For as long as he can remember, André Marzé has always been interested in the weather. Born in Menton at the foot of the casino, at the age of 7 he set up containers in his mother's yard to grow vegetables and, like Hugolin in Pagnol, carnations. Thus begins his daily temperature readings which he notes in a small notebook purchased for this purpose. A laundress mother, a taxi driver father, nothing predisposed him to one day becoming a farmer and amateur meteorologist.
“Feet anchored in the earth and head in the clouds”
The young man studied and became a teacher. After fifteen years in teaching, the dormant seed would germinate when, in 1973, he had the opportunity to buy a 5,000 m² plot of land in Castellar and become a full-time farmer. The 1980s marked the very beginning of organic farming. André Marzé is then the second farmer in the Alpes-Maritimes department to receive the organic label from Nature et Progrès. “I started here with livestock. As I had manure, I was able to enrich the land which was very poor and grow vegetables. I did not go on vacation for 30 years because of or thanks to the animals . I returned to my temperature reading. Observe and note the temperature and rainfall every day. I am a farmer, I like that word. We always have our heads down to cultivate, plow, dig and then we watch. if it's going to rain, if there's wind, feet anchored in the ground and head in the clouds, it's interesting.he comments, philosophically.
Thermometer, rain gauge, pencil and calendar, a sheet for rain, a sheet for temperatures, its tools are the simplest possible. For more than thirty years, with the regularity of a metronome, he has recorded the temperature under shelters at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. to measure the thermal amplitude. “At the end of the month, I average the temperatures and I also note the rain to make the total. At the end of each year, I make around thirty photocopies of the summary of the year, it's my way of saying happy new year…” he specifies.
Average of minimums and average of maximums allow it to measure the amplitude over a year. In Castellar, the moderate amplitude between 7 to 8 degrees is due to the Mediterranean Sea. There is no frost here, but a very temperate climate which allows a wide variety of vegetables to be grown in winter. “Castellar is truly a village blessed by the gods!” he concludes with serenity.
