My Back to Eden
Truly Organic Garden
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."
this all used to be just a boring flat grass patch and now is
a Truly Organic Garden!….
without tilling, or chemicals of any kind!
We all been taught that Gardening involves very hard work!
But that’s not the way God made it to be!
He said:
First thing I did when we moved to our new house in January 2016 – I ordered plants!
Trees, shrubs, seeds… I figured the earlier I plant the sooner we will be harvesting!
…then I picked a spot for my Organic Garden and started covering it with wood chips, grass clippings, kitchen(non fat) waste, leafs, pine needles, anything that can rot and is not toxic right on top of the existing grass, which later just decomposed with everything else and became a great layer of rich soil…
and then I planted in it! Just split a nice opening with a small shovel, stick your plant in it and squeeze! God will take care of the rest!
No tilling
No watering
No fertulizing
No weeding problem
No washing (your produce will stay clean)
No pests or diseases
No rotation crops
So easy! God is so Good!
My 1st year Garden was great! much better than I anticipated! I actually didn’t anticipate much at all, I was used to plants committing suicide before I could kill them! So, when we started to harvest strawberries, greens, herbs, veggies, I was very motivated to continue!
At Christmas I no more desire a rose, Than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth; But like of each thing that in season grows.
I live in NorthEastern Pennsylvania - Hardiness Zone is 5b
It gets cold here… My gardening season is considerably short and I am limited to certain variety of plants that I can grow here. My fig tree had to be wrapped like a cocoon for the winter or it would freeze to death!
In, hopefully, near future I can extend my growing season with a green house, but for now I start some plants indoors by my windows and rely on the last/first frost dates to transplant them into the garden when it is warm enough. But this is probably the only challenge I got to deal with!
I feel so very blesses with everything else!
We have all four beautiful seasons here! The climate is gorgeous – the winters aren’t all THAT cold (especially comparing to where I grew up!) the summer isn’t too hot – we don’t even have a need for an AC in our home! and the Fall and the Spring are like from a fairyland!
some of First and Last Frost Date charts are not going to be that helpful. Instead, you may want to look at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website, where once you to choose your state, you will find a list of the freeze/frost data by probability (90, 50, 10 percent) as well as three different temperature thresholds.
My truly Organic Garden
few shots from the summer of 2017-18 – my 2nd & 3rd years of gardening!
Back To Eden Film
Before there were Schools and Universities, people would learn from Masters.
Paul Gautschi – is The Master I chose to learn from. Him and God. Watch the “Back to Eden” Documentary and you will understand why. Before I started growing The God’s Way, I couldn’t keep a plant alive no matter how hard I worked (and I did work very hard!!!)
Now without much effort I grow an AMAZING Truly Organic Garden
and ENJOY doing it!
about the Back to Eden Gardening method
Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems."
Look at any wild patch on Earth and ask: who tills, seeds, weeds, waters or fertilizes there? How come it’s not only not dying, but thriving without the heavy machinery and human presence?
“God designed it, so that he wouldn’t have to show up to work” – Paul Gautschi
Life cycle in nature is so incredibly brilliant, why not adopt it for yourself?
The forest ground is always covered with leaves, branches, twigs, fruit, dead trees and other vegetation, animal and bird feces and other organic material. Everything in motion of life and death and the life again!
The covering on the soil provides not only protection for roots and microorganisms from frost, from drying and flooding, but fertilizes it, serve as home to countless microorganisms and insects, prevents extra weeds to germinate, keeps moisture in and absorbs extra water – so its never too dry or too wet! It is also acts as a filter from toxins coming from the top with the rain and flood.
what you DON'T NEED TO DO to start your very own Back to Eden Garden:
1. you do not till !! ever! there is a whole different universe under your feet and tilling is killing it! So, sell your rototiller if you got one and forget all that back aching work. So you see that’s already half work done!
