Compost Academy

In 2018, Brian Vagg and Alex Whitesides worked together to achieve something unheard of in California wine country: creating a brand new vineyard with no inputs except Biological Compost and Extract.

In just a few years, they saw phenomenal success, and doubled down to convert another established vineyard from chemical to biological. Over 6 years, both vineyards have seen demand explode due to the quality of the grapes and the wine that comes from it, and profit has increased due to the lack of expensive inputs.

Wine growing in North America is a 338 BILLION Dollar industry, with 95% grown with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. An enormous revolution is possible if we work with biology to transform wine making, both in profit, wine quality, and ecological resilience.

The 2018 Woolsey fire ripped through Malibu California, turning family homes to ash. One home, owned by Richard and Linda was consumed by flames, but after the fire they discovered that their gardens and music studio survived because they were surrounded by rich soil and healthy plans. They worked with Keisha and Casey over a few years to restore the land with Microbe Rich Composts and Extracts and saw phenomenal results. In just a few years with compost amendments and planting the land made recovery to the point where it looked better than it did before the fire, while neighboring properties were stuck in weedy succession levels. This is the power of Soil Biology to restore landscapes after devastating fires.

Nature is always teaching us, but we have to slow down enough to notice.

A fallen tree does not disappear overnight. It softens. Fungi move in. Insects open pathways. Bacteria join the process. Moisture, oxygen, minerals, and time all work together as that tree becomes part of the soil again.

When we make wood chips, we are speeding up one part of that natural process by creating more surface area. But the real transformation still belongs to biology.

That is why wood chips are not just “brown material.” They are future fungal food, future humus, future structure, and a long-term part of the soil-building process.

Good composting starts with paying attention to what nature is already doing — and learning how to work with it.

Even the dog knows we spend a lot of time staring at compost piles.

At Compost Academy, we teach the real work behind building living compost — moisture, structure, ingredients, turning, microscopy, and the tiny microbial world that makes compost actually function.

It’s not glamorous every minute. Sometimes it’s slow. Sometimes it’s hot. Sometimes your compost lot assistant is deeply unimpressed.

But when you learn how to read the pile, manage the process, and grow biology on purpose, compost becomes a powerful tool for soil restoration.

Come learn with us at Compost Academy.

Learn to build compost that’s alive, functional, and ready to support real soil change.

Fungi are some of the great builders of healthy soil.

Their thread-like hyphae move through the soil, helping connect particles into stronger aggregates, improving structure, and creating pathways for air and water to move. They also help break down tougher plant materials, cycle nutrients, and form relationships with plant roots that can support stronger, more resilient growth.

When we build compost with biology in mind, we are not just making “organic matter.” We are creating the conditions for complex microbial communities—including fungi—to thrive and carry that function into the soil.

That is the heart of what we teach inside Compost Academy: how to build compost that is alive, diverse, and useful in real growing systems.

Join us and learn how to work with the biology that helps soil become more resilient from the ground up.

Loading days are still one of my favorite parts of this work.

We spend so much time sourcing materials, tending piles, checking moisture, watching the biology, and making sure the compost is truly finished before it leaves us. Then Casey gets on the loader and it finally heads out into the world.

To gardens. To farms. To people trying to build something more alive from the ground up.

That part never gets old.

Our Craft Compost is available for those who want to use compost as more than a nutrient input — as a biological starting point for living soil.

The squish test is one of the simplest ways to check compost moisture—and one of the most important.

Grab a handful of material from inside the pile and squeeze it firmly in your hand.

You’re looking for the compost to hold its shape when you open your palm, with maybe a drop or two of water appearing between your fingers. That tells you there is enough moisture for microbes to move, feed, and do their work without pushing the pile into soggy, low-oxygen conditions.

If it falls apart immediately, it is likely too dry.
If water streams out, it is too wet.

Moisture is one of the biggest drivers of compost success. A pile can have beautiful ingredients and the right structure, but without enough water, microbial activity slows down fast.

The squish test is not fancy—but it is one of the best habits you can build as a composter. Check often, adjust early, and remember: the microbes need a well-watered home.