Earth Cévennes:The Organic Kitchen Garden
Laura Hudson on how she spends summer in her organic garden.
This is my fourth season growing vegetables, herbs and fruit in the Cevennes and it has taken just about that long to work out how to get the best out of a kitchen garden in this part of the world. With a little help from our Cevenol neighbours and our friends in Italian Liguria, where the climate and vegetation is very similar, we now have a year-round harvest of the most delicious food for the kitchen. The climate here can be extreme; with baking hot summers and drying winds, floods in autumn, blizzards in winter and a yo-yo of hot-cold dry-wet in spring, but mostly the sun shines and, with a little know-how, growing food for the kitchen has been relatively easy.
Laura Hudson on how she spends summer in her organic garden.
This is my fourth season growing vegetables, herbs and fruit in the Cevennes and it has taken just about that long to work out how to get the best out of a kitchen garden in this part of the world. With a little help from our Cevenol neighbours and our friends in Italian Liguria, where the climate and vegetation is very similar, we now have a year-round harvest of the most delicious food for the kitchen. The climate here can be extreme; with baking hot summers and drying winds, floods in autumn, blizzards in winter and a yo-yo of hot-cold dry-wet in spring, but mostly the sun shines and, with a little know-how, growing food for the kitchen has been relatively easy.
Summer
During the summer months the potager — vegetable garden — is bountiful, brimming with Mediterranean herbs, vegetables and fruits. The sun shines and the days are relaxed; the odd bit of weeding, tidying up, pruning and the gentle task of watering is all we do to keep lovely peppers, chillies, aubergines, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and courgettes rolling in.
Extending the Summer Season Crops
There is still time to squeeze in a second sowing of some summer vegetables such as French beans and Courgettes. It is even possible to extend the tomato crop; if you set out fully formed plants by the beginning of August, you can get an extra Autumn crop in before the first frosts. You can also squeeze in another crop of peas if you sow by the end of July.
Runner Beans
Runner beans, called Haricots d’Espagne in France, are, in my opinion, a tastier crop than French beans but they can struggle to form beans in the dry summer heat, particularly if it is too hot and dry when the flowers set. I’ve found that by sowing late July to mid August I can get a great crop from October until the first frosts which are normally mid November. Sow direct in well manured ground. They are climbers so need to grow on supports, 2 m high if you can. Pick continuously as soon as the beans are long enough. Keep well watered and spray leaves and flowers with water at dusk during dry periods.
Sowing for autumn
In July and August it is time to start sowing for autumn, winter, and even spring crops. It may seem bizarre to be thinking of winter, in the height of summer, but that is what you need to do to keep production going.
Chicories and Endives
Cultivated chicory includes: the red round headed radicchios, green leafy cutting chicories, dandelion chicories and forcing endive - chicories.
During the summer months the potager — vegetable garden — is bountiful, brimming with Mediterranean herbs, vegetables and fruits. The sun shines and the days are relaxed; the odd bit of weeding, tidying up, pruning and the gentle task of watering is all we do to keep lovely peppers, chillies, aubergines, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and courgettes rolling in.
Extending the Summer Season Crops
There is still time to squeeze in a second sowing of some summer vegetables such as French beans and Courgettes. It is even possible to extend the tomato crop; if you set out fully formed plants by the beginning of August, you can get an extra Autumn crop in before the first frosts. You can also squeeze in another crop of peas if you sow by the end of July.
Runner Beans
Runner beans, called Haricots d’Espagne in France, are, in my opinion, a tastier crop than French beans but they can struggle to form beans in the dry summer heat, particularly if it is too hot and dry when the flowers set. I’ve found that by sowing late July to mid August I can get a great crop from October until the first frosts which are normally mid November. Sow direct in well manured ground. They are climbers so need to grow on supports, 2 m high if you can. Pick continuously as soon as the beans are long enough. Keep well watered and spray leaves and flowers with water at dusk during dry periods.
Sowing for autumn
In July and August it is time to start sowing for autumn, winter, and even spring crops. It may seem bizarre to be thinking of winter, in the height of summer, but that is what you need to do to keep production going.
Chicories and Endives
Cultivated chicory includes: the red round headed radicchios, green leafy cutting chicories, dandelion chicories and forcing endive - chicories.
Winter Spinach
Spinach can be a difficult crop to grow in a hot dry climate but winter varieties are perfect for the Cevennes in the cooler months. Sow winter maturing varieties of spinach such as Giant D’hiver in late August to start cropping from November. In a polytunnel or undercover winter spinach can be sown in November for a March – April crop. Pick the largest leaves from the whole row to encourage fresh new growth.
Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard is an excellent all rounder, tough, reliable and productive throughout the year, making it an excellent choice for a food-producing garden. The leaves can be used like spinach and the ribs are a delicious vegetable in their own right. Swiss Chard is called poirée, bette or blette in France and is a very popular vegetable more so than in the UK. Sow (February) March - June and August - September (October) to Harvest (May) June - November and December - April.
Herbs
Sow herbs such as basil, parsley, chervil, coriander in cell trays in late summer and set out in September or pot up for winter use in the house.
Spinach can be a difficult crop to grow in a hot dry climate but winter varieties are perfect for the Cevennes in the cooler months. Sow winter maturing varieties of spinach such as Giant D’hiver in late August to start cropping from November. In a polytunnel or undercover winter spinach can be sown in November for a March – April crop. Pick the largest leaves from the whole row to encourage fresh new growth.
Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard is an excellent all rounder, tough, reliable and productive throughout the year, making it an excellent choice for a food-producing garden. The leaves can be used like spinach and the ribs are a delicious vegetable in their own right. Swiss Chard is called poirée, bette or blette in France and is a very popular vegetable more so than in the UK. Sow (February) March - June and August - September (October) to Harvest (May) June - November and December - April.
Herbs
Sow herbs such as basil, parsley, chervil, coriander in cell trays in late summer and set out in September or pot up for winter use in the house.
Online Information: For more detailed information
on cultivation techniques, gardening resources and
recipes, visit Laura’s website: www.masdudiable.com or
email her at cevenol-jardin@hotmail.com
Winter Salad Leaves
Lamb’s Lettuce is the traditional winter salad vegetable of France and it very easy to grow. Sow July to Oct to harvest Sept to April. Sow again undercover before first frost to prolong the harvest. Delicious salad leaf on its own or mixed with grated raw beetroot or sliced cooked beetroot. Mizuna is another favourite, known in France as Feuille de Moutarde. Mizuna is a Japanese mustard green of the Brassica family. It has dandelion-like jagged edged leaves and a mild, sweet, mustard flavour. Mizuna or Mesclum makes an excellent salad green, and is frequently found in mixed salad leaves. It can also be used in stir-fries and soups and the brown seeds from this plant are what are used to make Dijon mustard.
Lamb’s Lettuce is the traditional winter salad vegetable of France and it very easy to grow. Sow July to Oct to harvest Sept to April. Sow again undercover before first frost to prolong the harvest. Delicious salad leaf on its own or mixed with grated raw beetroot or sliced cooked beetroot. Mizuna is another favourite, known in France as Feuille de Moutarde. Mizuna is a Japanese mustard green of the Brassica family. It has dandelion-like jagged edged leaves and a mild, sweet, mustard flavour. Mizuna or Mesclum makes an excellent salad green, and is frequently found in mixed salad leaves. It can also be used in stir-fries and soups and the brown seeds from this plant are what are used to make Dijon mustard.
Onions
There are some varieties of onions that are best sown in late summer. The superb French White Salad Onions or Oignons Blancs being my favourite. Sow direct in drills mid-August to mid September and use the first thinnings in autumn then wait for the fresh young bulbs to plump up in spring. Red Onions such as the lovely Italian Rossa di Milano or the superb torpedo shaped Rouge de Florence can be sown in August and winter varieties of Spring onion can be sown now.
Pushing the boundaries
Our climate enables us to grow a few unusual things at the very edges of what would normally be considered a plants’ growing season. For instance you can sow potatoes in August for a very special harvest of new potatoes at Christmas. I have a few speciality tubers kept back for just that. This year it will be Jersey Royals last year it was little purple potatoes.
Chilli peppers don’t need as much light as tomatoes and can therefore be grown as houseplants. Sow chilli seeds in a few pots in August and treat them as you would any other houseplant during the winter. When spring comes, and there is no longer any danger of frost, plant the chillies out in the garden for a super early crop of chillies. This year I harvested my first green chillies in April.
There are some varieties of onions that are best sown in late summer. The superb French White Salad Onions or Oignons Blancs being my favourite. Sow direct in drills mid-August to mid September and use the first thinnings in autumn then wait for the fresh young bulbs to plump up in spring. Red Onions such as the lovely Italian Rossa di Milano or the superb torpedo shaped Rouge de Florence can be sown in August and winter varieties of Spring onion can be sown now.
Pushing the boundaries
Our climate enables us to grow a few unusual things at the very edges of what would normally be considered a plants’ growing season. For instance you can sow potatoes in August for a very special harvest of new potatoes at Christmas. I have a few speciality tubers kept back for just that. This year it will be Jersey Royals last year it was little purple potatoes.
Chilli peppers don’t need as much light as tomatoes and can therefore be grown as houseplants. Sow chilli seeds in a few pots in August and treat them as you would any other houseplant during the winter. When spring comes, and there is no longer any danger of frost, plant the chillies out in the garden for a super early crop of chillies. This year I harvested my first green chillies in April.