2. You do not need to fertilize your garden. All you will be doing is layering any organic mater (compost material) which you may already have on top as cover which will be processed by the insects and microflora that is alive and happy in your soil underneath!
3. You don’t need to water. Just in the beginning, naturally, when you seed new seeds in the ground or transfer your seedlings you have to keep the soil moist, just until the roots will take off and reach the moisture farther bellow. After that you can pack away your garden hose. I had enough rain during the summer and even if I didn’t, the cover that is on top of my soil level is protecting it from drying out, just as your skin protects you. Under the covering the soil is soft and moist, never soggy or hard! Its just amazing, because we were thought that we need to till to fluff it and never walk on it because it will compress it – but both statements are false! I walk on it and it just bounces back!
4. You do not need to weed much! for two reasons:
1). most weeds are not weeds at all, they are medicinal herbs and wild edibles! such as the awesome Dandelion and Stinging Nettle, Lamb’s Quarters and Chickweed, Ground Ivy and Bidens, Japanese knotweed and Horsetail, Red clover and Purslane and even pesky Mullein and Yellow Dock! … all these plants that I just mentioned have incredibly powerful benefits to our health! they are called weeds because they are Invasive! I don’t like the word “invasive” though, I prefer PERSISTENT! We need to pay attention to them and they will stop being a problem! They only get in your face because they know you need them! They are just trying to help!
2). the weeds only grow on the soil that has no cover! Till and you see the weeds popping out trying to cover it very fast! cover it – and no weed problem. Just like our skin form a crust over a wound – weeds have the same purpose!!
2.0). weeds come out so easy out of the soil that will be in your garden! because its not compacted, its full of air and moisture, it isn’t hard to weed. I never thought I would say it but I like weeding now – First its easy to pull them and then I just eat them right there because most of the weeds are edible and those that are not I “chop and drop” to use as the cover.
big plus: if/when you are weeding, you are pulling that plant out of the ground and the moment its out with the cloud of soil microbiome particles in the air and you breath it in! That moment you exchange your DNA and get that needed variety of beneficial bacteria, fungi, micro-nutrients and vitamins! the Vitamin B12 that is essential for humans, meaning we cant produce it, and can only obtain with our diet – its in the soil! You just can not loose!
5. you do not need to wash your produce! when the ground is covered with wood-chips, there isn’t any sand or soil particles on top of it, rains washes it down and leaves clean wood-chips on top. Such a blessing compare to my previous attempts to grow strawberries for example…they were all sandy even after you rinse them…and washed, they aren’t taste the same to me.
6. you don’t need to worry to rotate crops – just plant everything on the same spot if you desire! Or move it around – your choice! you are the boss in the Garden!
7. you don’t need to worry about pests! Pests are the police force of nature and designed to clean out the dead or distressed plants, If your plants are healthy and full of water
So, what do you actually need?
Seeds, plants, cover and few tools to help out. And some work of course! 🙂
Cover for your Garden:
1. wood chips (the kind that contains all parts of the tree – leaves, big and small branches, twigs, bark, wood).
Wood chips is the best cover for your garden. Period. But there are a few things to consider:
Unlike finished compost fresh wood chips are in a state of very active decomposition.
These initial stages of decomposition require nitrogen. When fresh wood chips are used as a mulch, this nitrogen is pulled from the topmost inch or two of soil, causing a temporary nitrogen deficiency in this area. But as the mulch breaks down, the nitrogen is eventually released back into the soil (along with lots of organic matter and other nutrients), making it good for the soil in the long run.
This temporary nitrogen depletion is why fresh wood chips should only be used as a mulch, because the fact can help with the weed control if that is whats underneath. Never till the wood chips into the soil!! If you mix the wood chips into the soil, the zone of nitrogen depletion will be much greater.
But the temporary nitrogen depletion, can work for you if you use fresh wood chips around deep-rooted plants, such as trees and shrubs, rather than in the vegetable or perennial garden. Trees and shrubs acquire their nutrients from deep in the soil, and they won’t even notice the nitrogen deficiency.
