuss — we plant them with our thumbs… after all, we're not going to deny ourselves the pleasure of getting our hands back in the soil!
February marks return to the vegetable patch. January’s frost, combined with the marked thaw of recent days, has given the soil an ideal texture. Pure bliss! It almost feels like spring and first plantings can finally begin. For us, garlic, onion and shallot lead the way… planting them is so easy you simply choose varieties! […]
This may seem a long way off but return to the vegetable garden will come quickly. In spring we all know those hectic moments when you have to be everywhere at once. It’s cheerful but often unproductive… unless you used winter to plan your vegetable garden.
Here are a few tips to anticipate and get organised, both in time and space, all in 5 steps!
First step: make a list of what you really want to eat
It sounds obvious but some gardeners write long lists of vegetables deemed essential for the vegetable garden. In their enthusiasm they even include ones they don’t much like (yes, really, I assure you!). Draw up a sensible list that includes vegetables you’ll be happy to find on your table. But don’t deprive yourself of the pleasure of discovery—add a few varieties you’ve wanted to try for a long time and, why not, some unusual, heirloom or exotic vegetables.
Second step: set up a sowing and planting calendar
Once that list is made, prepare a table and note the ideal period for sowing or planting each vegetable variety. By using colours you can quickly spot what should be sown in seed trays or pots, indoors in heat (red), under unheated cover (blue) or direct-sown outdoors (black). It may seem a bit tedious, believe me, but it will stop you from missing the sowing window and being denied a harvest!
Planning, an essential step for a large vegetable garden
For beginners, know that not all varieties of the same vegetable are sown at the same time: for example, smooth-seeded peas are sown at different times from wrinkled-seeded peas. Same for lettuces: some cannot stand heat while others tolerate it well! Always refer to the instructions on the packet or to the sowing periods recommended on our product pages.
Third step: decide the future location of each vegetable (crop rotation)
Planning your vegetable garden also means organising it in space. If this is your first vegetable garden, crop rotations aren’t yet an issue, but it’s high time to think about layout and style: raised beds? Wide beds?
In other cases, to avoid diseases and to meet each vegetable’s needs, it’s wise to practise crop rotations.
Crop rotations by vegetable type
To do this you will need to take account of last year’s crops. Unless you have an excellent memory, draw up a crop rotation plan. It’s an essential tool that simply involves recording (on a plan or by assigning a code to each plot) where crops have been grown over time. From this information you can determine the place for your future vegetables and plan, accordingly, any compost additions required for the most hungry crops.
Fourth step: mix everything for a more productive vegetable garden!
With sowing calendar and garden plan in hand, organising a rapid succession of crops (on the same plot) is now within reach. This will need some thought to estimate how long each vegetable occupies the bed, but you will produce more, which is useful in a small garden.
Another technique is to intercrop crops. You will need to identify the best combinations or “companions” but this will boost productivity, increase variety… while providing natural protection against diseases and pests. And if step 3 feels a bit off-putting, know that without fully absolving yourself you can relax a little on rotations!
Fifth step: flowers…and herbs!
Flowers and herbs are a bit the icing on the cake… Decorative, they fill bouquets (both vase and kitchen bouquets 😉 but they’re also very useful because they attract and feed pollinators and repel some pests. So include their sowing in your calendar and give them some space in the vegetable garden: in a dedicated area, at the plot edge or between rows—they deserve it!
And that’s it! All that remains is to take stock of your vegetable seed box… and place any necessary orders.
This may seem a long way off but return to the vegetable garden will come quickly. In spring we all know those hectic moments when you have to be everywhere at once. It’s cheerful but often unproductive… unless you used winter to plan your vegetable garden. Here are a few tips to anticipate and get […]
Sustainable, self-sufficient vegetable garden, where vegetables need almost no maintenance and regrow after harvest… Too easy? Idyllic? Yet it’s possible, at least partly… thanks to perennial vegetables, or perennials. Well known to permaculture practitioners, they are still uncommon in conventional vegetable gardens, which is a shame because, in the end, they have only advantages!
Discover perennial vegetables also in our podcast:
What is a perennial vegetable?
Like all perennial plants, perennial vegetables have a life cycle that lasts several years. Although not immortal, they are perennial plants grown in the garden and harvested without needing to be renewed. Besides this advantage, these vegetables often offer strong, authentic flavours… which has not escaped many top chefs, some of whom even grow them in their own kitchen gardens.
In the category of vegetable plants that settle for many years, artichoke, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries are well known. I won’t linger on these to focus instead on somewhat lesser-known vegetable and condiment plants that have the advantage of being hardy. Here are some essential perennial vegetables!
1) Ramsons (Allium ursinum)
It is found or cultivated in woodland where it naturalises easily. It bears large narrow leaves and produces, from April to June, a charming display of white umbels. Used as a condiment and medicinally, everything is edible: the bulb, the flower buds and the leaves. Harvest: January to October.
Ramsons
2) Rocambole garlic (Allium scorodoprasum)
This species, very ornamental, has the particularity of producing aerial bulbils at the top of its flowering stems. Its leaves are also edible, like chives. Harvest: June–July.
Rocambole garlic
3) Cardoon or wild artichoke (Cyrara cardunculus)
An ancient vegetable, very close to the artichoke. Although its flowers are edible, it is mainly grown for its cardoons. Tall in stature, it displays a magnificent blue-grey colour, very decorative in the vegetable garden. For those who dread anything prickly, there are spineless varieties. Harvest: August–September.
Cardoon: foliage and flower
→ Read also: Grow cardoon: a vegetable with tasty midribs.
4) Good King Henry (Chenopodium bonus-henricus)
Sometimes called wild spinach or goosefoot. It is cultivated for its leaves, which can be eaten like spinach: raw in salads or cooked. Harvest: March–May and September–November.
