Meet the farming family growing diverse vegetables in west France

Leon Admiraal and Babette Dejong moved from Utrecht in Holland to Vayres in Haute-Vienne (87) in 2010.

“We completely changed our lives. In Holland, I was a builder and Babette did piercings and was also an accountant. Here, we are both market gardeners,” says Leon.

They have four large greenhouses and 1.4 hectares of open land where they grow vegetables. 

“We are not certified organic yet but are working towards it, and aim to become fully organic as soon as we can.”

Over the year they grow around 35 different varieties of vegetables. 

“We aim to be harvesting at least 10 different vegetables every month all year round. Obviously in the summer months we have much more than that.”

They sell direct to the public. “We have a farm shop which serves as a collection point. People see what we have available on our Facebook page, Le Petit Haricot, and place orders ready for collection on Tuesday afternoons. We also sell boxes containing at least five different veggies, which cost €10 or €15 for a large box. Most people get these.”

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They also have a regular stall at the Sunday morning market in Angoulême, and sell produce to other farm shops, and local restaurants.

As well as all the usual vegetables, Le Petit Haricot’s range of vegetables also includes pak choi, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, red kuri squash, pattinson, celeriac and something the French call ‘aillet’. (In English it is mild winter baby garlic.) 

“It is like a very small tender leek, with a strong garlic flavour, but it is sweeter than garlic. It is delicious in an omelette.”

Leon includes recipes in his vegetable boxes, to give people ideas of what to cook with the more unusual items. 

“Personal favourites include pak choi, broccoli, aubergines, tomatoes, and Swiss chard which is such a beautiful plant to cultivate. Customers sometimes post pictures of dishes they have made with our vegetables, which is great. We get to know regular customers very well, which is part of the pleasure of the job. We do not have any plans to start bottling, tinning or freezing produce.”

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For the future, the couple plan to develop their production of micro-greens, and have invested in a cold room for growing them all year round.