A thriving garden starts with healthy soil.

Before you start cutting everything down, bagging every leaf, and power-raking your yard into submission, join Alter Eco Farms for a fun and practical class on how to close down your garden in a way your soil will actually thank you for.

Whether you grow vegetables, flowers, herbs, or simply want a yard that doesn’t require endless fussing, you’ll learn how healthy soil can do much of the heavy lifting. We’ll explore what really happens beneath the surface after the growing season ends and why fall is one of the most important times of year to build healthier, more resilient gardens.

Together, we’ll uncover the hidden world of soil microorganisms using live microscopy and easy-to-understand science. You’ll meet the tiny organisms responsible for cycling nutrients, building soil structure, improving water retention, and helping plants resist pests and disease. We’ll also bust a few common gardening myths and answer questions like: Should you pull every dead plant? Are fallen leaves really the enemy? Is a perfectly tidy garden actually the goal? (Spoiler: your soil has opinions.)

You’ll leave with practical, affordable ways to feed your soil through the winter using compost, mulch, cover crops, and a few simple habits that will give next year’s garden a head start. Because the best spring gardens don’t begin in spring. They begin in fall.

We’ll wrap up by putting a living compost sample under the microscope and projecting it onto the big screen so everyone can experience the bustling world of healthy soil. If we’re lucky, you might even meet a nematode. They’re much cuter than their reputation suggests.

About the teacher:

Krisi Olivero is a biological soil consultant trained through Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web School. She is passionate about helping people grow thriving gardens by working with nature instead of against it. She believes soil biology should be approachable, gardening should be fun, and terrible jokes are an important part of any educational experience.