Ideas

Living in harmony with nature, like the Native Americans or our ancestors in Europe: a wildest dream? Let's relearn primitive techniques, a source of irreplaceable autonomy, and the dream becomes reality. Through the pages, ''Arts de vie sauvage'' introduces a progressive immersion and allows to acquire the essential, precious, and original gestures. Making fire, crafting nets, bows, and arrows, and then, setting off! Kim Pasche and Bernard Bertrand invite us to share their experiences and treasures, those gifts of nature born from chance encounters and the joy of living humbly.

How not to be amazed at the sight of a dragonfly? Creating a pond is a powerful lever to restore biodiversity and introduce children to the beauty of nature! It is also one of the best ways to create water reserves for watering the garden and vegetable patch. Frédéric Proniewski presents all the techniques for simply creating a natural pond, a water reservoir, or a swimming pond. A significant part of the book is devoted to the animals and plants that will enrich this new environment.

Agricultural soils reaching the end of their lifespan, rising energy costs, mass extinction of species, widespread pollution... How can we continue to feed ourselves in a changing world (and quickly)? Is it possible without systematically destroying the planet - perhaps even by "fixing" it? And what if the solutions were right in front of our eyes... for a long time?

By creating three-dimensional edible landscapes, it is possible to achieve abundance and autonomy while taking care of nature. Born from the marriage of permaculture and agroforestry, the technique of "food forest", which imitates the functioning of a young wooded area, is already gaining followers around the world, in rural areas as well as in cities, for collective or private projects, for professional, educational, aesthetic, or subsistence purposes. As the first book on a French experience, this work provides information on design techniques and the associated flora according to the climates and landscapes you wish to create. Practical and illustrated, it presents around a hundred original trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants, often unknown, that complement traditional fruit trees and vegetables. Food forests are more than ever seen as an exciting adventure to live and share!

Educational Gardening Guide in School Settings What if the change in our relationship with food started from a young age, at school, with both hands in the soil? Karine Lévesque firmly believes that the practice of educational gardening can help us address certain challenges related to education, the environment, and agriculture. As a teacher working with youth aged 15 to 21 in Montreal, she initiated an innovative educational garden project with her students, which has sparked interest from several schools today, highlighting the importance of building connections between schools and the community. To equip teachers who wish to embark on a similar adventure, the author has gathered all the relevant information here to start an educational garden and ensure its success. What to grow, when to start planting seeds, and what to do with the harvest? How to design the garden area? Should you cultivate in ground or above ground? What educational goals can be achieved? Where to find resources to succeed? How to build relationships with the community? How to lead an outdoor class? How to integrate gardening with the requirements of different educational programs? How to manage time according to the school calendar? These are just some of the questions answered by Karine Lévesque with great generosity. Divided into two parts – the courtyard side (theory) and the garden side (practice) – this guide provides numerous tips on horticulture and education, as well as management and planning. Richly illustrated, it will appeal to school staff, as well as early childhood educators, association leaders, parents, regardless of the available cultivable area. Expertly demonstrating the many benefits of gardening practices in a school environment, this essential work, inspired by Jean-Martin Fortier's "The Market Gardener," certainly contributes to the ongoing agricultural revolution. “The educational gardening movement is still in its infancy, but it is growing rapidly. And the book you hold in your hands will be one of the catalysts for the coming years. […] Drawing on her experience as a teacher and as the founder of the educational garden Les Jardins des Patriotes, Karine Lévesque generously shares the lessons she has learned in the field and through the training sessions she conducts.”

Having a productive vegetable garden and a beautiful ornamental garden for next to nothing and gardening almost for free is possible thanks to this book! You will find advice on how to find a small piece of land if you don't have one – such as family, community, shared gardens or those in your neighborhood – the basics of gardening based on recovery, recycling, resourcefulness, water management, seed and plant exchanges, tips for making everything yourself – potting soil, compost, green manure, producing your own seeds, seedlings (including trees), cuttings, natural home care for your plants using ash, comfrey, nettle, horsetail or urine – but also making small, ecological, clever and aesthetic DIY projects like pathways, wooden braided borders, fences, mobile greenhouse, pallet planters, or privacy screens.

The world's richest soils are the "black lands" of the Amazon, or terra preta. Ancient populations incorporated a particular form of charcoal, called "biochar," into these soils. Simply adding this powdered carbonized plant matter to your soil in the presence of very little oxygen and seeded with microorganisms will improve its structure, reduce the need for fertilizers, counteract the effects of toxic metals, stimulate plant growth by storing water and nutrients, and increase microbial biodiversity. Furthermore, its controlled production is not only very low in pollution but also contributes to carbon sequestration in the soil. Jeff Cox teaches you about biochar, how to use it effectively, and even how to produce it yourself, step by step, in your garden or in a stove. For those who want to take the adventure further, there are instructions on how to build the ultimate biochar stove.