Good King Henry
Discover everything to know about Good King Henry and watch our video in which Olivier brings this forgotten vegetable back into fashion!
5) Daubenton’s perpetual cabbage (Brassica oleacerae)
Here is a perennial vegetable enjoying a fine comeback: once grown for fodder to feed livestock, it now appears on menus at top restaurants. It is a cabbage that does not form a head and from which young shoots are harvested; their flavour is close to broccoli. Harvest: September–May.
Daubenton’s perpetual cabbage
6) Tuberous wisteria or groundnut (Apios americana)
A twining climber with mauve flowers, very ornamental. It is a perennial herb much used in permaculture and forest gardens. To eat it, wait until winter and dig up the tubers, which cook like potatoes and are more nutritious. In warm climates it also produces edible pods. Harvest: November–March.
Tuberous wisteria or "groundnut"
7) Lovage or perennial celery (Levisticum officinale)
Also known as mountain parsley or Maggi herb, this vegetable is mainly used for its aroma as a condiment. Its leaves and seeds flavour soups and marinades. Harvest: May–November.
Lovage or perennial celery, also called mountain parsley
8) Rocambole onion (Allium cepa proliferum)
As with rocambole garlic, do not look underground: it is at the top of its flowering stem that this old-fashioned, slightly extravagant vegetable sets its little bulbs. Its leaves are also eaten like chives. Harvest: July–September.
Rocambole onion
9) Sorrel or spinach-sorrel (Rumex acetosa, R. arifolus, R. sanguineus, R. purpurea)
Sorrel offers leaves from spring with a mild or tangy flavour, rather similar to spinach. It can be grown in the garden or on a balcony in a large pot. An easy plant to grow, it can be harvested over a long period but should be taken progressively as it does not keep well. Harvest: April–November.
Bloody sorrel - Rumex sanguineus
10) Perennial leek (Allium ampeloprasum)
This perennial leek produces only small-diameter stems, finger-sized, which are very flavoursome. Cut 2 cm above soil level and the leaves regrow continuously, from September to May. Compact, this leek fits easily between strawberry plants. Harvest: September–May.
Perennial leek
So, ready to give perennial vegetables the place they deserve in the vegetable garden? Or perhaps they are already there… Tell us your story!
- Discover our wide range of perennial vegetables
and a few books dedicated to them :
Sustainable, self-sufficient vegetable garden, where vegetables need almost no maintenance and regrow after harvest… Too easy? Idyllic? Yet it’s possible, at least partly… thanks to perennial vegetables, or perennials. Well known to permaculture practitioners, they are still uncommon in conventional vegetable gardens, which is a shame because, in the end, they have only advantages! Discover […]
The world is unfair, even in the vegetable garden. Chicory is the perfect example : as tasty and easy to grow as lettuce, it is far less popular and, consequently, rather scarce in our gardens. Is it because of the texture of its leaves? Its slight hint of bitterness? Or could it be that we simply haven't really discovered it yet? So, let's make introductions...
Chicory? No — chicories. And a real botanical conundrum!
Taking an interest in chicories means, first of all, facing a little botanical puzzle. There are countless varieties. Although they all belong to the large family Asteraceae, they are divided into two main species. And then everything gets complicated — judge for yourself :
1) Cichorium endivia
Grouped under 'Cichorium endivia' are the endive chicories, or true endive in the botanical sense :
- Frisée chicories (Cichorium endivia crispum) with very finely cut leaves. Some varieties : 'Fine de Meaux', 'Frisée de Ruffec'
- Scarole chicories (Cichorium endivia latifolium) with upright, crinkled leaves, such as, for example, 'Cornet d’Anjou', 'Géante maraîchère', 'Casque d'Or'.
But by no means the Endive known as Chicon in the North. Confused? That's normal — Carl Linnaeus must have had quite a sense of humour...
2) Cichorium intybus
Cichorium intybus corresponds to the wild chicories : logically, the chicory that grows wild in my meadow (the chicory that grows wild in my meadow), but also varieties cultivated for ages that are anything but wild! Consider yourselves warned.
Under the name Cichorium intybus the following varieties are grouped :
- The Monk's-beard chicories (Cichorium intybus foliosum) which resemble dandelions a little. Their delicate flavour has a slight bitterness. These chicories benefit from forcing.
- The Sugarloaf chicories (Cichorium intybus foliosum) form superb elongated heads with a very white heart.
- The Italian chicories (Cichorium intybus partim) are often coloured (e.g. 'Rouge Trévise', 'Rouge de Vérone') or display pretty rose-shaped heads ('Grumolo verde'),
- the endive or Witloof chicory, (Cichorium intybus foliosum) as good raw as cooked... drowned in an ocean of béchamel for children 🙂
- The coffee chicory, industrially known as Ami Ricoré (Cichorium intybus sativum), whose root can be baked in a gratin like the chicory gratin version of 'Tête d’Anguille', a local variety that almost disappeared and which Promesse de Fleurs is offering this year.
But rest assured, whether you've grasped all the botanical subtleties or not, I encourage you to grow them, here's why…
In the vegetable garden, an easy crop… A light frost? No fear!
In the vegetable garden, sowing chicories is easier than sowing lettuce (everything is explained here: How to grow chicory successfully and blanch it). The seeds, unlike those of other salad leaves, have the huge advantage of germinating above 20 °C and warmth speeds up their start.
When the first frosts arrive, there is little to fear because chicories are rather hardy. And even if frisée and scarole types are less hardy than wild chicories, a fleece, which can be put on in a flash, is enough to protect them.