One simple way to avoid this issue and still use the wood chips on flower or vegetable areas is to allow the wood chips to age for a year before using them. You could also use them to mulch pathways or other areas without plant growth.
No matter where you decide to use your fresh wood chips, as with other mulches, never pile them against tree trunks or other plants. Doing so leads to fungal diseases and bark rot, and will eventually kill the tree.
sign up here for free wood-chips in your aria: getchipdrop.com
and here is a good article on EIGHT Ways to Get FREE Wood Chips for your Back to Eden Garden
2. kitchen scraps (fruit/veggie cuts/peels, eggshells, coffee grinds, herbs leftovers from making herbal teas and anything that usually goes into your garbage disposal and alone the line of garden composting)
3. any organic mater — if you have chickens – that’s awesome, because chickens make the best garden soil under the right conditions. This was why I actually got our chickens – so that they make me compost 🙂 the eggs is a bonus! Everything extra that we don’t use from the garden I throw to the chickens. They go throw everything, scratch and dig and scratch and then poop in between, so then there is a very good compost is made. Chicken manure on its own is very acidic, but when its diluted, it makes very good plant fertilizer.
4. I layer my garden with grass clippings and fall leaves, pulled weeds and expired plants that didn’t make it to the chicken run.
5. I have a pines on my property, so I have the access to the pine needles that are falling under there and a great compost material.
GRASS CLIPPINGS for your Back to Eden Garden
We have a large area that needs to be mowed – about 6 + acres all together and most of it grass! I’m not fan of that job – it usually takes me around 4-5 hours of ironing back and forth with some kind of plan in mind on a vibrating tractor! – but since this is what God gave me to work with – I use our collector to pick up the grass clippings and found how to use them in many different areas in my garden!
1. When you are just staring – fresh grass clippings are the best way to use to kill the existing grass and start planting! Most Back to Eden followers layer newspaper or cardboard down to suffocate the weeds, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to add all that glue and ink into your soil – the heat that is generated when the fresh clippings start to decompose kills the weeds and grass underneath it and turning into soil without newspaper or cardboard. And it’s less work! Just collect them before they dry and spread a thick layer of the clippings anywhere you want to start your garden and from then on just keep on layering! That’s it!
2. Dry grass clippings provide an excellent cover for wherever you need mulch.
3. I use dry grass clippings to cover inside the chicken coop and inside the nesting boxes, where the girls lay eggs. 🙂 Extra herbs that I harvest I hang in the coop for smell and than I later I crash them and add into the boxes, so that the hens stay healthy and clean.
I would collect grass clippings with leaves in the Fall and cover my Garden where it was needed.
That makes very good compost and covering!
those beets on the right side picture we ate all winter BTW! I just covered the rows with wood-chips and frost didn’t hurt them! actually the cold made them more sweet!
Understand the difference between wood chips, wood dust and compost to avoid crucial mistakes.
just a short video to show you what the soil looks like after a wile and how easy it is to plant in it. Plant and walk away.
what you do NOT want to add to your Organic Garden:
1. Dog and Cat Poop
Horse, cow, goat, chicken and rabbit droppings are great additions to your compost pile. They will add nutrients and organic matter that will benefit your soil. However, but not the poop from dogs and cats (and other carnivores)! I don’t know what’s in the dog and cat poop but it kills plans faster than a weedkiller. Also their waste often contains microorganisms and parasites that you do not want to introduce to the crops you will be eating.
We have a dog that goes in one area on our property and then we pick it up and collect in bags then discard and our cats learned to go beyond our property to do their business (this is one the benefits of adopting Farrell cats 🙂
2. Tea and Coffee Bags
Coffee grounds and tea definitely are great for compost! just not their bags and filters.
The bags that some coffee and tea products contain synthetic fibers that do not break down in a compost pile, and can contain toxins that you don’t want in your soil.
