Back to Eden Gardening Interview and Tour with Paul Gautschi
Back to Eden Gardening is the revolutionary no-till gardening method pioneered by American gardener and arborist Paul Gautschi. Paul practices a no-dig gardening technique in which he installs wood chips on the surface of the soil. Back to Eden Gardening regenerates soil, conserves water, and restores soil biodiversity while practicing organic gardening principles and sustainable permaculture methods for growing food. Paul has helped millions of home gardeners grow more fresh produce at home with less work and without using chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
Paul answers the most frequently asked questions about how to start a Back to Eden Garden and successfully grow food in a vegetable garden and fruit orchard. Gardeners and farmers will learn Paul Gautschi's answers to the most common Back to Eden Gardening problems, mistakes, criticism, and myths including the following questions:
THE COVERING
What materials do you recommend as a mulch?
What type of wood chips do you suggest not to use as a mulch?
Do you recommend using cedar for wood chips?
What have you learned about using hay and straw?
How do you pick out a good source of wood chips?
How do you recommend preparing the ground?
How thick do you apply the wood chip mulch?
How do you recommend eliminating grass and weeds?
When do you recommend applying wood chips?
What if I do not have enough space for a garden?
What if I do not have enough sunlight for a garden?
SOIL PREPARATION
Do you suggest tilling to prepare the soil?
Where do you suggest planting in the wood chips?
How often do you apply a new layer of wood chips?
Do you thin your vegetables that grow in wood chips?
Do the wood chips provide good insulation?
FERTILIZATION
Do wood chips tie up nitrogen?
Do you recommend animal manures as fertilizer?
What types of organic fertilizers do you recommend?
IRRIGATION
How much do you water?
Is moisture a problem with other mulches?
Is mold a problem in wood chips?
WEED CONTROL
How do you recommend eliminating grass and weeds?
How do you manage tenacious weeds like thistles?
PEST CONTROL
How do you safely deal with insect problems?
How do you protect your fruit trees from bird damage?
CROP ROTATION
Why do you not rotate your crops?
PH ISSUES
How do you view pH issues?