Blanch chicory? Simple and optional…
Blanching chicory is not always necessary because many varieties such as the scarole chicories 'Ronde Verte à cœur plein' or 'Grosse Bouclée' blanch naturally.
Blanching consists of blocking photosynthesis by depriving the leaves of light. It is essential for endive (see here : How to grow endive successfully) and produces leaves with a more tender texture and milder flavour. But don't panic, it's very simple: about ten days before harvest, choose one of the following:
- cover the head with a terracotta pot or an opaque cloche,
- tie the head with string so that the heart of the chicory is covered by the surrounding leaves,
- shelter chicories under an opaque plastic tunnel or, if you grow them under a cold frame, place plastic, cardboard or mats over it.
One precaution to take: do not blanch if frost is forecast, that would be certain rot.
There you go, you know everything… or almost everything about chicories, all that's left is to sow them! Don't wait too long, it's the right time.
The world is unfair, even in the vegetable garden. Chicory is the perfect example : as tasty and easy to grow as lettuce, it is far less popular and, consequently, rather scarce in our gardens. Is it because of the texture of its leaves? Its slight hint of bitterness? Or could it be that we simply […]
Here in August, our vegetable garden becomes a veritable cornucopia: tomatoes, courgettes, beans, to name but a few, are harvested in such quantities you do not know what to do with them. And that is precisely the problem. So, if you too are buried under surplus produce, here are a few ideas to avoid wasting your vegetables.
Idea No. 1: Give away or swap surplus vegetables
Sharing harvests is a pleasure… provided it is done with restraint. Bringing your neighbours a full crate of courgettes is a kind gesture, certainly. But unless you live next door to an XXL family, it simply shifts the problem, because they too may not know what to do with them! Next time, they may well pretend to be out when they see you approaching with a basket, even when empty. So give, but first make sure your friends will have time to use the vegetables, and bear in mind that a small mixed basket (especially if it contains strawberries) is more popular.
Also consider contacting local charities and other community food shops; they will be able to tell you what they need.
Idea No. 2: Sell your produce, at home or online
Selling your produce is also an option. It may seem mean, but the vegetables you grow have value; they did not grow by themselves. I have not found specific legislation on the subject; however, it appears tax authorities have no objection provided your vegetable garden is under 500 m² and is attached to your home. Out of fairness to professional market gardeners, do not set up on markets. Putting up a sign outside your house, advertising on Le Bon Coin or a local Facebook group is often enough to attract interested people. Another option is to register on a dedicated site, such as Le potiron.fr or cavientdujardin.fr
I have heard that in some English villages, surplus vegetables are sometimes left outside the house, accompanied by an honesty box where anyone can drop a coin. Clever, isn't it? Have you ever heard of this practice?
Idea No. 3: Transform them… but be inventive!
Let's think: what is the real problem with surplus harvests? Often, truth be told, it is the boredom ("More beans?") caused by the cook's lack of imagination, isn't it? Talent helps too, and time above all… Nonetheless, facing a glut of courgettes can lead to new taste experiences: ratatouille is not the only option! Why not try apple-and-courgette salad, courgette fritters or courgette cake? Perhaps a homemade gazpacho? 100% vegetable lasagne? Remember how lovely it is, in the depths of February, to rediscover the flavour of summer vegetables. That should give you a bit of courage to tackle the next point:
Idea No. 4: Preserve, yes, but with discernment
Ah, the memory of my grandmother's "Le Parfait" jars, meticulously lined up in the larder! Who has not wanted to take up the tradition of home preserves again? It is easy and economical.
On preserving fruits and vegetables, we have prepared two guides you can consult:
But it requires time, suitable equipment and, above all, enough space to store everything.
So take stock before you start:
- how much space you have, including freezer space?
- what are your eating habits? Do you regularly eat preserves or frozen meals, or are you a fan of 100% fresh, seasonal produce?
- are you more into jam, fruit in syrup or do you prefer chilled smoothies?
- do you have several weekends to dedicate to preparing preserves?
If the answers are: I have no space / I only eat fresh produce / I don't like jam / I'd rather read on the terrace or go to the beach... go back to ideas No. 1 and 2 🙂
And you? What are your tips for dealing with an overly generous harvest? Any recipes?
Here in August, our vegetable garden becomes a veritable cornucopia: tomatoes, courgettes, beans, to name but a few, are harvested in such quantities you do not know what to do with them. And that is precisely the problem. So, if you too are buried under surplus produce, here are a few ideas to avoid wasting […]
But who devours cabbages in the vegetable patch? Do you know the Cabbage White?
Cabbage White, a butterfly with voracious caterpillars
Pieris brassicae, by its gentle Latin name, is a damned butterfly terribly common, rather dull cream-white. Its particularity, as you will have guessed, is to attack, at the caterpillar stage, cabbages and all crucifers or brassicas... including white mustard, very useful in the vegetable patch as a green manure.
Needless to say, although I like butterflies a lot, the Cabbage White gives me the creeps without even touching its caterpillars. Because the damage can be significant. It’s simple: in case of a massive invasion, you go to bed with nice, promising cabbages in the vegetable patch and, the next morning, all you have left are pitiful skeletons made up of the ribs. I am barely exaggerating.
How to prevent and control Cabbage White?
Knowing that Cabbage White is present throughout France (and has been since the Paleolithic, Wikipedia tells us ;-)) and that it is active from late spring to October, you will agree that control is legitimate.
As with Carrot Fly and Leek Leaf Miner, the best prevention, short of waving a butterfly net, is to install, tightly, insect netting.
