In Saint-Paul-de-Serre, about twenty kilometers from Périgueux in the Dordogne, Jean-Louis is benefiting this winter from an exceptional harvest of purple turnips. This amateur gardener even harvested a specimen that showed a weight of 3,950 kg on the scale!
– Emmanuel Claverie
Only manure
“I didn’t use any chemical fertilizers” assures this vegetable garden enthusiast, who started gardening when he retired about ten years ago, only manure. His secret? Heed the advice of the elders. “A grandpa explained to me that you always had to sow your raves at Saint-Laurent in August, and there, it worked”.
An exceptional result which does not surprise Lucette his wife. “He doesn’t say it because he is modest, but he has very nice vegetables all the time she admits, beautiful tomatoes, cauliflowers and huge salads, he loves it!”
Despite their size, huge turnips won’t end up in the compost. “They are very good” assures the couple, who intends to use them to simmer soon jimboura, the famous blood sausage soup.