“Agriculture with a hoe, in a simple way, involves hitting the ground repeatedly with a sharp tool to break its structure into finer particles, to achieve suitable conditions for sowing your favorite plants. Undoubtedly, it is both the most important and the simplest of technologies that has marked the course of human history. It allowed humanity to evolve beyond the hunting and gathering practices and venture onto the path of agriculture. Once they became farmers, men could modify their environment to meet their specific needs. The population could increase food surpluses, store them; cities could grow, and civilizations could rise and fall – all thanks to the effect of a simple hoe.”

“By searching for nature, we end up finding it”! A radical and provocative concept, the punk garden is an invitation to practice gardening differently, beyond conventions, with instinct and intuition. It is necessary because it addresses current issues of applied ecology to bring biodiversity into every corner of daily life and to beautify our environment regardless of knowledge, financial means, etc. Designed so that the new gardener does not see their desire to garden constrained by their lack of knowledge or preconceived ideas (by themselves or others), the objective of this work is for everyone to realize how possible it is for them to create, no matter what, a beautiful and ecological space. This libertarian manifesto aims to be accessible to as many people as possible and reveals the tips and tricks that allow a garden to be "punkified." Adopt punk culture to create an impertinent garden and learn how to manage it while remaining lazy, rebellious, broke, and eco-friendly! Discover the magic of instant regeneration, the simplicity of propagation, and how to break all the rules. This work received the Saint-Fiacre Prize 2019, awarded annually by the Association of Garden and Horticulture Journalists (AJJH).

Ecological tools at our fingertips Plastic is now omnipresent. We are all familiar with those spectacular images of tons of waste floating in the sea or bird carcasses with their bellies full of plastic. Microscopic particles are also found where we least expect them: in the deep sea, on the highest mountain peaks, throughout the food chain... and even in our own bodies. Commonly used in a multitude of packaging and everyday products, most plastics can release chemicals and persist in the environment for a very long time. To mitigate the effects of this toxic and polluting material, recycling is often touted as a solution, although it is more of a mirage. What if we tackled the problem at its source? What if we became the main characters in our consumption habits? The abundance of plastic particles suffocating nature and jeopardizing our health is such that we cannot completely eradicate them. What we can do, however, is slow down the influx of new plastic into our lives, as advocated by the authors of this guide, who provide us with all the tools to achieve this. This informative book helps us better understand the different types of plastics and their short- and long-term dangers. "Living Without Plastic" is also a real toolbox to help us eliminate plastic from our daily lives. Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha show us how to analyze our personal plastic use and provide ideas for safe, reusable, and affordable alternatives, confirming that our personal choices represent a powerful force for change. Illustrations by Elodie Duhameau

The French Method, proven for nearly two centuries in urban areas and practiced in 150 countries worldwide, is the essential method for those looking to maximize the productivity of a small piece of land with limited financial resources. Through manual labor and appropriate tools, it allows achieving a level of productivity that mechanized agriculture cannot rival. This book, the only work detailing the principles of market gardening on a small scale, will provide you with all the keys to adopt the French Method yourself through various practical tools: a detailed monthly sowing calendar, a unique projected table to optimize yields... Professionals looking to innovate their practices or curious amateurs: this book aims to be accessible to all those who wish to rethink agriculture and embrace an approach that is both ethical and economical. Follow the guide!

For centuries, hedges protected, delimited, and nourished. The last few decades have seen massive uprooting or replacement by "green concrete," the monospecific hedge. And with this process, there has been an impoverishment, a deterioration, even a desertification of living beings. Today, it is once again urgent. For climatic, aesthetic, ecological, and philosophical reasons, it helps to reintroduce nature and therefore biodiversity. Trimmable (providing mulch, wood, stakes...), diverse, it allows for all combinations in all locations. Bees need flowers, fauna need food and shelter, humans need fruits and plants. It is essential to protect oneself from climatic hazards, neighbors, noise... The hedge is there! The idea of this work is to help build the project, choose the plant species (about forty are presented), and open up new perspectives for the gardener, the owner of a small plot, the elected official. To greenify as much as possible, while there is still time. It is part of a permaculture, global vision, where the tree regains its rightful place, at a time when heatwaves, droughts, and other climate disruptions are intensifying.

Are you interested in consuming quality food produced and harvested by your own hands? Do you have a pioneering spirit and want to learn something new? Do you want to find out if aquaponics meets your needs? This book is for you. Grégory Biton decided to write this book - the first in French on the subject - to make this form of closed-loop culture combining plants and fish, still largely unknown in the French-speaking world, more accessible.

