My interest in growing my own food started when we still lived in Chicago. Our backyard was 8 feet by 12 feet, so my main source of information was “Square Foot Gardening” and a book on container gardening.

Fast forward to country living in Virginia. God blessed us with more space, but the quest for information on how to work this land nearly overwhelmed me—so many conflicting views. There were elements wisdom in all of them, but as always, I was hungry to hear about gardening from a "God's Design" perspective.

Enter Back to Eden, the film, which you can watch for free online. (Better yet, order the DVD for $15 delivered to your doorstep, because after you watch it, you will want to lend it to people. I’ve already lent it to several people who have put the information into practice.)

From the website:

“BACK TO EDEN shares the story of one man’s lifelong journey, walking with God and learning how to get back to the simple, productive methods of sustainable provision that were given to man in the Garden of Eden. The organic growing system that has resulted from Paul Gautschi’s incredible experiences has garnered the interest of visitors from around the world. However, never until now have Paul’s methods been documented and shared like this!”

The movie describes Paul’s journey as he incorporated God’s gardening methods (which he discerns by observing the magnificent forest that backdrops his land). He contrasts God’s ways to man’s labor intensive and snafu-prone gardening methods. Over time the process he describes requires less watering, fertilizing, and weeding, and produces more fruit (and vegetables) than most current day gardening methods.

You will enjoy the movie, and you can also listen to an archive of an interview I did with him on my radio show (scroll down to episode 5).

Since this is my first year with this method of gardening, in my next blog I’ll share what I have learned so far.

While the method requires a bit of upfront labor and materials, over time I trust that it will become easier and more productive.