While much of America still takes part in the seasonal joy of gardening, many have abandoned this practice for the ease of the supermarket. While we here at PovertyFood are also modern food shoppers, we still hope to encourage everyone to do at least a little gardening, to bring back that joy of savouring the fruits of our own labour. To inspire us, let's go back to 19th century France and the "potager"!
If you were lucky enough to live in even the near countryside, your home in 19th century France would not have been complete without a "potager". That is, literally, a "soup garden", where you would grow your staple and favourite vegetables as well as herbs and even flowers that would add to your table throughout the seasons. As we make our way through the long month of January, the snows, the ice and those feelings of potential that the new year brings, consider planning and planting your own "soup garden" for spring. Your harvest will be fabulous even if small, and you will get a wonderful sense of satisfaction, particularly when you savour those dishes that YOU made possible with a little help from the soil and the sun.
If you plant a soup garden, consider what would have been typical of a 19th century French "potager". For inspiration, PovertyFood HIGHLY recommends the book, Vilmorin, The Vegetable Garden. While more of a collection of drawings from the Vilmorin Seed Company which was popular in 19th century France, this collection of drawings will surely inspire the gardener and the cook in anyone. Actually founded in 1742, Vilmorin is today the fourth largest seed company in the world!
Get yourself started with a "potager" of any size, whether a few window sill herbs or a full blown, multi-crop garden... just PLANT! And consider some of the herbs and vegetables which would have been in every "potager" in France, courtesy of Amazon.com and the book Vilmorin, The Vegetable Garden.
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