Perpetual Vegetables by William Berthold

William Berthold is a young nurseryman based in Jouars-Pontchartrain in the Yvelines. His company is called Saveurs Vivaces, and he specializes in the production of perennial vegetables.

These are vegetables that tolerate the cold very well and are capable of producing several years, such as the rocambole onion, the Daubenton cabbage or the perpetual leek. No need to resow them or replant them every year.

In his previous life, William was an engineer: “I first worked in the automotive industry, then in cosmetics. I then landed in the energy sector, where I ended up working on a connected toilet seat project… There , I said to myself that it’s a bit of a shame to have human resources to invent things like that.

The objective was to be able to measure people’s state of fragility. Quite simply because there is no one left to see them, if the people are fragile. It was a reliable way of getting information back to the doctor. I understood the interest of the project, but for me, with this type of equipment, we went a little far in the technological solution, to the concrete problems that we create ourselves.”

So there, that was the trigger. I didn’t see myself continuing to innovate in this sector for long.”

He is the first to consume his productions since he has been vegan for several years.

“I was raised on the Sunday roast! But going vegan was the best way for me to have a lower impact on the environment.”

William Berthold

at franceinfo

William Berthold therefore quit his job as an engineer and trained as a market gardener. He begins to produce plants in his parents’ garden, and launches his nursery last spring.

He participates in plant festivals and obtains a first reward with the Rustica De la Terre à la Table prize, during the Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard Plant Festival. A great encouragement for this nurseryman whose range of perpetual vegetables continues to expand.

Vegetables drawn from the catalog

– Caucasian spinach (Hablizia temnoides) : “It’s a plant that resists the cold very well. An ancestor of spinach, it’s a climbing plant that measures between 2 and 4 meters long and whose lifespan is about ten years.”

– Daubenton cabbage and its English equivalent ‘Taunton Deane’.

– Korean perennials likeAster scabbard and the dolnamul (Sedum sarmentosum) : “The young leaves are eaten in salads.”

– Less pungent nettle (Urtica dioca susp. galeopsifolia) : “It is harvested much more easily, can go into soups or be fried.”

– Chinese yam (Dioscorea batatas) : “It can replace the potato even if it is less productive. It is a climbing plant that produces aerial tubers. Just shake the vine to recover the vegetables.”

– Without forgetting primroses, bellflowers, hollyhocks, chervis, ground chestnut, tuberous pea…

William’s problem today is finding land to develop his business. If you want to give him a hand, contact him via his website, flavorsvivaces.com.