If that precaution has not been taken, here is how to proceed, step by step, to limit damage:
- Inspect your cabbages and carefully check the underside of leaves (that’s the basics!),
- Destroy the eggs systematically and without mercy,
- Carry out a spray of "Bt" or Bacillus thuringiensis (Bacillus thuringiensis): this bacterium, once ingested by the caterpillar, causes its death. It’s a biopesticide that can, of course, be used in organic farming. This treatment must be applied early to be effective.
- Pick caterpillars by hand (a pair of kitchen tongs is a tool of choice for those put off by touching caterpillars).
Finally, as always, remember to observe crop rotations in the vegetable patch, practise companion planting and use aromatic plants to confuse these unwanted visitors.
But who devours cabbages in the vegetable patch? Do you know the Cabbage White? Cabbage White, a butterfly with voracious caterpillars Pieris brassicae, by its gentle Latin name, is a damned butterfly terribly common, rather dull cream-white. Its particularity, as you will have guessed, is to attack, at the caterpillar stage, cabbages and all crucifers […]
Rhubarb (Rheum x rhabarbarum or R. rhaponticum) is one of those hardy, perennial vegetable plants that are fairly easy to grow. Fortunately, since its slightly tart flavour is so delightful in jam, pie or crumble. However, in some gardens it can cause problems: weak plants, spindly petioles, untimely flowering, young shoots nibbled by mysterious critters…
So, to put an end to anaemic rhubarb, here are some tips!
Right place and right soil
First, allow plenty of space, because even if your plant looks insignificant in its pot, it will grow quickly and spread widely: 1–1.5 m² per plant is not too much. Rhubarb performs best in cool, moist but well drained soil. Ideally plant in partial shade, avoiding proximity to large trees which, while providing coolness, tend to draw away all available water in summer. Greedy for nutrients, it needs good, humus-rich soil, improved if necessary with a generous application of compost.
Patience, light care and a good turn of the spade, from time to time…
Although growth is quite rapid, rhubarb needs a little time to settle. Except for some varieties such as 'Glaskins Perpetual', you will not harvest until after one or even two years, as it is recommended for young plants not to pick anything during the first year (I know, frustrating).
As we have seen, cool conditions suit rhubarb best. To retain moisture, mulch generously. We do not hesitate: at least 20 cm of fallen leaves in autumn, a little grass clippings from time to time and, after each harvest, we spread the leaves at the plant base, which otherwise we do not know what to do with (aside from using them as insecticidal manure…). In spring or autumn, a good dressing of compost is always welcome and will boost production. Finally, when a plant ages it may become less vigorous: this is a sign that it should be divided. Do this in spring and, using a spade, split the stump into several pieces of one to three buds.
1) a healthy rhubarb plant thanks to regular compost applications 2) rhubarb in flower 3) the 'bud' in late winter 4) a young rhubarb plant
Help — my rhubarb…
- Issue 1: my rhubarb is in flower
It is normal for a mature rhubarb plant to flower; it is a natural behaviour to ensure its offspring. Although spectacular, rhubarb flowers are not very ornamental and come at the expense of petiole size. Flowering also weakens the plant: do not hesitate to remove flower stems as soon as they appear. If you wait… it will be too late!
- Issue 2: my rhubarb is very small
Among vegetable garden worries, a scrawny rhubarb is one of the most frustrating. Most of the time this is because it was not planted in the right place or in the right soil. If the plant looks strong enough to be moved to a more favourable spot, go ahead… Otherwise, up the compost, mulching and watering a little while it establishes.
- Issue 3: my rhubarb is being eaten
Yes, slugs and snails again… By now you know the routine, don’t you? A line of ash if weather is dry, a few Ferramol pellets and that should do the trick!
There you are ready to grow vigorous, productive rhubarb! Did you know the English were crazy about it and used to force it in cellars in much the same way as endives? A harvest by candlelight — how romantic.
Rhubarb (Rheum x rhabarbarum or R. rhaponticum) is one of those hardy, perennial vegetable plants that are fairly easy to grow. Fortunately, since its slightly tart flavour is so delightful in jam, pie or crumble. However, in some gardens it can cause problems: weak plants, spindly petioles, untimely flowering, young shoots nibbled by mysterious critters… […]
So, are your carrots starting to come up? Have your leeks been transplanted? One slogan for the vegetable patch: Carrot fly, leek leaf miner, same battle! It’s high time to protect them.
As a well-informed gardener is worth two, let’s begin with an introduction to these two unwanted visitors:
Carrot fly and leek leaf miner, presentation
Psila rosae and Phytomyza gymnostoma are two dipterans that attack, respectively, carrots, leeks and all alliums in general. No need to dwell on their appearance — a fly is a fly, after all. As you can see in these two photos, these pests tunnel into carrot roots and into the stem of leeks. Damage, more or less severe depending on the year, can even cause the vegetables to rot.
How to protect carrots and leeks?
Besides crop rotation, several methods exist and can be combined:
- pair carrots with leeks as these two vegetables protect each other,
- create an olfactory confusion by planting, in the middle of the row, strong‑scented plants such as coriander, by spraying infusions of lavender, tansy or macerations of wormwood, or by using these same plants as mulch.
- set up physical protection by fitting, hermetically, an insect‑proof net or mesh over hoops. It is, indisputably, the most effective method and if you have planted carrots and leeks on the same bed, you can protect them simultaneously, which is very practical.
So, are your carrots starting to come up? Have your leeks been transplanted? One slogan for the vegetable patch: Carrot fly, leek leaf miner, same battle! It’s high time to protect them. As a well-informed gardener is worth two, let’s begin with an introduction to these two unwanted visitors: Carrot fly and leek leaf miner, […]
June is well under way and here we are at the start of summer: fine weather is definitely here and the urge to harvest your own vegetables has been nagging you for a while. But let's face it: you've dawdled and, in the vegetable patch, no vegetables have been sown.
