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October was the hottest month on record in French history, with record high temperatures. On our market stalls and in the vegetable gardens, it is still summer. As a result, there are always peppers, tomatoes and aubergines.
Tomatoes from Provence, peppers or even zucchini: on the stalls of a market in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), summer is playing extra time, and the inhabitants have noticed it. “We could cook a ratatouille, when in fact it’s not the season at all. It’s a normal summer dish”explains a resident. Summer fruits and vegetables are still available in the middle of autumn, because with the mildness of recent weeks, production continues.
Not far from Marseille, Clément Girard, a market gardener, has been established for two years. At the beginning of November, he is still harvesting eggplants. He took over the old farm from his grandparents. For Simone Girard, 93, and her husband, eggplants on All Saints’ Day are unheard of. Same observation with Bruno Knipping, another producer. Here, we still pick the beans, even if winter is long overdue. “I would like it to be a little cold this winter, for it to snow a little in the Alps, so that we collect water from the Alps. If there is no more water in the Alps, here, we have no more water”he explains. In Provence, the return of seasonal temperatures is expected in the next few days.