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Most of the vegetables and herbs used in France are well known; in some instances they are the same varieties as our domestic ones. However, some French produce is seldom grown or seen in the markets here—for instance, celeriac, some varieties of shelling beans, Alpine strawberries, chervil, and sorrel. In addition, the French enjoy miniature versions of some of our common vegetables—petite varieties of peas, snap beans, and carrots—sometimes referred to as "baby" vegetables.

The following pages detail growing and preparing garden vegetables that are popular in France. For basic information on soil preparation, mulching, composting, and pests and diseases, see Appendixes A and B (pages 92 and 98).

The varieties recommended in each entry are either actual French varieties or are ones similar to those grown in France and have been selected for their flavor and availability. As France borders Italy, there is much crossover between southern French and Italian cuisines, so you will find a number of Italian varieties listed. Gourmet Gardener seed company carries a large number of French seeds. For those of you who become completely smitten with French varieties, you can order seeds from an even larger selection directly from Graines Baumaux in France. See Resources (page 104).

Artichokes

ARTICHOKES, GLOBE

(artichauts) Cynara scolymus

Artichokes are popular in France. There are many varieties, including a purple one from Provence, which when young and tender is eaten raw as a crudité. Artichokes are rich and sweet-flavored with a meaty texture, and the flavors stimulate salivation, making the artichoke a particularly good first course, as it seems to wake up the taste buds.

The artichoke is a giant thistle whose flower buds are deliciously edible when cooked. Artichokes are perennials, and in the garden they have a dramatic fountain shape. Under average conditions they grow to about 4 feet tall and spread just as wide. When not picked for eating, the buds develop into massive blue-purple thistles that are extremely showy.

How to grow: Six plants should be ample for the average family. Artichoke plants prefer cool, moist summers and mild winters but grow in summer heat if the soil is kept continually moist. Below 28°F they need winter protection, for example, an overturned basket filled with leaves or straw and placed above the roots. In coldest-winter areas artichokes are usually not successful unless the roots are brought inside during the winter and kept moist and cool. In places with hot, early summers the artichoke buds open too soon and are tough. Artichokes prefer full sun in cool-summer areas and partial shade in hot-summer climates.

Start plants when they're offered in nurseries in the spring. You may start artichokes from seed indoors, but this is a more time-consuming approach. When planting from seed, sow seeds indoors eight weeks before your last spring frost date, about ¼ inch deep and ¼ inch apart. Transplant the seedlings to the garden when they're six to eight weeks old. (They need at least 250 hours of temperatures under 50°F to induce budding.) Protect them from frost.

Artichokes require rich, constantly moist but well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. They respond well to deep mulches, compost, and manure. Add extra nitrogen halfway through the growing season and after the harvest. The plants need to be dug up and thinned out every three or four years.

Aphids, earwigs, and snails are sometimes a problem. Botrytis, a fungus disease, can be a serious problem but is not common. It forms gray mold on leaves in warm, muggy summers. Destroy affected plants.

When harvesting, cut off the young artichoke bud, about 4 inches below the bud, before it starts to open. The younger the bud, the more tender it is and the more of it is edible.

Varieties

'Imperial Star': 90 to 100 days from transplants, thornless, sweet flavor, meaty hearts and almost chokeless, easiest to grow from seed and harvest the first season

'Violetto': Italian variety that produces purple artichokes, beautiful in the garden, very small buds often eaten whole, cooking for more than two minutes turns them green

How to prepare: The bud is most often served whole. Young, fresh artichokes can be eaten without removing the choke (fuzzy, inedible center). But you must remove the choke from mature artichokes. To prepare an artichoke, cut the top inch off to remove any thorns and the inedible part of the "leaves." Immediately rub the cut edges with lemon juice to avoid discoloration. Then peel back the outside layer of leaves with your hand. (You can eat the young, tender artichokes raw, by thinly slicing the heart and serving it drizzled with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.) Steam or boil the artichokes until a knife can be inserted easily into the bottom of the choke. The artichoke is now ready to serve as is or as an edible container for a sauce or seafood; or only the hearts may be eaten. When eating a whole artichoke bud, pull off the outside leaves and use your teeth to scrape out the flesh. The hearts are used as an hors d'oeuvre or as an addition to salads or casseroles. Whole artichokes or artichoke hearts are popular served warm with hollandaise sauce or lemon butter, or cold with a vinaigrette or mayonnaise.

