Essays Contents
Back To Eden
April 30, 2024
edited text is between asterisks **
The book "Back to Eden" was once one of my reference books.
I've lost several book collections over the years...
The book is about natural healing for the most part.
The author, Jethro Kloss, first published it in 1949.
He had learned about the healing power of wild plants since childhood.
His stories tell how he resolved many ailments... some serious...
with herbal teas, stimulating massage, sweat baths, and cleansing techniques.
Kloss was a Christian man... and believed nature provides all that we need...
and that somewhere on the planet is a cure for all disease.
I've tried to find the connection with Jethro Kloss and Paul Gautschi...
because Gautschi has also coined the term "Back to Eden"
but for him it is in reference to natural gardening to attain health.
Gautschi uses layers of wood chips as top mulching in his gardens...
and this top layer of wood chips prevents problems with weeds...
and he has observed that it also regulates the moisture of the soil beneath.
In heavy rain... the chips pull water out and away from the garden...
in dry spells... the chips prevent the total drying out of the soil.
He attributes this to the capillary action of the wood chips.
Paul Gautschi gave tours of his gardens until 2022. Some were recorded.
He still welcomes visitors, but no longer has strength in his legs.
From what I can gather... he was exposed to "agent orange" in Vietnam...
which damaged the nerves in his legs or spine.
When he refers to "Back to Eden" techniques, he refers to God's creation.
He worships God's creation as a design of ultimate perfection.
His belief is genuine. He sees the works of nature as inspiring beauty
**and wisdom.
Paul allows his visitors to taste the fruit and vegetables in his garden.
They always remark about how wonderful the taste... and how sweet the flavor.
He tells them,
"When a plant has the nutrients and water it needs... it is not stressed.
Stressed plants taste bitter. Plants with the things they need are healthier...
they repel pests and disease... and they are a joy to eat."
What can we learn from this?
**
And I wouldn't want to end these references with just these two examples.
Many people find real insight in the Back to Eden message.
Darrel Luck knows bamboo and grows bamboo in Tennessee.
He says:
"When the settlers were first arriving in America
and starting their inroads inland...
a squirrel could have run from the shore of the East Coast
all the way to the Mississippi River
without ever touching the ground.
And I thought... wow... yeah... some primeval forest with giant trees
all connected big limbs and I could see that I was all wrong.
Only 50% of the forests were such trees...
the rest was bamboo groves... especially along the rivers.
The groves were easier to clear away for farmland and pasture
and so much of the native American bamboo disappeared.
The Carolina parakeet became extinct when the bamboo was gone."