This book is a real user manual to help you launch and design your sustainable, autonomous, and resilient edible space. The goal of this guide is to start your vegetable garden, sow your biodiversity area, and plant your forest garden. In this book, the authors accompany you hand in hand, from your first steps to refining your project. A more specific aspect of this manual is its practical approach, resulting from concrete achievements and exciting experiments in various fields such as agroecology, permaculture, biodynamics, and electroculture, to name a few. As the microcosm of a vegetable garden is a living organism that is part of a whole, the authors open all doors at once. They invite you to dream, imagine, and understand your ecosystem. Step by step, build the balance of biodiversity within your nourishing space. Start from observation to create your design and implement your project concretely. Furthermore, throughout these pages, you travel with the authors in the realization of three playgrounds: an experimental vegetable garden in Belgium, a perennial vegetable area in France, and an agroecology farm-school in Senegal. Thus, with enthusiasm, the authors take you step by step on this journey towards the ultimate goal: making the Earth alive.

This book is the story of a personal adventure: that of Lauriane and Charles, who have decided to become farmers. In the 21st century, it's quite a novel! It is based on several years of experience gained on the ground in their small farm (less than 5 hectares).

Games and learning in the woods for budding adventurers The first book on Forest School pedagogy Games and learning in the forest are becoming increasingly important in children's education, whether in England (Forest School), Denmark (friluftsliv), Germany (Waldschule), or in Canada and the United States. In France, interest in outdoor learning is booming.

What if the problems faced by gardeners and farmers stem from our ignorance of soil life and the mistreatment we subject it to? The example of natural areas (forests and others) shows us that the "Genius of Soil Life" is the key to fertility and productivity. This book is not afraid to challenge conventional ideas and denounce the lack of respect from human activities towards soil science and its consequences, which no one can deny the profound nature of the issues (desertification, erosion, unhealthy eating and malnutrition).

Manual for human manure composting What if the organic waste from the seven billion people who use the toilet every day could be turned into valuable resources? Recycling our feces and urine remains a major taboo in our societies. Yet, using clean drinking water to dispose of our waste may be one of our most curious and polluting cultural habits.

Permaculture is a philosophy of life for the establishment of a sustainable society. An essential approach for all those interested in ecological transition, which renews our way of understanding the world. Permaculture is also a very productive method of cultivation, taking nature as a model, promoting biodiversity by focusing on the relationships between plant species, creating ponds, fruit hedges, forest gardens... Its results are astonishing. Permaculture is experiencing strong growth today. To allow both rural and urban dwellers, beginners and enthusiasts to learn about this cultivation method, the author shares in this book the know-how, experience, and advice of numerous experts.

Discover a fascinating world full of treasures and wealth: the world of trees! Knowledge, stories, powers, and hopes: it is through the main themes of this beautiful book, very well illustrated and a true encyclopedia, that its author, Serge Schall, invites you to both marvel and educate yourself. Forestry, exploration, botany, selection, issues, uses, research... but also literature, art, beauty, imagination, and even sylvotherapy, plant physiology, and dendrology are developed in this book. Without any particular hierarchy, there are no less than 162 topics on trees covered in it. You can thus "pick" the information according to your desires. This unique book, published in co-edition by Plume de carotte and Terre vivante editions, is aimed at beginners curious about nature as well as knowledgeable audiences such as botanists, explorers, lumberjacks, cabinetmakers, or forest activists... in short, all tree lovers!

Here is the first comprehensive work dedicated to urine, this true liquid gold that allows for recycling and production at the same time. In an updated edition, it synthesizes current knowledge about the number one natural fertilizer: legal status, agronomic value, impact of dietary salt on plants fertilized with urine, health and environment, plants best suited for frequent urine applications. Recycling urine in the garden helps avoid costly water treatments and benefits from a free resource, rich in mineral salts beneficial for plant growth and biodiversity. To cultivate without polluting, the author provides recipes combining urine and compost; informs about the dosages to be applied and proposes two spreading methods - undiluted or diluted - depending on the chosen frequency, and also addresses the specific case of plants grown in pots. In this practical manual, discover the value of this fantastic resource as well as how to use it safely, and adopt a new, smart and productive gardening habit. "Our brains need to be unlocked and read this book!" Stéphane Marie, editor-in-chief of Silence, ça pousse! "It took courage to write this book, [Renaud de Looze] did it." Alain Baraton, in La Main verte on France Inter. New edition, replaces EAN 9782359810608.

Water, such a precious resource! Following the success of the illustrated thematic books Seeds (2020, Saint-Fiacre Prize 2021) and Trees (2022, P.J. Redouté Prize and Jury's Favorite for the Émile Gallé Prize 2023) in co-edition with Plume de carotte and Terre vivante, here is the reference book on the theme of water.

After permaculture, syntropy is the new revolution for gardening! This approach is inspired by natural mechanisms that tend towards abundance. Syntropic gardening relies on a process of organic matter accumulation to establish or restore soil fertility. This leads to a productive and resilient garden, capable of adapting to climate change. In practice, this translates to the installation of extremely dense and diverse crops, where different plant species are sown and planted at the same time to ensure yields over periods ranging from a few months to several decades. It involves envisioning the evolution of this group of plants over time and space.