after flooding in their fields, this couple of organic producers adapt

Marie and Hugues Charti are producers of organic vegetables and fruits in Charente-Maritime. Despite several episodes of flooding on their land which slowed down their economic activity, this couple decided to use a particular cultivation method: market gardening on living soil.

After working in offices in the Toulouse region, Marie and Hugues decided to leave their engineering pasts behind them, to devote themselves to the land. Less than ten years ago, this couple settled in Angliers (Charente-Maritime) and created a agroecological micro-farm called “Les petits jardins du marsh”.

The two producers, installed since 2019, have a problem. Their fields are soaked with water as winter approaches. “It’s the water table that is rising, so we have no means to fight against this flooding. For example, last year, we were flooded from the beginning of November to March, so we were not able to plant on time, which delayed our plantings, and at the same time our harvests.“, explains Marie Charti.

Last year, most of their seeds were lost within a few days of planting. “Last year, we had 1.20 m water all over the fieldshe adds. We had waders and a boat to be able to collect the leeks that we had planted. In total, last year alone, we lost between 10,000 and 15,000 euros. “

This economic loss almost jeopardized their agricultural activity, estimates Hugues Charti, Marie’s partner. “We didn’t know if we were going to resume our activity, because we were six months completely flooded. We were only able to replant in April: the idea was to give ourselves a little time to find new land. This is why we planted ourgumes until October. We planted sweet potatoes, potatoes, squash, pumpkins, butternuts and even tomatoes“.

Faced with climatic hazards, this couple of market gardeners had to adapt. Hugues and Marie use a little-known technique. “We apply market gardening on living soil: this consists of enriching the soil, which will nourish the plant later, which means that we will have a better balance at ground level, reveals Hugues. We will have a lot more life, notably earthworms in the soil, which will bring mineral elements and nitrogen to each plant. What means that we end up with large beets, which are very rich in taste.”

And it works. After market gardening, this couple of organic vegetable and fruit producers hope to have an orchard in the near future. “For the future, we are looking for another area, because being flooded every year is not ideal, even if we find new ways to get through it.says Marie Charti. We are looking for new land next year to continue the market gardening.age et to have an orchard because here, it’s not possible, the trees couldn’t stand it.”

In addition to the direct sale of their production, this small farm offers packages in the run-up to the end-of-year holidays. “In this gift package, we find gazpacho, ratatouille and tomato coulis as well as dried herbs like lemongrass. This is an exclusively organic package to offer for Christmas. This makes part of our new strategy : transform our products to be able to better promote them.”