For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Organic Transitions page and our All About Organics page.

If you’re passionate about your health, you ultimately will reach the conclusion that the quality of the food you eat in large part determines your health. You need nutrient-dense, non-GMO or non-glyphosate contaminated foods to stay healthy.

You can purchase organic from the store but this is typically shipped long- distance, and in many cases from a different country. You can purchase from local organic farmers but you still have logistical challenges and it may have been picked several days prior to your eating it.

Fortunately, regardless of your income, it is possible to nearly effortlessly grow your own food right in the comfort and convenience of your own backyard and virtually eliminate the time from harvesting to eating.

Paul Gautschi has been a personal inspiration to me, and his garden is a testament to the fact that growing large amounts of healthy food can be very simple, and doesn’t require a lot of time.

The documentary

Back to Eden was my first exposure to his work. I struggled for years seeking to unlock the puzzle of growing nutrient-dense food before I came across his recommendations-the simplicity and low cost of which really appealed to me.

The key to growing nutrient-dense food is to have a soil that is abundant with microbial life and nutrients. Sadly, very few of us have access to this type of soil but the good news is that it is relatively easy to create it.

After studying his technique more carefully, I realized that using wood chips is probably the single best way to optimize soil microbiology with very little effort.

Shortly after watching the film, I called my local tree cutting service and was able to get three truckloads of wood chips dropped on my driveway for free, which I then spread onto my landscape. Each load is around 10-15 yards and weighs about 7-10,000 pounds. So far I have had 13 truckloads delivered and I plan on doubling that.

Why wood chips?

You can actually use virtually any organic material for mulch but wood chips seem to be one of the best, as they are concentrated sources of carbon that serve to feed the complex soil ecology. Typically, carbon is one of the nutrients that is far too low in the soil.

Additionally, by covering the soil around your plants and/or trees with mulch, you mimic what nature does naturally, and in so doing, you

effortlessly maximize the health of the soil. And soil health, as I’ve discussed in many previous articles, is the

key to growing nutritious food.