Farmer designers, agriculture on the move

44°54'01"N,0°38'50"W
Les Jardins Inspirés, Le Taillan-Médoc, Gironde

“What you have to understand with farmer varieties is that when you plant ten lettuces, you eat nine of them and let the tenth grow and go to seed. We gather them up and we can sow again. We have lettuces for life!” 

Based on respect for living things, Caroline's approach considers the rhythms of the earth and the lunar calendar to carry out all the steps in market gardening, from seed to seed. “The guardian of farmer seeds”, Caroline is in contact with several seed enthusiasts around the world, thanks to whom she has gathered seeds from several hundred varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, aubergines, beans, etc. 

“Given the temperature rise, we need a lot of us to save everything that still exists and get sent aubergine seeds from India and chillies from Peru to see how they adapt to our soils.” 

Each year, she harvests this biodiversity, which she passes on to individuals and Michelin-starred restaurants. Her association Les Jardins Inspirés counts some fifty members who help to make this farm (0,5 ha) a place where knowledge and know-how are shared.

Caroline has planted some of her varieties in the museum's main courtyard.

© madd-bordeaux

Different seeds are presented in the exhibition: 

Snake gourd


Christmas Lima bean


Caramel corn


Egyptian flat black beetroot


Burnets flowers


Chives


Lady cacao tomato


Radichetta lettuce

“I was delighted to discover that there were purple and white carrots, orange and two-tone (pink and white) beetroots and lots of other curiosities that you never see at the markets. When I realised that the price of purple cauliflower seeds (an old variety from Italy) was the same as white cauliflower, I began to collect and let others discover them and I’ve never stopped.”