Dr. Elaine shares why dirt is such a problem in the world today, and how humans can partner with microorganisms and plants to regenerate living soil. Instead of management practices that are dependent on increasingly expensive chemical inputs, we can utilize BioComplete™ Solutions and the power of ecological succession to restore biological functions in our landscapes.

Charles will explain how his gardening practices have evolved since 1982, when he created beds for the 1.5 acres of his new organic market garden, including sharing with us his methods for growing food easily and quickly, based on maximizing soil health with no-dig methods. He also will include information about how he makes and uses compost and what his trials show us about no-dig and the benefits it brings, including year-round planting so that beds are mostly full and covered either with plants or decomposing mulches.

Dr. White discusses how plants absorb endophyes from soils in order to extract nutrients from them. In this process, called Rhizophagy (Rhizo = root, Phagy = eating), bacteria and fungi cycle between a free-living phase in the soil and a plant-dependent phase within cells of plant roots. He explains how plants internalize nitrogen-fixing bacteria into their tissues and spread the bacteria throughout the plant in order to get nitrogen from the microbes to different parts of the plant. Plants need microbes to grow properly and get the nutrients they need out of soil.

Join the live panel with Dr. Elaine Ingham, Charles Dowding and Dr. James White. Dr. Adam Cobb hosts this live panel. Our Live Panels are an opportunity for our experts to get to know each other, share ideas, and ask each other questions. The audience also has the opportunity to submit questions for the panel. Live Panels are held in Zoom Webinar.

Get your questions answered from Dr. Elaine Ingham in this live Meet & Greet session! IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a LIVE event. You will be participating in Zoom. Please make sure you have the latest version of Zoom downloaded on your computer before the session starts. Click here for information on how to download Zoom on your device.

Get your questions answered from Charles Dowding in this live Meet & Greet session! IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a LIVE event. You will be participating in Zoom. Please make sure you have the latest version of Zoom downloaded on your computer before the session starts. Click here for information on how to download Zoom on your device.

Get your questions answered from Dr. James White in this live Meet & Greet session! IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a LIVE event. You will be participating in Zoom. Please make sure you have the latest version of Zoom downloaded on your computer before the session starts. Click here for information on how to download Zoom on your device.

Dr. David Johnson will share with us the results of his research on soil microbial community structure and function. He will also outline the steps we can take to restore the diversity of microbial life in our soils through the Biologically Enhanced Agricultural Management (BEAM) approach. This is a simple and affordable approach that helps rebuild soil structure and fertility and improve productivity and profitability while also benefiting the environment and climate.

Up until recently, forest fallowing was able to maintain soil fertility in Africa. With deforestation and population increase, there is no longer space nor time to maintain soil fertility through forest fallowing. The rains have washed away all the best soil, and farmers depend entirely on expensive fertilizers that only add to the problem. Droughts are happening almost every other year now. Nathan will share the real cause of these droughts and what smallholders in Africa do to drought-proof their fields. He also will share how farmers are turning their fields into a well-managed forest where they grow their maize without decreasing the plant population.

Successional Stages and Soil Food Web: Can we keep stationary stages to promote our crops?

Join the live panel with Dr. David Johnson, Dr. Carla Portugal and Dr. Elaine Ingham. Brian Vagg hosts this live panel. Our Live Panels are an opportunity for our experts to get to know each other, share ideas, and ask each other questions. The audience also has the opportunity to submit questions for the panel. Live Panels are held in Zoom Webinar. The Live Panels will be followed by separate Meet & Greet sessions where each speaker will move into a separate Zoom Meeting for a moderated Q&A with audience members. IMPORTANT NOTE: To avoid technical difficulties during the live sessions, please make sure you have the most up to date version of Zoom BEFORE the event begins.

Get your questions answered from Dr. David Johnson in this live Meet & Greet session! IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a LIVE event. You will be participating in Zoom. Please make sure you have the latest version of Zoom downloaded on your computer before the session starts. Click here for information on how to download Zoom on your device.

Get your questions answered from Dr. Carla Portugal in this live Meet & Greet session! IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a LIVE event. You will be participating in Zoom. Please make sure you have the latest version of Zoom downloaded on your computer before the session starts. Click here for information on how to download Zoom on your device.