To be honest, although the situation is far from desperate, it may be a bit tricky for some vegetables such as tomatoes (take comfort, half the time they get blight), chillies, aubergines… But for the rest, almost everything is still possible!
First of all, let's see why sowing a little later than the "official calendar" can be a good thing:
Benefits of late sowing in the vegetable patch
Late sowing can prove preferable in cool regions, because sowing in well-warmed soil speeds up germination and promotes rapid plant growth.
I experimented with this last year by planting two rows of beetroot: the first from transplants and the second from seed. In less than a month, although both received the same care, the row sown from seed had caught up with the one from transplants.
Reassured? Let’s move on to our short selection of vegetables easy to sow in early summer:
7 easy vegetables to sow in early summer in the vegetable patch
1) squash and courgettes
Although they are often recommended to be sown in April and started in pots, that is mainly to harvest them earlier, but direct sowing is perfectly feasible. Only drawback: harvest will be slightly delayed.
2) peas with wrinkled seeds
Usually sown until the end of May, wrinkled peas such as "Merveille de Kelvedon" or "Télévision à grain ridé" tolerate heat. A slightly late sowing, especially if you live in a temperate region, will not cause them any problem.
3) beetroot
Easy to get right, beetroot tolerate a slightly late sowing very well provided you watch watering or, better, mulch the patch. Warmth speeds up growth: I've never had to wait four months before enjoying them! We particularly like 'Chioggia'… and the beetroot 'de Détroit'.
4) lettuce
Summer lettuces grow at great speed… it's a real joy provided you choose the right variety, otherwise watch out for bolting! Aim for 'Kinemontepas' (of course!), 'Grosse Blonde paresseuse', 'Du bon jardinier' or, for cut-and-come-again lettuces, 'Lollo Rossa' or 'Red Salad Bowl'. All are well suited to heat, provided you give them some protection by situating them in partial shade.
5) beans
… all beans, including green beans! With them, it's simple: harvest comes 60 days after sowing. Very handy for timing pickings before you go on holiday or on your return, right? If your schedule isn't fixed, rather than a string-bean variety choose a mangetout which can wait a little longer without becoming stringy. And to vary things, consider butter beans, and also the stunning purple varieties such as 'Amethyst'…
6) radishes
Radishes can be sown almost all year round… We covered this in this article on radishes. Summer is the perfect time to try new varieties especially well adapted, such as the radish 'Golden Yellow Oval' or 'Scarlet Globe'.
7) carrots
Sown in June–July, they'll be harvested in autumn. Consider sowing them with radishes to reduce the thinning chore. If this sowing worries you a little (it's delicate) and you don't have time to waste on a failure, go for seed tapes without hesitation: they're really handy, even if you're not a beginner!
Ready? Here are a few precautions to take to make sure everything goes well!
Precautions to take when sowing in hot weather
First, know that in the vegetable patch summer sowings are no more difficult than spring ones. However, they require closer monitoring, because for germination to proceed without mishap, soil must remain moist.
Which is not necessarily easy when the sun is beating down. If you cannot keep up with regular watering, consider shading the soil while waiting for emergence using crates, simple sheets of newspaper or a very thin layer of previously dried grass.
Finally, favour morning watering: it is less likely to attract slugs, which are fond of young seedlings in all seasons.
June is well under way and here we are at the start of summer: fine weather is definitely here and the urge to harvest your own vegetables has been nagging you for a while. But let’s face it: you’ve dawdled and, in the vegetable patch, no vegetables have been sown. To be honest, although the […]
Did you know that 2016 is the International Year of Pulses? This may seem a bit odd, but after visiting the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's website, you'll understand that it is not at all. But let's return to the garden scale...
What are pulses?
Typical inflorescence and pod of pulses
Well, it depends! In botany, in common language, it refers to all plants belonging to the Fabaceae family (formerly Papilionaceae), their common feature being that they bear fruits in pods, such as acacia, wisteria, broom, lupin, etc. In the vegetable garden, it includes all beans, peas, broad beans, as well as green manures like vetch, field pea, clover, etc. However, in cooking, the term pulse refers to dried vegetables, meaning: still the beans, but those that are shelled and can be dried and consumed later, broad beans, peas, whether whole or split, as well as lentils, peanuts, soybeans... I suggest, once is not customary, to adopt this perspective, because after all, it is also for eating that we cultivate our vegetable garden. So, why growing pulses?
Reason No. 1: They are easy to grow
With the exception of the lentil, which is quite tiny, all these plants have large seeds, which greatly facilitates sowing. Not very demanding, they adapt to a wide range of soils and climates. The harvest is also very simple.
Reason No. 2: They are good for the soil
Pulses share a characteristic that is sometimes overlooked: their roots have small swellings called nodosities that house bacteria of the genus Rhizobium. These are what give them their remarkable ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil.
This is very useful for enriching the soil, both in the context of crop rotation and for companion planting.
Reason No. 3: They store well and at room temperature
The advantage of dried vegetables also lies in the fact that… they can be stored in a simple cupboard. Properly dried, in a well-ventilated place, there is no need for sterilisation, blanching, jars, or freezers: simple airtight containers are sufficient. Their indicative shelf life is one year, but you won't get sick if you keep them a little longer.
Reason No. 4: They allow you to (re)discover new flavours and try new recipes
Somewhat forgotten, pulses are nevertheless interesting in cooking, whether the recipes are traditional (what would Cassoulet be without beans?) or exotic. In my personal ranking, I include: chili sin carne, hummus, split pea purée, Portuguese broad bean spread, and coral lentil soup with coconut milk... Enough to delight the taste buds, right?
Reason No. 5: They are good for health... and for the planet!
