Nearly 500 varieties are grown each year in the conservatory vegetable garden in Eure. Among them, around twenty ancient Norman species have been recovered over the years by the Montviette Nature association.
Sweet melon from Honfleur, bean from Pont-Audemer, pumpkin from Alençon, cabbage or chicory from Louviers... The association is carrying out bibliographic research to determine the origins of the varieties and continues its quest to find those still missing. The Beaumesnil vegetable garden, through its association 1 001 Légumes, has been offering packets of seeds of around twenty Norman varieties and several dozen common varieties that have grown locally. The old varieties project organizes participatory gardening workshops and programs with amateur gardeners to teach them how to manage crops until new seeds are harvested. It is estimated that there are more than a hundred ancestral varieties in Normandy,' explains Margaux Villebrun, animation and conservatory veg garden project manager.