Back to Eden Gardening- “How to”

I absolutely love to garden. It is life giving, and if you think about it- we were made to garden! God placed Adam and Eve in the garden to work it. It was supposed to be enjoyable, not torturous. God dwelt with Adam and Eve in the garden. God’s plan is to one day restore us back to Eden. I believe it is written on our hearts to garden and find fulfilment in working with our hands. (Even you, with the black thumb- this is for you!) So, let’s me teach you about Back to Eden Gardening.

After trying traditional box gardens where you turn up the soil every year, add new soil, add plant fertilizer, etc. I decided to scour the internet for another way of gardening. I came upon the documentary, Back to Eden Gardening. Paul Gautschi is the founder of this idea.

In the documentary his love for Jesus and gardening is not only precious, but it’s contagious! The premise behind this style of gardening is a no-till method that mimics the way nature naturally grows plants on its own. Paul walked in the woods and noticed that new trees grow without anyone planting them or having to work the ground. He felt like God showed him that this is how it was intended to be. Organic material that falls from the trees adds a layer of nutrients that feeds the soil. It also helps hold moisture in the ground and control weeds.

Back to Eden Gardening Layers:

• Newspaper– this should be applied to the entire bottom layer of the area that you choose. You can also use broken down cardboard boxes with no stickers on them. The purpose is to block weeds or grass from growing.
• Organic Compost– 3-4 inches of organic manure (chicken, horse or cow) or organic matter compost (leaves, grass clippings, veggie/fruit scraps, egg shells). Keep in mind the manure needs to not be “hot,” or it can kill your plants. Chicken manure should be at least 3 months old. Horse and cow manure should be a year old.
• Mulch– 3-4 inches of wood chips or mulch. If you don’t have access to wood chips, you can use hay, leaves, or grass clippings. The purose is for the material to break down and feed your soil over time. It also keeps water in and weeds out!

Paul advises that wood chips mixed with leaves makes the best covering because wood adds carbon to the soil and leaves add nitrogen. We used fairly raw wood chips on our garden last year. I did not heed the warning about pulling it back away from your baby plants/seeds when you first plant them. Most of those plants suffered. So, my suggestion would be to either get composted wood chips, or prep your garden the fall before you plan on planting. This gives the soil and wood chips time to begin to break down. Wood chips that are about 3 months old are safe to plant in.

Last year was our first attempt at the back to Eden gardening method. We created 6 new spaces in our yard. 3 of which, are boxed in beds that we planned to use the same method with.

The Process:

• First, we placed a layer of cardboard over the sites we had chosen for our gardens. (At the time, our chicks weren’t old enough to give us much manure.)
• Next, we went to a local farm and shoveled up a trailer full of year old horse manure. We had a great time as a family doing this. The kids romped around the farm, shoveled with us, and watched the horses.
• When we got home, everyone helped add the layer of composted manure plus our own compost from kitchen scraps/leaves/untreated grass clippings.
• Last, we picked up some raw wood chips from a near by tree cutting business. We got a huge trailer load for $10. By the end of the weekend, our garden was ready!

We put the garden together in February of last year. Our first season overall was really great, but it was definitely a learning curve.

My suggestions:

• Prep your garden the fall before you plan to have a spring/summer garden. Each fall add smore compost by pulling back wood chips and adding in the compost. Then, recover with old chips or add more.
• Use composted wood chips, or make sure you pull back the raw wood chips while your plants are still young.
• If your plants begin to look nitrogen deficient (stunted growth/uniform yellowing), add blood meal to the soil.
• Spray your plants weekly with neem oil to deter powdery mildew, blight, and bugs!

*Each year your garden should be better than the last, because it will become more nutrient dense over time.

Now, get your hands dirty, breathe in some fresh air, and start gardening. You will not regret it!