From a dietary perspective, pulses have everything to please. Just consider:
- they are rich in slow carbohydrates and fibre,
- their energy value is significant, but they are low in fat,
- they are good sources of vitamins and minerals...
Finally, at a time when the ecological impact of livestock farming is being questioned and where making our plates more plant-based is becoming an emerging concern, pulses come at the right time. Indeed, dried vegetables, especially when combined with cereals, represent a promising alternative to animal proteins, the production of which requires, for the same quantity, up to 10 times more water.
So, convinced? Which pulses will you grow in your vegetable garden this year?
For broad beans, it's a bit late... but there is still time for flageolets, the magnificent Flambo bush shelling bean, Twist chickpeas, or lentils!
For further reading -in French:
- I grow peas, broad beans, beans... Protein in my vegetable garden - Blaise Leclerc - Editions Terre vivante
- Fabulous pulses - 140 traditional recipes - Claude Aubert - Editions Terre vivante
Did you know that 2016 is the International Year of Pulses? This may seem a bit odd, but after visiting the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s website, you’ll understand that it is not at all. But let’s return to the garden scale… What are pulses? Typical inflorescence and pod of pulses Well, it depends! […]
Squashes and courgettes are a real joy in the vegetable garden: easy to sow, almost maintenance-free, fast-growing and, above all, very productive.
Sowing squashes and courgettes: child’s play, virtually foolproof
Sowing can be done directly in the ground or in pots — for this, follow the instructions in our advice sheet. In our rural garden, a bona fide “place to be” (that is: the place to be for partying, especially if there’s beer) for gastropods and other little nibblers, we play it safe. Squash and courgette plants are raised out of reach of their appetites. In April/May I’m a bit overwhelmed, so my eight-year-old daughter takes care of it, and I’m not worried because getting it wrong is impossible — unless you do it on purpose!
For squashes, pumpkins and potimarrons, which are greedy, laziest gardeners can simply throw a few seeds on the compost heap — that works very well too; but only if field mice don’t eat them all before they have a chance to germinate. I don’t recommend keeping self-sown seedlings: squashes cross with one another — we’re talking natural hybridization — with astonishing ease. You’ll end up with what I call the “Surprise” variety.
And true to the spirit of surprise, it might turn out well:
Yay, ten free squashes with no effort at all!
or badly:
Grrr, ten marauding squashes that took over the patch all summer and are completely inedible…
As for timing, try, where possible, to schedule your sowing around your holiday dates (if you’re away in July, sow later…) or hand harvesting over to a neighbour while you’re away: once the novelty wears off, nothing is more annoying than finding giant, seed-filled squashes dominating the garden instead of the fine, tender courgettes you were hoping for.
Growing courgettes, squashes, pumpkins and potimarrons? Easy: sun, air and rich soil
Courgettes and squashes grow in full sun on all soils, provided they are rich and fairly moist. If you didn’t add plenty of compost in autumn, it’s not too late: at planting time dig large holes and mix in compost — even if not fully mature — with garden soil.
Courgettes and squashes don’t have many pests (apart from slugs at the seedling stage) but, like good cucurbits, are often affected by powdery mildew. This cryptogamic disease, caused by a fungus, develops in warm (27 °C is its favourite temperature) and humid weather. It appears as white, powdery patches. Infected by the “white” and left untreated, leaves eventually dry out, yield collapses and the plant dies.
This disease is not inevitable; as prevention you can:
- space plants well at planting: 80 cm for non-vining varieties and at least one metre for others, as they need good air flow to dry quickly after rain,
- avoid nitrogen-rich fertilisers — they boost leaf growth but make foliage more fragile,
- use recent varieties, F1 hybrids, which are often more resistant.
Cucurbits: a multitude of varieties
If there is one group offering huge variety, it’s the cucurbits.
Every year I have to use reason to limit myself, especially on number of courgette plants. It’s hard, because I want them all: green, yellow, long, round… They produce so abundantly that, by mid-summer, neighbours barely open their doors when they see me arrive with a full basket, determined to distribute my surplus!
I particularly like:
- Précoce Maraîchère, because it produces early in the season and so prematurely satisfies our cravings for summer veg,
- Ronde de Nice and Tondo di Toscana, two round varieties ideal for stuffing,
- Gold Rush, for its flavour and its yellow skin (children are less put off by yellow than by green…),
- Belor F1, such a productive variety that I have no qualms about picking its flowers to make tasty fritters,
On the other hand, there are no restrictions for squashes, apart from available space, because they store superbly and are eaten well into early spring.
In our top 5 you’ll find:
- the Pumpkin Jack O'lantern — I donate the biggest specimens to the nursery school for their traditional Halloween lanterns and annual cookery workshop,
- the Pumpkin Bleu de Hongrie and its superb, very distinctive colour,
- the Pumpkin Giraumon Turban, as decorative as it is tasty,
- the Potimarron Uchiki Kuri — partly for its name, which sounds like “the archduchess’s socks…”, but mainly for its small size, which avoids waste: one fruit = one pot of soup,
- the Butternut Butternut for its characteristic, delicate flavour.
This year there will also be bottle gourds. They are not edible but that doesn’t matter, as I plan to use them for ornamental purposes. First, I’d like them to climb a frame made from rebar. Yes, squashes can be grown vertically! Next spring, once dried and perhaps painted (I can picture them bright red), they will be strung like beads on a large stake and decorate the garden. Apparently you can also carve them, cut them to make bowls and all sorts of objects… Plenty to keep us busy all winter!
Further reading :
- our full guide: "Courgette: sow, plant and grow in the vegetable garden"
- Sophie’s article: "Giant pumpkins: get sowing!"
- our tutorial: How to trellis squashes?
