Back to Eden Film Review by Joel Salatin

I had the pleasure a year ago of viewing the "Back to Eden" documentary on the work of Paul Gautschi's carbon-centric gardening methods in the northwest. While Gautschi is essentially a vegetarian and I may not agree with every little thing he says, I think he's onto something revolutionary in gardening.

In many ways, it's a permutation of the Ruth Stout "No Work Garden Book," which rocked the organic gardening world 50 years ago. Essentially, this method uses year-round mulch rather than tillage to keep and prepare the garden. It eliminates soil moisture fluctuations and suppresses weeds. But in Gautschi's idea, the mulch is wood chips rather than leaves and grasses like Ruth Stout used. When I was in Australia recently, I spent a morning with a handful of young produce farmers who were using his methods and the plants looked spectacular.

Gautschi's story is compelling, simple, and practical. I was mesmerized by this documentary. I don't watch films much--of any stripe. So to watch it and not turn it off was truly remarkable. I encourage anyone currently gardening or contemplating having one to watch this documentary. You won't forget it.

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