The French have taken artichokes to culinary heights that include pairing them with asparagus, fresh peas, sorrel, and even truffles and foie gras. The hearts are sometimes pureed; other times they're served with a sauce or fried. A typical dish would be artichoke hearts stuffed duxelles (a mixture of finely chopped mushrooms) and covered with béchamel sauce. In southern France two appetizers of note use artichoke hearts. In one the heart is served cold with olive oil, garlic, and herbs. The other involves the immature purple artichoke served raw: the slightly bitter bud is cut into quarters, the stem end is dipped in salt, and the dish is accompanied by bread and sweet butter.

ASPARAGUS

(asperges) Asparagus officinalis

Asparagus are a passion in France. The French enjoy both green and purple varieties and have taken their preparation to a high art by blanching some of the green varieties in the ground to get pristine, fat white spears.

Asparagus is an herbaceous perennial, dormant in winter, whose edible spears show themselves early, heralding an end to winter. The shoots that are not cut for eating develop into airy, ferny foliage plants 3 to 5 feet high.

Asparagus, with nasturtiums in the foreground

Asparagus

How to grow: Asparagus grows in most climates except for the very coldest and in hot humid areas.

Asparagus plants need full sun. Although you can start them from seed, only do so when you want varieties not available as crowns, as planting year-old rooted crowns (the base of the plant plus the roots) produces a crop a year faster. A family of four needs thirty to forty plants. Asparagus needs a deep organic soil, with a pH of 6.5 to 7. Excellent drainage is critical.

In the early spring, spade the soil and turn it over. It is imperative to remove perennial weeds. For thirty to forty plants, spade up the area as follows: dig two trenches 6 to 8 inches deep (10 to 12 inches in coldest areas), 12 inches wide, about 20 feet long, and 3 to 4 feet apart. Amend the soil in the trenches with compost or aged manure and 4 pounds of bonemeal or rock phosphate worked 8 inches into the soil. Then place the crowns in the bottom, 15 inches apart, with their roots well spread out. Cover them with 2 to 3 inches of soil. As the shoots emerge, continue to fill the trench with soil.

Use organic mulches 4 to 6 inches deep to provide nutrients, help control weeds, and conserve moisture. In normal soil, annual applications of compost or modest amounts of chicken manure are all that is needed to renew the bed. After the first season only moderate watering is needed during the growing season. In the arid Southwest, to encourage dormancy, do not irrigate in winter. For information on blanching for white asparagus, see "How to Grow a French Garden" (page 9).

Asparagus beetles are generally the most serious pest. If you keep the bed free of beetles from planting time onward, you can keep them out with floating row covers. If the bed is already infested, fall cleanup helps remove some of the breeding adults: apply the formulation of Bt made to control asparagus beetles. A fungus disease called asparagus rust is an occasional problem associated with very damp weather. Cercospora leaf spot can be a serious problem in the Southeast. Plant resistant varieties, such as 'Jersey Knight' (if asparagus rust is a problem) and 'Jersey Gem' (for cercospora problems). If numerous, gophers can be a serious problem. Plant the crowns in wire baskets to protect them. Perennial weeds can take over and crowd out a bed of asparagus in a single season, so be sure to remove any weeds as soon as they appear.

Harvest the spears by snapping them off an inch or so above soil level. No harvest is recommended the first year. In the second year limit the harvest to three weeks. From the third year on, the season lasts six to eight weeks, depending on the weather. With effort, you can lengthen the harvest season. Harvest your asparagus normally for the first two weeks. Then select two or three spears per plant and let them develop. Identify them with twine and continue to harvest the new spears. The spears you leave to mature will nourish the plant while you continue the harvest. Stop harvesting when the new spears emerge thinner than a pencil. To prevent stressing the plants, fertilize them with fish meal after the harvest. In mild climates cut down plants in the fall when they turn brown; in cold climates wait until early spring because the stalks help maintain a snow cover.