3. Leftover cooked fatty food. I just don’t see how your helpers earthworms would like your leftover chicken soup or stew…That best be given to your dog or discarded some other than into your garden ways.
4. Fish and Meat Scraps While technically they will decompose fine, you really don’t want to add fish and meat scraps to the compost pile or your garden. Fish and meat are organic and will add nutrients to your garden, but their smell will attract any rats, mice, foxes, raccoons, or cats in the neighborhood (or even coyotes and bears, depending on where you live).
I have this big boy walking around that I wouldn’t want to see any more closer than this!
These pictures were taken from my living room window, he was crossing our front yard field and heading to the park that is next to us. It was just a pure luck that day we didn’t meet with him nose to nose!
He is magnificent though!
5. Glossy or Coated Paper. Paper that has been treated with plastic-like coatings to make it bright, colorful and glossy, like magazines, won’t decompose properly, contains toxins, and is not appropriate for your compost pile.
6. Sticky Labels on Fruits and Vegetables
Those obnoxious little sticky labels and price tags on fruit and vegetables are made of “food-grade” plastic or vinyl, and do not biodegrade.
7. Coal Fire Ash
it contains so much sulfur as to make the soil excessively acidic, which will harm your plants. Also, in many cases charcoal are treated with chemicals you really don’t want in your compost, your garden or your food.
Wood fire ash from the fireplace can be added in moderation.
8. Sawdust From Treated Wood
While sawdust from untreated, natural woods can be a great addition to compost, if the wood has been treated with any kind of pressure treatment, varnish, stain or paint, you should never add it to your garden. Pressure treated wood contains arsenic and cadmium—two toxins you definitely don’t want in your garden or your food!
8.0 Actually you don’t want fresh saw dust even from the not treated wood around your plants until it somewhat decomposed, because of the nitrogen deficiency.
9. Large Branches – it’s best not to put large branches in your garden – you can chip them, or use for firewood, or make Hugelkultur. Large branches can be used in some low areas to level the ground. They will decompose on much slower rate, and will be a great source of nutrients for plants and the soil microbiome for a long time.
10. Synthetic Fertilizer
Synthetic fertilizers contain high levels of inorganic elements that you really don’t want in your garden ecosystem. Like taking a generic multivitamin instead of eating real, whole food, the form in which these synthetic fertilizers provide nutrients to the soil can actually kill the microorganisms in your soil, which will ultimately affect the health of your plants.
Compounds in synthetic fertilizers, such as heavy metals, will also leach through the soil into the water table, as well as upset the natural balance of nutrients in the soil.
Stick to natural ingredients for your garden composting!
Dr. Mercola and Dr. Bush on Soil Microbes (Full Interview)
my Instagram:
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Benefits. Uses. Preparation. Safety. Tincture recipe.
Yarrow is one of my absolute favorite herbs! My grandma used to say that there is nothing it cannot help! It is a very easy herb in every aspect! In this post, I’ve included: Benefits of Yarrow plant; Uses & Safety; History & folklore; Preparation methods and doses; Tincture recipe. I hope it will be useful to you. Please leave me a comment 🙂
Recent Posts
My 4 reasons to buy secondhand clothing
My new toxin-free lifestyle lead me clearing my kitchen, makeup, and medicine cabinets of toxins and opened my eyes to many of the ways we’re exposed to environmental toxins on a daily basis, from cleaning products to perfume and personal care. And as it turns out, I also needed to look inside my closets.
WEEDS
Weeds are simply trying to do the job that nature has set out for them: Fertilizing and cover protection the soil. Now, to be sure, there will always be weeds to some extent, healthy garden or not. Weeds is the Earth’s skin.
Weed control through no soil disturbance.
