What hides behind a bag of Bonduelle lamb’s lettuce? A human chain from the soil to the supermarket so that you can enjoy the most wintery salad daily. But, how does it grow? How does Bonduelle works with its partner producers? Interview with Emmanuel G., agronomist at Bonduelle.
A true winter salad
“Lamb’s lettuce is one of the only salad which does not fear the cold in winter” explains Emmanuel G., agronomist at Bonduelle settled near Nantes. “Initially, lamb’s lettuce was a wild plant called softy or pursy. Its cycle naturally begins in autumn. Lamb’s lettuce needs sandy soil and a very temperate climate which is why it is historically grown near Nantes which ticks all the boxes. Since the 19th century, simple and natural agronomic techniques were set up to grow it all year long”. Its hazelnut taste and the tenderness of its leaves ensured its success through time. It nutritional properties are interesting; a good content in omega-3 (essential fatty acids) and vitamin C help us ward off winter viruses. Two types are grown by our partner-farmers: the lamb’s lettuce-cell with round leaves in the shape of bouquets as well as the blond lamb’s lettuce with longer leaves not unlike softy the wild lamb’s lettuce. “Innovating is also finding older types of lamb’s lettuce so that it can be used in leaves such as in the young sprouts mixes. Growing a rustic and ancient type so that consumers re-discover it is a real challenge” explains the agronomist with passion.
Agronomy at the service of producers and consumers
What is the role of an agronomist at Bonduelle? “My job is to create a link between partner-farmers and factories packaging their products” says Emmanuel G. “Advising farmers on choosing the adapted types of vegetables, organising their sowing schedule, following the salad quality… we work with live matter, we need to be aware of everything” he explains.
“There is a return to a genuine diversity in crops by using vegetable rotation to preserve the soil and limit pressure linked to diseases to have quality lamb’s lettuce with little input. It is a salad which requires little intervention when the soil is respected and the exploitation is properly led relying on the natural cycles of vegetables. When lamb’s lettuce is sowed regularly on thoroughly fined lands with a balanced soil, the salad flourishes naturally. It’s all about balance!” Grown vegetable rotation, green fertilizer, carefully choice of what to grow: the agronomist’s work is to advise farmers while appealing to their common sense!
From soil to table
Bonduelle’s lamb’s lettuce grows on sandy soil between stripes of normal soil call boards allowing for a regular sewing (about 1000 seeds per m2). Compact and resistant types are favored. The crop must then be protected from the weather. Historically, we use plastic film set up on metal hoops called “Nante pipes” which creates a small greenhouse of about 50 to 60cm high which gets its name from its long and narrow shape. In summer, plastic is replaced with a shade net to protect the plant from stronger sunshine. We also practice GAP crops (Large Plastic Shade) increasingly more often, this protection allows to harvest even when it rains - it acts as a giant umbrella. Harvested in the morning, the sand is first removed in a bubble bag which allows to remove it thoroughly. It is then moved to where it will be packaged: washing, draining, quality control, weighing, packaging… then straight to your plate! But for the vinaigrette, it is up to you…