Back to Eden

Getting close to the month goal that my friend gave me, but I'm still making it with a few hours to spare!

I'll have a few posts on the spiritual connection that I feel farming should (or shouldn't) incorporate.  This particular spiritual connection I like and identify with.  It's represented really well in a documentary called Back to Eden.  The main farmer in the film, Paul, has a deep relationship with God, and actually looked to him for a few answers in helping him get his garden to work.  He decided he was doing too much work in his garden and couldn't keep up with the maintenance.  His "revelation" actually came to him as he ran into the woods and dropped onto the ground.  (That may be a little too dramatic for me, but oh well!)  He decided that following nature's way of being fruitful was the direction his garden should follow.  No man is weeding, fertilizing, or even watering nature's bounties that are sustaining those that live in it.  He, too, should be able to create a garden that has minimal maintenance but amazing produce.  This concept sure does sound a lot like permaculture!  (And it is!)

In order to achieve this minimal maintenance and accept the natural process that Yahweh has established, Paul thought he would cover his garden in wood chips.  Jah has created a natural process where trees/plants shed, creating a mulch on the bare earth.  I like to compare it to sun covers.  As much as we like being naked in the sun, it's not a wise idea for extended periods of time.  I actually need a rash guard and board shorts when I'm on the beach.

Me in my mulch.  After a day at on the North Shore in Oahu.

The use of mulch takes away the need for watering (at least in Paul's area), fertilizing, and weeding.  Leaving Paul to do nothing else but plant his seeds then pick his produce.  I have seen a farm using wood chips extensively, an orchard called Ya Ya.  The wood chips don't even need to be replenished every year.  The manual input just keeps getting less and less.

I have one last call out from the film that stuck in my mind.  It was a comment I enjoyed of Paul's about holes from bugs on the plants.  He thought it was a very natural thing.  The bugs were telling you which plants weren't poisonous.  Those pieces of lettuce in the store that DON'T have the bug bites are the ones you should be worried about.

The film was great, hopeful, and had a great message that I love:  let's get back to Eden (aka - the natural way).  It's possible and fruitful.

My baby niece, Eden.  May be another reason I like the film so much!  Makes me think of her.