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Mon balcon nourricier en permaculture - Des récoltes abondantes sur 4 m2

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À l'heure où tout le monde rêve d'un petit coin de potager, Valéry Tsimba propose un guide complet pour cultiver plantes et légumes sur des petites surfaces ! Elle vous dévoile tous
ses secrets pour un jardinage accessible à tous et qui promeut les valeurs de la permaculture. Citadine, Valéry Tsimba travaille à La Défense et est une véritable passionnée de jardinage. Elle consacre son temps libre à arpenter les jardins partagés de la banlieue parisienne, troquer des graines et organiser des ateliers pour les enfants. Techniques permacoles, semences paysannes,
variétés adaptées ou même fleurs comestibles : il y a tout dans ce livre pour réussir à faire de vraies récoltes sur un balcon. De son bout de terre en jardin partagé à son balcon, Valéry prône les vertus de la permaculture pour créer l'abondance.
Figurez-vous que Valéry s'est presque entièrement nourrie des récoltes de son balcon pendant le confinement ! Quoi de mieux que de consommer ce que l'on a soi-même cultivé ?

142 pages, Hardcover

Published January 28, 2021

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Caitlin.
250 reviews1 follower
November 2, 2025
lots of useful advice and a great introduction to permaculture!
Profile Image for Alex.
57 reviews
March 29, 2022
Un beau livre de référence pour apprendre à jardiner avec peu d'espace. J'y ai trouvé des plantes à privilégier pour attirer les abeilles.
Profile Image for Annie.
4,743 reviews88 followers
April 17, 2024
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Container Gardening―The Permaculture Way is a tutorial and informational guide to sustainable and restorative gardening in small areas by Valéry Tsimba. Originally published in French in 2021 as Mon balcon nourricier en permaculture, this reformat and re-release in English translation from The Experiment is 160 pages and is available in flexibound and ebook formats.

This is a well photographed and accessible record of the author's tiny (2 x 22 feet!) balcony garden and her experiences and challenges utilizing the space with permaculture techniques to provide edible fruits and vegetables in her very urban (Paris) area.

The book has a logical and easy-to-follow format. She covers permaculture and restorative agriculture in the introduction, gives a good how-to overview of container gardening including setup and planting, followed by a short almanac of examples of what to plant and when to plant it, and a nice chapter on community and sharing the information and love of gardening with others.

The author/publisher have included an abbreviated links list and bibliography for further reading, and a cross referenced index.

The translation work is seamless, and it doesn't read like a book which was translated.

Four and a half stars. The author's philosophy of restorative gardening and "do what you can with what you have where you are" resonate very deeply. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisiton, for makers' groups, gardening/allotment/community garden libraries, for suburban and urban gardeners, and for gift giving (maybe bundled with some seeds and simple tools).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review.
117 reviews
April 10, 2025
My understanding of “The Permaculture Way” as described in this book is that it is a holistic approach to gardening inclusive of a consciousness of what is happening in the environment around you as well as in the space where you will be growing plants, the needs of specific plants, how the plants are reacting, and the ultimate benefits you (and the bugs and birds around you) receive from growing, harvesting, and sharing with the community at large. Changes in season, and signals such as wild plants blooming can inform your own garden timing. Planting plants in combination can repel or divert pests, attract pest predators, and protect harvests. All the activities can broaden your awareness of your environment.

This book covers practical matters such as checking to see how much weight your balcony is rated to hold (if you plan to put heavy growing containers there), suggestions for types of containers to use, and types of plants that grow well in containers. There are guides for composting and creating compost tea to make fertilizers at home. I learned (or “unlearned”) a few things, including that shallow rooted plants like lettuce can be transplanted, and plants can be planted in closer contact to compost than I thought was healthy. I felt a little overwhelmed by the time the author began describing the steps and requirements for starting seedlings indoors – it sounds like she must dedicate a lot of her time to gardening – but I reminded myself that it is okay to start with small steps. At the end of the book there are around 40 pages of plant-specific advice so you can choose your favorites (and perhaps some that complement them) and begin there. This book delivers on encouragement for starting a garden, even if your outdoor space is very limited.
Profile Image for Marie Albert.
Author 2 books79 followers
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December 27, 2022
J'ai reçu ce livre à Noël et je l'ai lu très vite. Valéry Tsimba présente son balcon en permaculture et donne un multitude de conseils pour créer le sien. Ce guide est facile à lire. Il donne plein d'idées originales. J'ai apprécié sa lecture. Mais je l'ai trouvé court et superficiel. Je n'ai pas appris grand chose. Je vais continuer de creuser le sujet. Car j'ai désormais un balcon et je veux le végétaliser au maximum 🌾
3 reviews1 follower
June 2, 2025
This book helped me get back into gardening on my tiny apartment balcony! As someone who loves plants but can't (yet) call himself a gardener, Tsimba offers an overview of gardening in small spaces efficiently and with an eye towards sustainability and one's relationship with the urban environment. A guide on a number of herbs, fruits, and vegetables makes this a valuable resource, as well as information on gardening with the seasons.
Profile Image for Thelma.
763 reviews
September 9, 2023
Très intéressant. Ce livre contient beaucoup d'informations mais je l'ai trouvé très bien organisé. Les photos illustrent bien le propos. J'apprécie beaucoup les ressources fournies (calendrier, fiche dédiée pour plusieurs plantes...) mais aussi les ressources externes suggérées (sites, associations...).
Profile Image for Alicia Bayer.
Author 10 books251 followers
November 1, 2023
A great resource filled with photos, information and personal experience. Lovely to see permaculture embraced even in a container garden on a balcony in Paris. Detailed growing and sowing information on a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and flowers beyond the usual tomatoes and basil. Highly recommended.

I read a temporary digital version of this book for review.
Profile Image for Amber.
1,002 reviews15 followers
May 24, 2024
This book is gorgeous! And so full of neat tips and tricks. I got a ton of great ideas from this book. Again, this book is beautiful. I love all the pictures she took of her garden and her harvests. I would buy this book just for the pictures. Lots of great information! Five out of five stars to Container Gardening!
3 reviews
August 27, 2024
Such a great book and tool! I learned so much information that I can easily apply to my growing garden.
119 reviews
December 30, 2024
Well written. Good guide to how the principles can be achieved in a small space. I liked how she did a stocktake of her area and how she has applied the principles. I can do the same
Profile Image for Estrelas.
953 reviews
December 22, 2022
Die französische Autorin Valéry Tsimba teilt in „Mein Permakulturbalkon“ ihre persönlichen Erfahrungen des Eigenanbaus auf einem kleinen Pariser Balkon - von der Planung über die Aussaat bis zur Ernte. Dabei motivieren besonders die Fotos ihrer Pflanzen und Ernteerträge.
„Saatgut ist meine große Leidenschaft und ich genieße es, wenn ich säe und die Gemüsepflanzen heranwachsen sehe.“ Den Schwerpunkt des Säens merkt man auch den Pflanzenporträts an, denen jedoch für einen Balkongärtner wertvolle Hinweise zu Nutzen, Standort oder guten Nachbarn im Topf gänzlich fehlen.
Des Weiteren hatte ich den Eindruck, dass Informationen bei der Übersetzung auf der Strecke blieben. Was habe ich beispielsweise davon, französische Sortennamen präsentiert zu bekommen, wenn ich selbst auf der Suche nach neuen Pflanzen bin? Aus diesen Gründen halte ich das Buch zwar für eine gute Inspirationsquelle, aber nicht ausreichend für die Anlage eines „Permakulturbalkons“.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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