Back to Eden gardening method

Can you post a summary of what he actually does minus the sermon?
 
I'm not sure gardening in the nude is going to make the plants grow any better tbh.
 
Please tell us what it's all about. Not watching the video if it has religious connotations.
 
He explains how nature prepares soil and how we can benefit from this method. In short nature layers the ground each autumn with leaves, it decomposes during winter and summer all that nutrients is available for the plant. How we would do it is to layer with wood chips, under no circumstances work the wood chips into the ground, only fertilise with compost on top whenever you want to. Water almost never. Layer each year with wood chips and high nitrogen compost like chicken manure. Do not till the soil, do not work it in any way.

Here's another guy that adopted this method, (no religion in this video). It is a very good watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So4_ybD76f4

I've done some research and i've noticed WC is the best place for this method just because the garden refuse dumps has government owned wood chippers and u can use it for free or go get wood chips for free. In Gauteng where I am the system is broken and everyone wants to make a profit it seems. Wood chipping machines is really expensive like R15k 2n hand.
Lets do this method.
 
Not tilling the soil is a great method of gardening. I bought a garden shredder 3 years ago and everything goes on the compost heap. Agreed it was expensive. I'm not very good with vegetable cuttings though because of rats. Two areas in the garden are set aside for largish branches to be stacked as homes for insects etc.

The only time the gardener digs a hole is to plant a new shrub.
 
maumau said:
Not tilling the soil is a great method of gardening. I bought a garden shredder 3 years ago and everything goes on the compost heap. Agreed it was expensive. I'm not very good with vegetable cuttings though because of rats. Two areas in the garden are set aside for largish branches to be stacked as homes for insects etc.

The only time the gardener digs a hole is to plant a new shrub.
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Make one or two compost tumblers off the ground. I've downloaded a few videos on how to make them of youtube which look easy, the cost part is the tumbler itself but its an investment.
 
maumau said:
Not tilling the soil is a great method of gardening. I bought a garden shredder 3 years ago and everything goes on the compost heap. Agreed it was expensive. I'm not very good with vegetable cuttings though because of rats. Two areas in the garden are set aside for largish branches to be stacked as homes for insects etc.

The only time the gardener digs a hole is to plant a new shrub.
Click to expand...

Lol, so I've been using this Eden method without knowing it. Actually I let whatever just grow where it wants except if I know its a weed or really don't want it growing there.
 
supersunbird said:
Lol, so I've been using this Eden method without knowing it. Actually I let whatever just grow where it wants except if I know its a weed or really don't want it growing there.
Click to expand...

That's great, post some pictures so we can have a look at your method.
 
I have tried this method after reading about another guy in the states, Paul Kaiser, who supposedly grosses $100k per year per acre by farming this way. It was a big fail for me.
I stopped tilling the ground and instead of working all my organic made compost into the ground, I just mulched it around the vegetable plants. Initially it was great, the compost mulch prevented weeds from growing, and when replanting, I just used the same hole where the previous plant was. For the past two years my yields just got worse and worse to a point where the vegetable gardening became a frustration for me. I discovered that this method does not work for clay ground since the ground just become more and more compact and less able to retain water and air. Even my earthworms disappeared and not even weeds could grow anymore.
My conclusion is that while it may work for certain ground types or hippies, mankind would not have spend the countless energy over the centuries to till the ground for their crops if this was a better way.
 
Coasti said:
I have tried this method after reading about another guy in the states, Paul Kaiser, who supposedly grosses $100k per year per acre by farming this way. It was a big fail for me.
I stopped tilling the ground and instead of working all my organic made compost into the ground, I just mulched it around the vegetable plants. Initially it was great, the compost mulch prevented weeds from growing, and when replanting, I just used the same hole where the previous plant was. For the past two years my yields just got worse and worse to a point where the vegetable gardening became a frustration for me. I discovered that this method does not work for clay ground since the ground just become more and more compact and less able to retain water and air. Even my earthworms disappeared and not even weeds could grow anymore.
My conclusion is that while it may work for certain ground types or hippies, mankind would not have spend the countless energy over the centuries to till the ground for their crops if this was a better way.
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That's great that you tried it, one thing that Paul in the BTE film does not stress enough is the frequent high nitrogen compost he uses from his chicken coop weekly to supplement the soil. Here in SA i was going to use fine compost to do that until i have a easy enough method to get my own compost and use minimal water to inject water into the soil.
Did you stop adding mulch or compost? Check out this video i found differences between mulch and wood chips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAXrKFjs77o

With the wood chip method i describe you would add different grade of wood chips not just mulch every year over the whole garden area. It is definitely a long term investment which should be fruitful in say 5y. Youtube Ruth Stout as well for a different perspective.
 
He renames organic farming.

Just about Anything done in America does not count in South Africa.

They have better climate and less bugs as well as weeds (to put it mildly).
 
A couple of years back I got a cubic meter load of wood chips at the Pikitup site at the Panorama Garden site in Roodpoort. That site has pretty much closed down.

Does anyone know where to get them at a reasonable price? Culterra by the Lion park sells compost made of wood chips but it's already too far composted to my liking.

I have called Pikitup but it's impossible to get hold of someone that knows anything.

Any other place in the JHB/Midrand/Pretoria area I can try?
 
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T-Man said:
A couple of years back I got a cubic meter load of wood chips at the Pikitup site at the Panorama Garden site in Roodpoort. They no longer it and that site has pretty much closed down.

Does anyone know where to get them at a reasonable price? Culterra by the Lion park sells compost made of wood chips but it's already too far composted to my liking.

I have called Pikitup but it's impossible to get hold of someone that knows anything.

Any other place in the JHB/Midrand/Pretoria area I can try?
Click to expand...

This is my problems as well, finding sites that has a wood chipping machine. What did you use the wood chips for? So far i have 2 work colleagues that is willing to split the bill of renting a wood chipper for a day...
 
T-Man said:
Does anyone know where to get them at a reasonable price? Culterra by the Lion park sells compost made of wood chips but it's already too far composted to my liking.
Click to expand...

Last time I was at Culterra they were loading a truck with recently chipped wood. Perhaps ask the guys at the back?
 
KDZAR said:
This is my problems as well, finding sites that has a wood chipping machine. What did you use the wood chips for? So far i have 2 work colleagues that is willing to split the bill of renting a wood chipper for a day...
Click to expand...

I put a 5 cm cover on all my beds. Some I used to partly fill a new raised bed and the rest went onto the compost.

I have also used aged horse bedding to cover my beds. It works well to retain the moisture in the soil. With the occasional perdevy you get some fertilizer as well. You do get the odd wheat seed germinating though.

Over time the soil structure improves, plus the fact that you need less watering.
 
T-Man said:
I put a 5 cm cover on all my beds. Some I used to partly fill a new raised bed and the rest went onto the compost.

I have also used aged horse bedding to cover my beds. It works well to retain the moisture in the soil. With the occasional perdevy you get some fertilizer as well. You do get the odd wheat seed germinating though.

Over time the soil structure improves, plus the fact that you need less watering.
Click to expand...

5cm sounds low for me, when i initially start i will load 10 to 15cm worth of chips before winter and just leave it to decompose a bit till summer.
 
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