Meet the Microorganisms: Soil Microbe Workshop at Crabtree Farms, Chattanooga

On a warm late-summer morning at Crabtree Farms of Chattanooga, 1000 E 30th Street, a small crowd gathers to peer not at mountain ridgelines but into the universe inside a grain of soil. 8/22 – Meet the Microorganisms is a two‑hour, hands‑on workshop led by Krisi Olivero of Alter Eco Farms that turns a bank of microscopes and a single projection screen into a classroom for the invisible engineers of plant life. Participants watch live samples taken from garden beds and urban patches, comparing communities and learning how bacteria, fungi and protozoa cycle nutrients, suppress disease and build soil structure.

The program balances microscope time with practical conversation. Krisi, a biological soil specialist trained with Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web School and co-owner of Alter Eco Farms, guides identification of common categories of soil microorganisms and links what you see to real management choices: how tilling, compost, cover crops and native microorganism amendments change the living web beneath our feet. Alter Eco Farms is the only current distributor of live native microorganism amendments in the greater Chattanooga area—an uncommon resource for gardeners and small farms in the region.

This workshop takes place inside Crabtree Farms of Chattanooga, a community farm and education site that opens its soils — and its public programs — to curious locals and visiting travelers. The experience highlights key features: microscopes, big-screen projection of live footage, paired samples from different plots, and the urban-farm context where soil work is visible at the scale of raised beds and demonstration areas. Clay-rich soils common to the Chattanooga area and the region's pollinator plantings frame the conversation around local ecology and soil resilience.

Practical details matter: the session runs two hours, welcomes ages 12 and up, and limits groups to about 30 people; refunds are available up to seven days before with a 10% cancellation fee. A mandatory client waiver is required at Crabtree Farms; bring a notebook, closed-toe shoes and a willingness to lean in close. The setting is accessible to anyone who can stand for short periods and manipulate a simple pipette or slide under guidance—no prior lab experience required.

For traveling gardeners, urban ecologists, or anyone who wants to see the living network that fuels plants, this is a rare, low-barrier way to meet the microbe world. It's local science you can touch, projected big enough to show friends and family, and a direct route into regenerative practices that can change how your backyard or community plot grows. Arrive early to secure street parking on E 30th Street, settle before microscopes are set up, bring a labeled sample if you'd like your soil compared, and expect practical, field-ready steps to immediately improve soil life in your garden.