Articles by Category

Compost  tea Brewing

Microbial Nutrition Strategies

Feed your soil's microbes with targeted nutrition strategies that boost biological activity and create thriving, fertile growing conditions.

Unlock Trapped Nutrients

Learn how to release NPK and minerals already in your soil. See how microbes unlock nutrients trapped in organic matter and make them plant-available.
Increase plant yields

Reduce Work and Increase Yields

Discover low-maintenance growing systems that harness soil biology to cut labor while boosting productivity and plant health naturally.
Natural Pest & Disease Immunity

Natural Pest and Disease Immunity

Build plant resilience through healthy soil biology. Learn how beneficial microbes strengthen natural defenses against pests and diseases.
Assess soil health

Assess Your Soil Health

Reveal your soil's microbial community, understand how to balance F:B ratio's and identify imbalances, and guide targeted improvements for better growth.

DIY Microbial Fertilizers

Create your own living fertilizers with compost tea, and extracts using biological amendments that feed soil life and nourish plants naturally.

Latest Articles

Why Your "Black Gold" Might Be Lackluster: Understanding the Real Risks of Municipal Compost

While compost is absolutely a cornerstone of healthy soil management, municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) and composted sewage sludge often come with hidden chemical and biological baggage that can actually undermine the soil food web you're trying to build.

The Language of the Land: Decoding the Fine Print of Soil Chemistry Reports

There is a common misconception that a soil report is a simple "inventory" of what is in the ground. In reality, a soil report is a complex chemical interpretation—a snapshot of a conversation between minerals, biology, and

5 Plant ‘Truths’ That Are Actually Killing Your Garden

  • Wendy Mickle

They are artifacts of a broken system. The truth is that our plants are constantly sending us messages, and the answers aren't in a bottle—they're in the soil. Prepare to have your perspective shifted
powdery mildew

Powdery Mildew Defense: Building a Living Fungal Shield Through Foliar Biology

Conventional fungicide programs require continuous investment with no reduction over time as resistance develops. Biological approaches involve lower long-term direct costs. Once beneficial populations establish, application frequency typically decreases while effectiveness increases, creating improving economics over successive seasons.
Aphid control

Natural Aphid Control: Building Your Garden's Defense Team

The sustainable solution lies not in sprays and chemicals, but in cultivating the natural predators that have controlled aphid populations for millions of years. By understanding and supporting these beneficial organisms, you can establish a self-regulating system that maintains aphids at manageable levels without constant intervention.
Symbiotic nitrogen fixers like Rhizobium species

The Living Solution to Clay Soil Compaction: How Soil Biology Creates Lasting Structure

  • Wendy Mickle

The agricultural industry has long promoted calcium amendments as the primary answer to clay soil problems but healthy clay soils in natural ecosystems like prairies and forests thrive. Why? Natural systems are created and maintained by an integrated community of organisms.

Unlocking Clay Soils: The Science of Flocculation and Calcium Management

  • Wendy Mickle

When clay platelets lie flat against one another the microscopic pore spaces essential for air and water movement effectively disappear. Oxygen cannot penetrate to support root respiration or aerobic microbial activity.

The Economic Case for Regenerative Agriculture: Building Prosperity Through Soil Health

Organic matter content directly correlates with water-holding capacity. Each 1% increase in soil organic matter enables soil to retain approximately 20,000 additional gallons of plant-available water per acre.
Illustration of the soil, food, web, depicting various organisms and their connections in the ecosystem.

More Than Mud: The Secret Life of Your Soil and How to Feed It

The soil ecosystem operates through specialized microbial guilds, each performing distinct ecological functions:

Deep Dive into Nutrient Recycling

Advanced growers seeking true nutrient independence. Unlock true nutrient independence by mastering the Soil Food Web. We explain exactly how microbial grazers utilize the C:N ratio and release nutrients in a plant available form.
root feeding nematodes

The Soil Police: Biocontrol that Eliminates Root-Knot Nematodes

Eliminate RKNs and pathogens. Discover the Trophic Cascade and the three biological armies (Predatory Nematodes, Fungi, Bacillus) that build your soil’s natural, prophylactic immunity.

The Fungal Feed: How to Force a 1:1 F:B Ratio for Vegetables

Stop overfeeding bacteria. Learn the advanced technique for a 1:1 F:B ratio using Fish Hydrolysate and Humic Acid to support fungal growth and ensure balanced nutrient release for annuals.