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Ecological nursery
Organic fruit trees and shrubs
products in Brittany
Bertrand, quite simply
An undisputed lover of all things living, it was above all animals that I gravitated towards during my studies. I thought I had found my calling as an animal keeper (specializing in reptiles) in a zoological park, but the call of nature and working in the great outdoors was even stronger!
In 2015, I embarked on a career change in landscaping (garden maintenance and design), a profession I practiced for 6 years. But over time, another project took root and matured in my mind...
That of creating my nursery of fruit trees and shrubs, produced using organic farming and in the most ecological approach possible.
And so, in 2022, the Pépi Berry nursery was born!
Pépi for "nursery" and Berry for "berry" in English (in honor of my English-speaking partner and my bilingual son).
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At Pépi Berry you will only find young plants of one to two years old, in scions (for trees) or in clumps (for shrubs) because yes, a plant must be planted while it is still young! This is the guarantee of excellent recovery, perfect root and aerial development, free choice in the given shape while offering you the best quality/price ratio!
A wide selection and specialties...
I strive to offer you a wide range of plants (constantly expanding), ranging from traditional fruit trees known to all, to little-known (and sometimes rare) gems such as the Ragoumin tree, the Siberian Caragana tree or the Sichuan pepper tree. Fig trees and other disease-resistant vines are of course part of the adventure...
But if there is one thing that makes Pépi Berry's reputation, it is indeed its range (rare in France and unique in Brittany) of red-fleshed apples!
I currently grow about twenty varieties of these incredible apples that deserve the red carpet treatment.
So take a look at our online store!
Primasenzentsum variety
At the origins of the nursery...
A mini gourmet forest...
It was at home, in Saint-Thurien (not far from the nursery located in Bannalec) that I began (around 2018) to plant my first fruit trees and shrubs with the aim of creating a small gourmet forest.
Having recently settled on this almost virgin land, my primary objective was to achieve fruit self-sufficiency for myself and my family, while considerably expanding the range of fruits in our diet (compared to what we find on supermarket shelves...).
Today, many of my cuttings, grafts and seeds used for nursery production come from this joyful green bazaar.
Family land, not accessible for visits but of which I sometimes share some images on Facebook or in my videos which can be found on our YouTube channel.
Japanese blackberries in my gourmet forest
The nursery...
It was in Bannalec, at the Ferme de Quimerc'h, that the nursery took root!
I am lucky and pleased to have been able to join this ecological and friendly place where life is so good... It is currently a little less than 5000m2 (out of the 10 ha of the 100% organic farm) that I have appropriated to develop the nursery.
I produce fruit trees and shrubs there, which I grow in the ground, under plant mulch, nourished and cared for with fermented plant extracts, exposed to the sun and all weather conditions to guarantee robust plants that are perfectly ready to join your gardens, orchards, gourmet forests, etc.
"Trees grafted at the top, 3 years old or more, already (and poorly) formed, with damaged and dry roots, defoliated with chemicals before the sap even begins to flow in order to be the first of the season to sell on the market?"
NO SUCH THING HAPPENS HERE!!!
New production area from 2025
A second Gourmand Forest is being created at the nursery. Despite slow growth due to ungrateful, poor, leaching soil, as well as very strong root pressure from voles; in a few years we will be overwhelmed with fruit trees (traditional, rare, and original)!
A production of
Sichuan pepper
&
Timut pepper
grown in Brittany in
Organic and Syntropic Agriculture
Our new adventure… Arboriculture!
It's official, I'm embarking on the adventure of producing Sichuan Pepper.
Around thirty Sichuan Pepper plants were planted in the nursery this winter (2024/2025) and around ten Timut Pepper plants will be planted next winter.
These two cousin plants both belong to the genus Zenthoxylum and are part of the Rutaceae family (Rutacae) , just like citrus fruits, of which we find very marked notes, especially in Timut Pepper, which is often nicknamed "Grapefruit Pepper".
Botanically, they are "false pepper plants" because they do not belong to the family of true peppers (Piperaceae) and have the particularity of producing berries of which we do not eat the seeds but only the pericarp (seed coat).
Fruits a little before maturity
on a Sichuan pepper tree
The cultivation of these two species is still rare in France. It is rather easy, but their production can be affected by late frosts... Harvesting is, however, tedious due to the significant presence of very large thorns on both the branches and the leaves!
It requires time and attention to detail... Then comes the drying stage and then sorting to separate the seeds and pericarps (long because it is done by hand).
Packaging and marketing will be the final steps necessary to complete this project, which has been close to my heart for years.
I can't wait for the first "real" significant harvests, which should arrive in the fall of 2028, and to have your feedback on your recipes for cooking with organic Sichuan peppers and Timut from Bannalec.
Pericarps ready to be eaten
Young poplar among Phacelia flowers on a SYNTROPIC line
whose main culture will be
Sichuan Pepper
Organic & Syntropic Agriculture!
Syntropy... Yet another new fad following on from permaculture and forest gardens? NO WAY!
I myself had these kinds of thoughts when I heard about syntropy a few years ago, but perhaps I judged it a little too quickly...
When I began to dig, not into the earth but into the subject of Syntropy, I then began to understand...
Then, I had the chance to train with two of the greatest French specialists on the subject: Pablo PAILHES and Grégoire SERVAN (from the Ferme des Mawagits in the Gers) who both trained directly at the source... in Brazil!
This training had the effect of a bomb on me! I understood a lot of things and above all I was able to break many of my false agrological, cultural and intellectual beliefs.
So NO! Syntropy is not a whim, a utopia, or even new... Ernst GÖTSCH began this adventure in Brazil more than 40 years ago and even developed an entire South American agriculture, going so far as to modify the climate of his region (more rain, more freshness, more life)!
Today, it is no longer conceivable for me to do otherwise than to cultivate the nursery under the principles and methods of SYNTROPIC AGRICULTURE.
It is for this reason that I have completely reviewed and redesigned the crops at the nursery which has undergone major changes this winter (2024/2025): New production area for fruit trees in the form of (double) lines, alternating with purely syntropic (single) lines for the brand new Sichuan Pepper crop (mainly) as well as some production vines which are integrated into it (but I will tell you more about that later).
Are you interested in agriculture/gardening in SYNTROPY? Would you like to learn more? That's great, I plan to make YouTube videos, organize tours and even workshops on this subject to take you with me on this magnificent journey that is SYNTROPY!
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