Building a Biological Powerhouse
in Your Soil Webinar Series

Wednesday, May 27 | 11:00 AM PST

Wednesday, July 15 | 11:00 AM PST

Register

Building truly healthy soils can unlock tremendous symbiotic benefits from the relationship between plants and microbes, including highly nutrient-dense produce, carbon sequestration, water retention, and resilience in the face of stress, extreme weather, and pest and disease pressure. The use of compost extracts, compost teas, and other low-cost amendments to inoculate soils with beneficial microbes is a growing soil health practice with incredible potential. Backed by fascinating emerging science and proven through remarkable in-field results, these practices can be done at any scale and in any context, from backyard gardens to large commercial pastures, orchards, and vineyards.

This webinar series will explore the science behind the workings of soil microbes, and why microbial inoculants are so effective in plant and soil health; describe and / or demonstrate practical, low-cost methods of creating quality composts and extracts; and share case studies and success stories of farmers using microbial inoculants on their farms.

Who will benefit from this series?

Any growers of plants, particularly in a commercial setting; emphasis will be placed on pastures, row crops, and vineyards, while offering tips to the backyard gardener or homesteader as well. Soil is soil, and the same principles apply across scales and crop types.

Topics covered:

Session 1: Practical Processes for Cultivating Beneficial Microbes (May 27 11 PST)

  • Webinar series intro

  • Intro to soil microbes

  • Cultivating microbes through composting – Sanctuary Farms

  • Biodynamic composting — Cure Soil

  • Vermicomposting

  • Q & A

Session 2: Infusing Your Soil and Plants with Beneficial Microbes (July 15 11 PST)

  • Webinar series intro

  • Intro to soil microbes recap

  • Creating and applying compost extracts

  • Differences and use cases for compost extracts and teas

  • Compost extract case studies

  • Korean natural farming

  • Q & A

Watch Session 1: Practical Processes
for Cultivating Beneficial Microbes

Featured Speakers

Jesse Wiser

Co-Founder and Marketing Director of Hiwassee Products

Jesse Wiser is a co-founder and current Marketing Director of Hiwassee Products, a manufacturing company dedicated to developing equipment solutions for soil health practices at all scales of operations – from Jesse’s half-acre food forest, where he practices vermicomposting and uses compost extracts to inoculate the soil, to large-scale commercial farms and ranches seeking to adopt regenerative practices at scale. Jesse is a student scientist, homesteader, and avid birdwatcher, and enjoys discussing how to leverage beneficial natural processes in healthy food production with commercial farmers, home growers, his own children, and local elementary classes.

Ian Hunter

Founder and CEO of Cure Soil Compost, Inc.

Ian Hunter is the Founder and CEO of Cure Soil Compost, Inc., a Demeter Certified Biodynamic compost company based in Marin County, California. With over 25 years of experience in organic and biodynamic agriculture, Ian works at the intersection of soil biology, mineral chemistry, and regenerative systems design.

Cure Soil produces microbial active compost verified by live microscopy — part of a methodology Ian calls Analytical Permaculture: regenerative principles backed by hard data. 

His work draws on the soil food web research of Dr. Elaine Ingham, the mineral balancing framework of William Albrecht, the redox electrochemistry of Olivier Husson, and the biodynamic tradition of Rudolf Steiner — whose preparations and cosmic-terrestrial framework remain foundational to how Cure Soil builds vitality into every batch. Ian’s conviction is simple: the health crisis begins in the soil, and so does the cure. At Cure Soil, he is building the infrastructure to prove it at scale.

Parker Jean

Parker Jean discovered gardening and composting at age 18 while searching for ways to support his mental health and reconnect with the natural world. What began as a personal practice soon grew into a deeper calling. Nearly a decade later, he turned that passion into a livelihood by co-founding Sanctuary Farms in 2021—an urban farm that evolved into a compost operation dedicated to closing the food loop in Detroit.

Through Sanctuary Farms, Parker works to transform food waste into high-quality compost that nourishes soils across the city. Today, that compost supports farmers, gardeners, and community spaces throughout Detroit, helping build healthier soil systems and more resilient local food networks. Drawing on his background in ecology, conservation, and urban agriculture, Parker brings a practical and hopeful perspective on how cities can regenerate their landscapes by turning waste into a resource.

Co-Founder of Sanctuary Farms

Chanlder Michalsky

Site Manager at Wormies, Founder of Earthwalk Farm

Chandler is the Site Manager at Wormies, Founder of Earthwalk Farm and co-founders of Camp Compost. He is passionate about reconnecting people with Mother Earth through composting, gardening, foraging and spending time outdoors.

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