Back to Eden movie

Has anyone else here watched the Back to Eden movie? You can watch it online for free http://backtoedenfilm.com/#movie. It's a good movie about a gardening technique mimicking nature and how God set the earth up to take care of itself.

It has interviews with a man who has had a lot of success gardening using traditional row gardens but covering the earth with at least 6 inches of organic material (sound familiar?) He puts a lot of emphasis on using wood chips (even though it seems that even some of his "wood chips" are just composted shredded yard waste and isn't just wood). He says they help aerate the ground beneath it plus retain moisture. But you have to pull back the wood chips, plant in the ground (or compost), then replace the wood chips to mulch. You do not till the chips into the ground, just put them on top as a mulch and they eventually break down as well.

So I'm thinking this would be a good way to go for someone who wants a very large space without the expense of Mel's mix. Also would be great for a church garden or community garden maybe. Especially if you could get a company to donate some of the materials.

It also has made me want to put mulch/wood chips down over my SFG, especially over the tomatoes to keep them from cracking. Has anyone had any success with mulching an SFG?

Yes.. I have put down wood chips on 2100 square foot of ground. It will take to the second year to get what I have worked so hard to do. But am counting on second year and thereafter to be no fertilzer- no tilling and lots of minerals. So on a lot of ground.. I have bought into it.

But my boxes are producing well, now.

Rod

At my midwest home I layed wood chips down heavily on barrier area. I was suprised how quickly they broke down. Within 2 years you couldn't see they had been there, and ther was no foot traffic in that area.

I want to find pine mulch. I read about it, but don't see it in the stores. We're so alkaline out here, that it is supposed to help bring it down. And pines are only 2 hours north. Someone has to be bagging it...right?

When I saw your title I thought immediately of East of Eden. Ray Miland (father) farmed lettuce, was trying to ship iceberg lettuce on trains from Salinas CA to the midwest (set in 1913-ish). So the story opens...

Great link!