Varieties

Purchase asparagus as seeds or one-year-old rooted crowns, which are available as bare roots in early spring. Local nurseries generally carry varieties that are national standards or are particularly well suited to your area. The new hybrid, all-male plants are a great development since they are usually twice as productive as female plants.

'Argenteuil': old French variety, traditionally blanched for white asparagus, available only as seeds

'Jersey Knight': large, tender spears with purple touches, adaptable to a variety of climates, high yielder, high tolerance to fusarium and rust diseases, all-male plants available bare root

'Purple Sweet' ('Sweet Purple'): old variety with sweet, tender deep burgundy spears; available as bare root plants

'UC 157': developed for moderate- and mild-winter areas, USDA Zones 5 and up; large, flavorful spears; fusarium-tolerant, rust-resistant; predominantly male plants, available as bare root plants

How to prepare: Bend a harvested spear into a circle; it will snap at the point where it gets tough. Use the tender top part of the spear and discard the tough lower section. Most aficionados favor the simple approach to cooking asparagus; they like the stalks steamed or boiled just until tender and served with salt, pepper, and a touch of butter. Leftovers can be served with a vinaigrette the next day or put in an omelet for breakfast.

French cooks usually peel asparagus before cooking it. Peel off the skin with a knife or vegetable peeler up to where the stalk becomes tender. When asparagus are dressed, the accompaniments are most often hollandaise sauce, lemon butter, or a vinaigrette. Asparagus are also used in quiches, crepes, salads, soups, soufflés, and timbales. When cooking purple asparagus, simmer them in an inch of water with ¼ cup lemon juice or vinegar to help maintain the color, or they will turn green.

BEANS

(haricots)

BUSH AND POLE BEANS

Phaseolus vulgaris

The bean most closely associated with France is the haricot vert, the famous thin French filet-type string bean. Another famous French bean is the flageolet, a rich-tasting, white to light green shelling bean shaped something like a squat kidney bean. The flageolet is eaten either fresh-shelled or dried. Standard green beans, yellow wax beans, and all types of dry beans are also used in France.

How to grow: Whether bush or pole, beans are grown as annuals and do well in most climates. Plant beans after all danger of frost is past. All beans need full sun and a good, loose garden loam with plenty of added humus. Sow seeds of bush beans 1 inch deep in rows 18 inches apart. Thin seedlings to 2 inches apart. Pole beans need a fairly strong trellis to climb on. Plant the seeds 1 inch deep, 6 inches apart, in a circle 6 inches away from the pole. If your soil is fairly fertile, no extra fertilizing is usually needed. If beans look pale midseason, fertilize them with fish emulsion. To prevent mildew the plants are best watered deeply and infrequently at their base.

In some areas bean beetles can be a serious pest and get out of hand quickly. Beans suffer from their share of other pests, including beanloopers, whiteflies, aphids, and cucumber beetles. For information on controlling these problems, see Appendix B (page 98). To help prevent diseases like anthracnose and leaf spots, plant resistant varieties, use drip irrigation rather than overhead watering, and don't work with the plants when they are wet.

Bush Beans 'Roc d'Or'

dry beans

Haricots verts 'Vernandon'

Harvest snap beans when the seeds inside are still very small and the pods are tender. Make sure you pick all the young beans as they come along. Varieties of the French haricot vert are eaten very young and are best when the bean is 1/6 inch wide at harvest. If allowed to mature past this width, the beans can have strings and be tough. Flageolets and other shelling beans should be harvested when the pods fill out noticeably but before they get dry. If they get too mature, allow them to dry for winter use.