Squashes and courgettes are a real joy in the vegetable garden: easy to sow, almost maintenance-free, fast-growing and, above all, very productive. Sowing squashes and courgettes: child’s play, virtually foolproof Sowing can be done directly in the ground or in pots — for this, follow the instructions in our advice sheet. In our rural garden, […]
Flowers in the vegetable garden? When people mention companion planting, they instinctively think "leeks that prefer strawberries", but less often of flowers. And that's a pity, because they really deserve a prime place.
Why plant flowers in the vegetable garden?
It's quite simple and comes down to three points:
- flowers are useful because they boost harvests by attracting pollinators, essential actors in fruit set. They also shelter and feed valuable beneficial insects and repel some pests, which is fundamental when you garden organically,
- they are decorative, helping the vegetable garden look attractive,
- they graciously fill vases with charming summer cut flower arrangements.
The vegetable garden of Saint Jean de Beauregard, very floriferous
Which plants to use to add flowers to the vegetable garden?
All annuals are suitable, but in case you lack ideas, here is a selection of plants, tried and tested, which, sown under cover from now or planted in May, will be at their best all summer.
1) French marigold (Tagetes): classic and effective
In our garden, as in many, French marigolds are planted between tomato rows for their nematicidal virtues, but that's not all. I prefer dwarf varieties that form a neat, ball-shaped habit, which makes them easy to tuck in between vegetables.
♥ I love: the mandarin scent of Tagetes signata or T. tenuifolia — absolutely incredible…
French marigold or Tagetes
2) The nasturtium: aphid trap and colourful touch in salads
Everything about nasturtium is charming: its round leaves, bright colours, and the fact it is edible (a guaranteed hit in salads). Aphids adore it too. It is regularly attacked but always bounces back: a valiant trap plant as part of a diversion strategy!
♥ I love: it self-seeds freely without ever becoming invasive — perfect for lazy gardeners.
Nasturtium, a pretty and useful plant for attracting aphids
3) The cosmos: free-flowering and easy to grow
With cosmos you have plenty of choice in both size and colour. Tall varieties suit borders and beds, while dwarf types (such as the Sonata series) are perfect on plot edges.
♥ I love: at season's end, resist the big tidy-up and you'll enjoy the sight of goldfinches pecking at the last seeds.
Cosmos flowers last a long time and are also wonderful in country-style bouquets
4) The zinnia: robust and colourful
I buy them in mixes because their warm colours and the geometry of their flowers never cease to amaze me. Their style, a little hardy, matches their behaviour: ultra-easy to grow and very resilient.
♥ I love: they make superb bouquets.
Zinnia, a robust and colourful flower
5) The sunflower: XS or XXL, take your pick!
A childhood favourite! When our children were small, I grew dwarf, sturdy varieties that looked like little elves in autumn (just remove a few seeds to make eyes, nose and mouth). The children have grown and so have the sunflowers: we now try competition varieties ('Mamuth', 'Mongolian Giant', 'Russian Giant') and each year aim to beat our record (3.2 metres) with plenty of compost, watering and stout stakes. Needless to say, they are not grown in the middle of the vegetables — that would be unfair competition — but on a dedicated plot.
♥ I love: leave the heads in place, it will be an open bar for the birds!
Sunflower: sunny, joyful and much loved by birds
6) The lupin, more or less perennial, but a good companion
I generally avoid perennials in the vegetable garden because with rotations everything moves quickly and they soon get in the way. One exception is lupin, which I find magnificent and which belongs to the legume family (these plants fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil), making it an excellent companion plant. Beware: although often considered short-lived, it can persist if the soil suits it. In the vegetable garden, it's best to choose an annual variety.
♥ I love: its flowers, grouped in upright spikes, are appreciated by bumblebees and bees — it's fascinating to watch how they handle the pollen.
Lupin and its pretty flower spikes
7) borage: countless qualities, but…
Borage is a vigorous plant, renowned for being very melliferous. It produces gorgeous star-shaped blue flowers that are both decorative and edible. It is even said to keep slugs at bay (not obvious here — my slugs may be especially voracious). If borage is last on this list, it's because we're currently on slightly cool terms. It has undeniable qualities but also a "small flaw" in our garden: it self-seeds profusely and can become almost invasive.
My advice: don't miss out, but plant it a safe distance from cultivation areas or sharpen your hoe!
Borage (Borago officinalis): a plant with many virtues
→ Discover White Borage in a video by Olivier :
Flowers in the vegetable garden? When people mention companion planting, they instinctively think “leeks that prefer strawberries”, but less often of flowers. And that’s a pity, because they really deserve a prime place. Why plant flowers in the vegetable garden? It’s quite simple and comes down to three points: flowers are useful because they boost […]
Here, under Brittany’s mild climate, March is marked by ubiquity: it has to be everywhere at once—in the vegetable garden for early sowings of late-spring vegetables, but also, warm indoors, to prepare the summer harvest.
So, let’s be honest, we’re rushing around… but it’s a joyful bustle as it heralds the return of spring. The programme is simple and revolves around two 'culinary themes': the Jardinère of small vegetables and Ratatouille.
1) Under cover (unheated): the spring vegetable jardinière
Our shelter, a tunnel greenhouse, is a real luxury. Originally devoted to tomatoes and other frost-prone vegetables, it now serves all year round, especially for early sowings. It can, in your garden, be replaced with equal effectiveness by: a well-sited frame, a mini-market-garden tunnel (to be erected on hoops or moulded plastic) or, even more simply, by a forcing fleece.
