Container Gardening - The Permaculture Way: Sustainably Grow Vegetables and More in Your Small Space

by Valéry Tsimba

Overview

Anyone, anywhere can grow fresh, healthy produce, foster biodiversity, and reconnect with nature by using the permaculture approach—no matter your space or experience.

Permaculture—rooted in centuries-old techniques for growing food with care for the Earth—is the key to producing a bigger harvest than you ever thought possible on your balcony, patio, driveway, deck, and anywhere in between!

With sustainability as her guiding principle, Valéry Tsimba enthusiastically instructs home gardeners of all skill levels and backgrounds in her proven container gardening methods, from start to finish.

• Use the principles of permaculture to increase your garden’s productivity, biodiversity, and beauty by starting small and going slow.
• Get set up: Pick the best planters and tools for your space and learn how to adapt to natural conditions like wind and sun exposure.
• Increase your harvest naturally with companion planting, small-space composting, chemical-free fertilizers, and staggered harvests.
• Learn which plants are best suited to container gardens, from leafy greens and pollinator-friendly flowers to strawberries and even melons!

Containers make gardening more accessible for everyone. Whether you live in an apartment, have a disability or chronic illness, have never gardened before, or are an experienced gardener new to permaculture, Container Gardening—The Permaculture Way brings sustainable gardening within reach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781891011382
Publisher:	The Experiment
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Valéry Tsimba is a Parisian who has long nurtured a passion for plants; her enthusiasm for gardening and thirst for knowledge led her to discover permaculture. She sets out to prove that anyone can harvest a vegetable garden with patience, observation skills, and motivation.

Table of Contents

Introduction

STARTING YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN

Exposure

Size

Containers

Geotextiles

Terracotta

Wood

Plastic

Alternatives

Size and layout

TOOLS

COMPOST

PREPARING YOUR CONTAINERS

GROW OR BUY?

Growing plants from seeds

The advantage of tubers and pods

ACTIVIST SEEDS

Preserving variety

Organic seeds

SOWING

When to sow?

Soaking the seeds

How deep to plant seeds

How to sow

Keeping the seedlings warm

Germination

TRANSPLANTING

When to transplant

How to go about it?

Transplanting bare root plants

Damping off

A garlic decoction

OTHER TECHNIQUES I USE

Cuttings

Layering

Volunteer seeds

CREATING ABUNDANCE ON A BALCONY

Permaculture as a source of inspiration

Production

Not wasting

Collecting and stocking energy

Making the best use of resources and renewable energy

Using self-regulation and accepting feedback

Start with the big picture and then focus on the details

Integrate rather than separate

Practicing diversity

Using slow solutions on a small scale with patience

Observe and interact

Every element of the system must fulfil several functions

Your imagination sets the bar

THE VEGETABLE CYCLE

Hardy perennials

Perennials

Biannuals

THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS

A VARIETY OF CHOICES

Annual varieties

Fast-growing or precocious varieties

Vegetables that produce quickly

Perpetual vegetables

Seeds and staggered plantings

Polyculture

Companion Planting

How I use density in planting

How I optimize space

How I grow all year round

WATERING AND CONSERVING WATER

Manual watering

Densification of crops

Surface straw mulching and composting

Irrigation pots: Ollas

Rain

FERTILE CONTAINERS

Surface composting

Lasagna

Earthworm composting

Salvaging compost

Manures

WELCOMING BIODIVERSITY

The diversity of vegetable plants

Honey-producing plants

Pests, predators, and other offenders

Birds

Earthworms

I GROW MY OWN SEEDS

Autogamy and Allogam

Hybrids

How do you make your own seeds?

The viability over time of vegetable plants

GROWING WITH THE SEASONS

My seed calendar

Month by month

Gardening together

Conclusion

Resources

Acknowledgements

Credits

Editorial Reviews

"“From soil to containers, from tools to the choice of varieties, and, above all, seeds, Valéry Tsimba willingly shares the foundations of her appetizing small-scale urban permaculture . . . She encourages us to become, like her, gardeners of tomorrow.”—TopNature 

“This guide is a concentrate of common sense for all urban gardeners.”—L’Ami des jardins et de la maison 

“[Tsimba] promotes both permaculture and associative gardening in this book, a real practical guide accessible to all.”—Maison & Jardin L’Essentiel"

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"“From soil to containers, from tools to the choice of varieties, and, above all, seeds, Valéry Tsimba willingly shares the foundations of her appetizing small-scale urban permaculture . . . She encourages us to become, like her, gardeners of tomorrow.”—TopNature 

“This guide is a concentrate of common sense for all urban gardeners.”—L’Ami des jardins et de la maison 

“[Tsimba] promotes both permaculture and associative gardening in this book, a real practical guide accessible to all.”—Maison & Jardin L’Essentiel"

From the Publisher