In the garden of the Montmartre museum, the birds are singing and the sun is shining. It’s an ideal time to do some gardening and Gaël has a very specific idea in mind. He would like to make planters for your home from Joinville-le-Pont (Val-de-Marne): “Our little house deserves to be embellished with a few plants and as I like to cook, I would like to have plants like herbs, basil, that would be really cool.“
He came to the right place, this Saturday, May 14, because as part of the 48 hours of Urban Agriculture, organized for the 7th year throughout France by the SAUGE association, a “balcony vegetable garden” workshop is organized by a specialist. Jessica Kroon has been growing plants for almost twenty years and for the past six years she has been leading these workshops to give a taste of culture to city dwellers.
– Theo Boscher
From the simple window sill to the balcony
“Often people already make flowers but not really edibles, explains the one who used to be in the banking sector before turning to urban agriculture. I want them to take it a step further in terms of gardening and get into vegetables, herbs, which require the same skills.”
Jessica gives her advice on how to plant, water, reproduce plants according to the space available in the accommodation, the exposure to the sun or the floor of the apartment. Advice that Neela intends to apply to the letter: “Until now, I rather killed the plants, she laughs. But I learned that you have to mix flowers, plants, vegetables, herbs in the same container because it attracts pollinators and it stimulates the earth.”
– Theo Boscher
Reconnect to the peasant world
We also learn that potting soil is more interesting than earth, that it is better to use pots made of textile material rather than earth to prevent moisture from remaining. Workshop participants also put their hands on the ground, by planting aromatic seeds that they can take home. A rewarding experience and that’s what Jessica Kroon was looking for: “I come from the countryside and I found that in the city we are very disconnected from the way we produce our food.“
She thus seeks to recreate the link with the peasant world and reconnect with this very important profession. But you also need a lot of patience to make a whole urban vegetable garden a success and not be afraid of missing your plantations because it is by gardening that you get your… green thumb!