Varieties

Haricots Verts

'Fortex': 60 to 70 days; pole; stringless; rich, sweet taste; may be picked young at 6 to 7 inches for filet beans or allowed to grow longer

'Nickel': 60 days, bush, extremely tender mini-filet beans; harvest at 4 inches; resistant to white mold and brown spot

'Triomphe de Farcy': 48 days, bush, rich dark green pods, pick at 5 to 6 inches

'Vernandon': 55 days; bush; tender, slim pods full of flavor; pick at 6 inches or less; resistant to anthracnose and bean virus

Flageolets, Horticultural, and Other Shelling Beans

'Chevrier Vert' ('Early Chevrier'): 65 to 75 days, bush, classic French flageolets, serve fresh shelled to savor the flavor

'Coco Nain Blanc' ('Coco Nain Blanc Precoce'): 60 to 80 days, bush, one of several French white beans that are traditionally used in cassoulet, about the size of a kidney bean but rounder, vigorous and high yielding

'Flambeau': 76 days; bush, small, mint green flageolets; flavor similar to lima beans; served fresh or dried

'Tongue of Fire' ('Tierra del Fuego,' 'Horto'): 73 days, bush, horticultural bean, ivory and carmine pods hold 7 to 8 tasty large beans

Wax Beans

'Roc d'Or': 57 days, bush, yellow snap bean, slender pods with delicate buttery flavor; resistant to bean mosaic and anthracnose

How to prepare: To retain the color and get the best flavor and texture from all types of filet and standard snap beans, the French blanch them (used in the cooking sense of the word, i.e., boiling them briefly in a large pot full of salted water). Cook the beans until they're almost tender and then drain them. Reheat them in butter just before serving them as a separate course or as a side dish and garnish them with lemon juice, parsley, or heavy cream. Cooked beans are also sometimes served in salads and terrines (molded main dishes). In southern France green beans are popular served with a sauce of tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. Flageolets are a special treat well worth the work and are eaten with butter and salt and pepper. Or they can be used in salads or soups, particularly the classic vegetable soup known as soupe au pistou. When mature, the shelling beans can be dried and used in soups and stews and baked in the traditional cassoulet.

Filet Bean 'Nickel'

CABBAGE

Brassica oleracea, Capitata Group

Cabbages are most associated with northern France. Both the puck-ery Savoy types with their handsome crinkled leaves and the red and purple ball-like smooth cabbages.

How to grow: Cabbages are best grown as cool-season annuals and bolt in extremely hot weather. In cold climates cabbage is started in early spring or early summer, depending on variety. In mild areas, it is started in late winter or midsummer. Cabbages need full sun, or light shade in hot climates. Buy transplants at a local nursery, or start seeds indoors 8 weeks before your last average frost date. Transplant out into the garden in rich soil filled with organic matter about 2 weeks before the last average frost date. Seeds or plants can also be planted in midsummer for a fall crop. Space small varieties 12" apart and larger ones 24". As cabbages tend to be top-heavy, when transplanting, place them lower in the soil than you would most transplants—up to their first leaves after the seed leaves. Cabbages are heavy feeders, so add a balanced organic fertilizer, 1 cup worked into the soil around each plant at planting time. Cabbages need regular, even watering and a substantial mulch.

Cabbages have many pests. As soon as the plants are in the garden, prevent the cabbage white butterfly from laying eggs by covering the plants with floating row covers. See Appendix B for more information. For cabbage root fly, use the floating row cover to prevent the fly from laying her eggs or prevent the maggot from entering the soil by placing a 12" square black plastic directly over the roots of the plant. To do this, cut a slit about 6" long from one edge directly to the middle of the square and slip it around the plant. To prevent cut worms place a collar of cardboard around each seedling. Clubroot is a serious fungus disease of the cabbage family, as are black rot and yellows. Good garden hygiene is your best preventive here. Rotating members of the cabbage family with other vegetable families prevents many problems.

Harvest cabbages anytime after they have started to head up, well and before they become so large they split. Mature cabbages can take temperatures as low as 20°F. The savoy types are the most hardy. If a hard freeze is expected, harvest all the cabbages and store them in a cool place.

Varieties