Few newcomers to Brittany expect the wind to be their main adversary. They arrive braced for cold, and instead discover mild, frost-light seasons interrupted by long runs of Atlantic gale that can shred a bean row in an afternoon and scorch the west-facing side of a young apple tree brown Read more
Long before the word permaculture existed, Breton farmers were walking down to the shore after winter storms to gather the seaweed the sea had torn loose and piled along the tideline. They spread it on their fields by the cartload, and the coastal parishes of Finistere and the northern shore Read more
If a single crop deserves to sit at the centre of a Breton permaculture holding, it is the apple. Brittany has grown apples and pressed cider for centuries, and the reason is not sentiment but suitability. The mild, moist, frost-light climate that frustrates so many heat-loving vegetables is close to Read more
Ask anyone who has tried to grow vegetables in Brittany what tests their patience most, and the answer is rarely the wind or the acidic soil. It is slugs. The same mild, wet, oceanic climate that lets gardeners grow through much of the winter is close to paradise for molluscs, Read more