When planting or transplanting, the soil naturally gets disturb and that sometimes brings weed seed into the light where it can germinate along with your plants. True no-till leaves weed seeds in place. The weed seeds that are deep in the soil do not germinate and eventually rot, and those that are shallow germinate and can be controlled before producing more seed. With time if you keep up controlling what grows and what not in your Garden the weed pressure decreases.
Weed control through soil cover
Obviously accumulated crop residue on the soil surface acts as mulch to prevent weeds from sprouting in the soil underneath. The less the residue cover is disturbed the better it can perform as a mulch. Making sure to maintain the cover as it decomposes and feeds the soil. Best time to transition to no-till method is during Harvest. God fertilizes in the fall when the leafs fall and the grass die, the wind blows off the dead branches twigs and trees.. But it never really is a bad time to transition! I started in early spring, because we moved into this house in January.
That being said… I love my weeds! I disturb soil on purpose around the edges to see what else God will send my way!
Where I get my seeds:
I always try to save my own seeds. You definitely need to practice doing that, for there is always a risk you won’t be able to buy them some day, but in any case its a very useful survival skill. But most importantly the seeds you get year after year from your own plants grow into plants that “know” you. Those plants will have a different constituents based on your DNA and your health issues that is provided by living in close contact with them.
Some seeds are super easy to save (kale, calendula, nettle, garlic, tomatoes…) and some – you will need to spend some time doing (broccoli, lettuce, bok choy, carrots, beets…).
When I do not have my own seeds, my priority is to buy Organic and heirloom kind. Store them in a cool dry and dark place.
I advise not to order on Amazon, Ebay, Etsy unless you check and re-check the seller’s info. I bought some from there and regretted it.
Here are three main and very reputable online places you can order from:
If you want to learn more about the seed industry
Dr. Phil Howard, the creator of the popular Who Owns Organics infographic, has developed an updated set of compelling graphics detailing corporate consolidation in the global seed industry.
I think I have picked a good selection for my Garden last (2017) year, that let us be independent from a store produce section! It felt really good to be able to “go shopping” in your own backyard.
We had 4 varieties of Kale that I chose to grow and I planted a lot, so that we had enough to feed us all summer long, our chickens and to freeze excess for the winter along with other greens, veggies, berries herbs and edible weeds. I have a huge vertical freezer for that in the basement and we filled it up with homegrown foods.
Greens/Veggies
Annuals
annual vegetables are the ones that complete their life cycle within one growing season (from spring to fall usually), so the next season you will need to plant a new one.
Lettuce
Melon
Onions
Peas
Peppers (Hot & Sweet)
Potatoes
Radish
Spinach
Summer Squash
Butternut Squash
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Arugula
Bush Beans (Yellow and Green)
Beets (Red & Golden)
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Garlic
Kale
Perennials
what’s not to love about perennials!? Plant them, maintain them and harvest year after year!
Perennial Vegetables Help Build Soil including providing habitat for a huge number of animals, fungi and other important soil life..
Many perennial vegetables are also beautiful, ornamental plants that can enhance your landscape. Others can function as hedges, ground covers or erosion control for slopes. Other perennial veggies provide fertilizer to themselves and their neighboring plants by fixing nitrogen in the soil. Some can provide habitat for beneficial insects and pollinators, while others can climb trellises and provide shade for other crops.
But I love most the once that do all that and bare fruit!
Perennial greens and veggies
Rhubarb
Watercress
Horseradish
Lavage
Kale (it’s a cold loving plant, and it can stay on growing like a vine if it don’t get TOO cold. I’ve seen a 3 y.o. Kale in a greenhouse that was still producing!)
Would you like to receive my new posts, recipes, special offers and surprise giveaways right in your email box?
To get a coupon for FREE domestic shipping on your 1st order enter your email below:
Read more about how your info is used in the Privacy Policy.
** Information on the traditional uses and properties of herbs that are provided on this site is for educational use only, and is not intended as medical advice. Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Many traditional uses and properties of herbs have not been validated by the FDA. If you have any serious health concerns, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs. **