You didn't watch the Back to Eden movie did you? I find it amazing that most complaints that people are voicing are actually covered in the movie.
For those that watched, remember that he had chickens? Remember when he took the chicken waste and spread it out on his garden?
He also pointed out that what was being dumped wasn't just wood. It included leaves and needles. He specifically says in the film that plain wood wouldn't work as well. You need the natural mix.
People, please watch the film before you start complaining. It's really annoying.
Back to Eden really couldn't be used for large scale agriculture. But anything that cuts back on weeding and watering is worth a try for our personal garden. Especially if and when the day comes that watering won't be possible.
I did watch the vid actually. Chickens and/or geese do NOT keep down fire ants, invasive roach species, or termites especially if they are subterranean rather than dry wood species. If birds were able to deal with those pets we would have no problems with them here in Florida as we have year round populations as well as cold weather visitors that more than double the population. In my yard alone i have a nest of red tailed hawks, several different nesting families of song birds, every day the blue herons and cow birds come check out the lawn for goodies. I also have a healthy population of owls and bats that live in the swamp year round as well.
The chickens in the vid did not go into the planted ares or they would have scratched away the chips that the plants were in ... The top was too loose as you could tell how he was barely raking and the weeds came out.
I am sure that the method works for some gardeners and in some environments.however in my environment it does not and for the reasons I stated.