According to research, gardening and growing your own food is good for your mental health and physical health. Especially during a global pandemic, all of us can benefit by spending time outside, especially in a vegetable garden. Gardening is good for the mind, body, and spirit!

On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency because of the coronavirus. We all found ourselves under a "safer at home" order as our country went on lock down due to COVID-19. Panic swept the nation resulting in grocery store shelves being empty and products online being sold out and backordered for months. 

sTons of people lost their jobs and many businesses closed down. Cases of clinical depression and anxiety related to isolation and financial struggles skyrocketed. At the same time, the sale of plants and seeds skyrocketed with sales jumping over 400% for some seed companies. Many seed varieties were sold out and would not be replenished until the next growing season. Millions of people found solutions to food security and happiness through starting backyard gardens. 

​Personally, as the filmmakers of a gardening documentary, we watched as views of BACK TO EDEN climbed over 1 million views in the first month after quarantine began in the United States. A new surge of beginner gardeners swarmed our website and questions about gardening filled our email's inbox. We found ourselves answering questions from all over the world from Africa to Europe to China. It was clear that people were turning to gardening to keep themselves busy but not surprising many people were desperately seeking food security. This isn't the first time gardening was popular during a crisis in history either! The victory garden movement began during WWI which called on people to grow food in whatever space they could which helped prevent food shortages.

My parents, who are featured in the movie BACK TO EDEN, are still growing food 10 years after the film was released! Every year they grow a Back to Eden Garden that produces a higher yield than the previous year. They grow enough food in rural Pennsylvania to sustain them throughout the year! Mark McOmber started a YouTube channel showing the results of a 10 year Back to Eden garden. 

This is a vegetable gardening guide for beginners that includes essential steps you need to take to start a garden. Growing a vegetable garden is one of the most life-changing and rewarding things you can do. Starting a vegetable garden using organic gardening principles can save you time, money, and labor while greatly benefiting the environment. This guide starts at improving the soil and will cover every step you need to take for your starting your vegetable garden. 

The first step to start a vegetable garden is to improve the soil. Most importantly, do not till the soil! Tilling the ground is the most destructive thing you can do since tilling causes soil erosion and loss of soil diversity resulting in sterile soil that required more input. Instead, use a no-dig gardening technique that dramatically improves the health of the soil and environment. Once you pick a sunny area for your garden plot, layer the following material in this order: 
HOW TO START A VEGETABLE GARDEN

1. Apply at least 3-4 sheets of newspaper. 
2. Apply at least 3-4 inches of organic compost. 
3. Apply at least  3-4 inches of wood chips as a mulch on your garden. 
4. Apply a dusting of composted animal manure as a natural fertilizer on top of your garden as needed throughout the growing season. Do not add chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides!
5. DO NOT TILL THE SOIL! All of the materials you used to mulch your garden plot are biodegradable and will immediately begin to decompose, breaking down into nutrient-rich soil. 
6. Make sure your garden plot is always mulched! Mulch provides a protective covering on top of your soil that helps retain moisture which reduces watering, weeding, and work. Wood chips also decompose into rich soil overtime. Sign up for a free delivery of wood chips today!

The second most important part of starting a vegetable garden is​ the seeds you plant.  For the best results, plant non-GMO heirloom seeds in your vegetable garden. Heirloom seeds produce the best tasting and most nutritious fruits and vegetables. You can save your own seeds if you plant heirloom seeds which can save you money in the long haul. There are so many incredible varieties of heirloom seeds available from the leading heirloom seed companies.
RECOMMENDED SEED COMPANIES

• Seeds Now
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
• Ark Heirloom Seed Kits
• Pinetree Garden Seeds
• Johnny's Selected Seeds
• J.W. Jung Seed Company​

Get $20 OFF an ARK Heirloom Seed Kit using the code: WOODCHIPS

HOW DO I PLANT MY FIRST VEGETABLE GARDEN?
​Plant your heirloom seeds in your improved soil by pulling back a row of wood chips and planting in the compost below the wood chips. Many vegetable seeds are extremely tiny and need to be directly sowed into soil. Seeds need water to germinate so make sure to water your seeds daily so they do not dry out.  

MULCH, MULCH, MULCH your vegetable garden to ensure all the wonderful benefits of mulching! Mulch helps reduce weeding, watering, fertilizing, and working! If you notice weeds growing in your garden, pull them out or add more wood chip mulch to smoother weeds. If you notice plants wilting, you can always add more wood chip mulch to help conserve watering needs. Sign up for a free delivery of wood chips today! 

WHAT IS BACK TO EDEN GARDENING?
Back to Eden Gardening is the practice of growing plants in a no-dig vegetable garden that utilizes wood chip mulch to conserve water and regenerate soil. Back to Eden Gardening is a regenerative agriculture technique that implements organic gardening principles and is considered one of the best  sustainable permaculture methods for growing food. Back to Eden Gardening started because of the documentary film, BACK TO EDEN, featuring American gardener and arborist Paul Gautschi. Paul pioneered a no-dig gardening method that implements wood chip mulch to conserve water and regenerate soil. BACK TO EDEN was Produced and Directed by Dana Richardson & Sarah Zentz and released in 2011. ​The documentary went viral gaining millions of views and ignited a global gardening movement. Learn more about how to grow a Back to Eden Garden by watching the free documentary BACK TO EDEN.

WHAT IS WOOD CHIP GARDENING?
Wood chip gardening is the practice of covering your vegetable garden and fruit orchard with wood chip mulch. Wood chips will improve your soil and regenerate the natural life in the soil instead of the use of toxic chemicals that deplete the soil and create soil loss. Sign up to get a free delivery of wood chips from your local tree service company. 

Get free wood chips from ChipDrop a free wood chip delivery service! The free app helps gardeners find free wood chip mulch from local tree pruning companies near their address. The wood chips are free and the delivery is free! 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WOOD CHIPS?
Covering your garden landscape with wood chips will improve your soil which is practicing regenerative agriculture. Wood chips are extremely beneficial for soil regeneration which promotes healthy soil and healthy plants. Wood chips are an organic, biodegradable, carbon material that decompose over time transforming your soil into a dark, carbon rich, compost material. Composted mulch enriches your soil with nutrients which increases the product and quality of your plants and garden.  Wood chips dramatically reduce watering, weeding, and labor while preventing soil erosion. 

WHAT IS REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE?
Regenerative Agriculture is a farming and gardening practice that rebuilds soil and restores soil biodiversity resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. The Back to Eden Gardening technique is part of the regenerative agriculture movement. Back to Eden Gardening regenerates and revitalizes the soil and the environment. Back to Eden Gardening leads to healthy soil that is capable of producing high quality, high quantity, nutrient-rich food. Back to Eden Gardening will improve your soil leading to a productive garden and farm! Regenerative Agriculture and Back to Eden Gardening are serious solutions to climate change and desertification of the Earth. 

As you can see in the photos, the transformation above ground is amazing but what is happening below the surface (in your soil) is key to epic gardening results! ​The soil before adding wood chip mulch was anaerobic hardpan clay and sand. One year later, the soil is full of life including worms and beneficial microorganisms. These results are possible when you add wood chips to your garden. ​You can see that the wood chip mulch begins to decompose quickly breaking down into beautiful soil.