To obtain early harvests, I sow there from the end of February and directly in the soil:
- the smooth-shelled peas (one row of ‘Très hâtif d’Annonay’ and one row of ‘Petit Provençal’),
- the spring turnips ('Rave d’Auvergne hâtif' and ‘de Milan Rouge Extra Hâtif’),
- the early carrots ('Marché de Paris' is early and ideal in our heavy soil),
- the first radishes ('Fluo F1' for the half-long types and ‘Gaudry 2’ for the round ones).
Peas, Turnip 'Rave d'Auvergne hâtif', Carrot 'Marché de Paris' and Radish 'Gaudry'
After seeing whole rows of young seedlings disappear, I resolved to start my lettuces ('Gotte Jaune d’Or', 'Batavia sanguine' and 'Reine de mai') in pots. They will grow under the greenhouse and will be planted three weeks later, once less vulnerable to slug damage.
2) Warm indoors: ratatouille… but also the flowers!
Early March, chillies and peppers get the season underway, as they develop fairly slowly. Then comes the turn of tomatoes and aubergines, and, at the very end of the month, of aromatic herbs that enjoy warmth such as basil and oregano. To these sowings, two or three courgette plants ('Précoce maraîchère') are added, which I sow a little early to enjoy a harvest at the start of summer.
Aubergine 'Violetta di Firenza', Yellow pepper, Cayenne pepper and Tomato Black Cherry
And because I cannot imagine a kitchen garden without flowers, I take the opportunity to grow, still indoors, annual flowers: the marigolds that will accompany the tomatoes, but also the zinnias, which I pair with French beans, cosmos and annual Rudbeckias whose rustic charm delights me every year… not forgetting nasturtiums (very useful for distracting aphids), because even though they now reseed themselves, I never tire of discovering new varieties.
Zinnias, Cosmos, Marigolds and Nasturtiums: essential annual flowers for the vegetable garden
This list isn’t exhaustive; we invite you to add to it in the comments... and please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions, we’ll be very happy to reply.
Here, under Brittany’s mild climate, March is marked by ubiquity: it has to be everywhere at once—in the vegetable garden for early sowings of late-spring vegetables, but also, warm indoors, to prepare the summer harvest. So, let’s be honest, we’re rushing around… but it’s a joyful bustle as it heralds the return of spring. The […]
For days I’ve been tingling with impatience. Days are lengthening, leaving winter darkness behind: I can almost smell tomato season! In less than a month we’ll start the first sowings. It’s therefore urgent to stock up on seeds. But the excitement is tinged with a little disappointment: vegetable-garden space isn’t unlimited, so you’ll have to choose among countless varieties, each more tempting than the last. If you find yourself undecided too, here are some criteria to help you make the best choice:
1) Size, taste and colour of tomatoes
Tomato is polymorphous: flattened, spherical, heart-shaped, pear-shaped or horn-shaped... You’ll find every shape and size, from tiny cherry tomatoes to the huge "Beefsteak". As for colour, it’s almost a rainbow: red, of course, but also nearly black or almost white, green until ripe and even blue! On the palate, flavours range from tart to mildly sweet.
But are there better tomatoes? That’s so subjective it’s hard to answer. One tip: grow diversity (wonderful in salads) and test and note which varieties suit your taste best.
2) Earliness of the variety
This criterion is important to harvest over a long period. Very early tomatoes can be picked 55 days after transplanting, while late varieties may take over 85 days. Combining at least three – ideally six, or even twelve – varieties with staggered maturity will ensure picking from early summer to early autumn.
Among early varieties, you will find, for example:
For main-season cropping:
And among the late varieties, which take their time (until early October here last year!):
3) Climate and growing method: under cover or outdoors
Tomato needs sun and heat. That can be problematic in regions with short, often rainy summers, so it’s sensible to include in your selection some tomatoes that set fruit despite cool conditions, such as Moneymaker and Siberian.
Moreover, tomato susceptibility to late blight is well known. And it’s never pleasant to treat vegetables, even with organic products. If you grow tomatoes outdoors and without protection, especially in a rainy area, opt for F1 hybrid varieties, like Previa F1; they are reliable and more resistant than most varieties. Purchasing grafted plants is also a good option: they yield abundantly and often cope admirably with diseases and adverse weather.
4) Culinary use of the fruits
Size, firmness of flesh and presence or absence of seeds are matters of taste but also of culinary use. For aperitifs and salt-sprinkled snacks, cherry or cocktail tomatoes are perfect. In salads you’ll enjoy the flavour of Rose de Berne, and for stuffing, Australian Yellow Stuffer and German Striped Stuffer are remarkable. For purées and sauces, Chile Verde is ideal.
Here, under cover, we always have success with a few reliable varieties such as classic Saint Pierre, the attractive Tigerella, flavourful Brandywine, together with some small tomatoes for snacking. We also grow several colourful varieties: Ananas, Noire de Crimée and Green Zebra. On the other hand, we gave up Cornue des Andes: it usually does well but, in our acidic soil and with irregular watering, it develops blossom end rot. This year we’ll probably try Burpee Delicious (said to hold record for largest tomato: 3.1 kg), the much-sought Osu blue and Costoluto Genovese.
And you, which will you choose?
If you’re still undecided, trust us — Pierre has put together some useful assortments of 5, 6 or 8 plants: heirloom and collector, colourful, snacking, organic, grafted... and don’t forget French marigolds (Tagetes) to keep them company!
Further reading:
- “My tomatoes are delicious!” by Blaise Leclerc, Terre Vivante Editions
- Tomodori, a site about heirloom tomato varieties
- F1 tomatoes: what are they really?
For days I’ve been tingling with impatience. Days are lengthening, leaving winter darkness behind: I can almost smell tomato season! In less than a month we’ll start the first sowings. It’s therefore urgent to stock up on seeds. But the excitement is tinged with a little disappointment: vegetable-garden space isn’t unlimited, so you’ll have to […]
