Imagine fields of flowers under your fruit trees ... what a beautiful addition to your garden. But did you know that flowering plants can also help you have a healthy gut, healthy soil, healthy trees and happy bees?

In this 1.5 hour online Masterclass, guest expert Dr Christine Jones will explain the truly amazing connections between fruit trees and the plants, soil and microbes beneath them - and your gut health.

Most of our immunity comes from our gut, and human health is improved by eating a wide range of plants that support a diversity of gut microbes. The same applies to soil health. A plant's immune system functions much better if it's growing in a biodiverse soil.

You may be surprised to learn that plants and microbes make up a whopping 99% of the biomass of life on earth, with all the rest (people, animals, insects ...) making up just 1%. Plants and their microbial partners truly are the major players in healthy ecosystems, and understanding how they work together leads to better crops, healthier plants, and healthier people (as well as more profitable farms).

Christine will teach us why plants under fruit trees are so important, why we need to aim for "yearlong green", and why diversity matters. She'll gently introduce us to the cutting edge concepts of "biological induction", "autoinducers" and "quorum sensing", which reveal exciting new facts about the roles plants and microbes play in your garden. 

You'll learn the many benefits of including a species-rich understorey beneath your fruit trees:
* enhancing diversity above and below the ground
* helping your fruit trees grow
* rapidly building stable soil carbon
* improving soil structure, aeration and water-holding capacity
* enhancing soil nutrient availability (so no need for fertilisers)
* improving the immune system of plants (reducing need for insecticides or fungicides)
* making your trees more resilient and productive
* optimising soil, plant, animal and human health and happiness

And the best bit? Once you have the plants established, you can eat them! The majority of herbs and flowers that channel carbon to soil are also great for human gut health. (Just be sure you know which ones are safe to eat.)

By the end of this webinar you will:
*   be armed with simple and effective strategies to establish a thriving "understory" of plants under fruit trees
*   know how to stop the never-ending fight against weeds with chemicals, weeding or mulch
*   have access to appropriate plant lists
*   understand how to plan a diverse mix of plants
*   have strategies for retrofitting the understory beneath your mature fruit trees

Our guest expert Dr. Christine Jones has a PhD in soil biochemistry and has gained international recognition as a speaker, presenting at workshops, field days, seminars and conferences throughout Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Western Europe, Central America, the United States and Canada.

In her long career Christine has published more than 50 scientific papers on soil science, most recently "Quorum sensing in the soil microbiome" at the No-Till-on-the-Plains Winter Conference in Wichita, Kansas (USA) in 2019.
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She has a wealth of experience working with innovative landholders to implement regenerative land management practices. Christine is a member of Arizona State University’s ‘Carbon Nation Team’ and sits on the advisory board of ‘The Carbon Underground’.

When you sign up you'll receive:
* A ticket to the exclusive live presentation - including the chance to ask your questions 

After the webinar we'll send you:
* Access to the recording of the webinar (with no expiry date)
* A PDF of the presentation (for your own use only)
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Plus BONUS GIFTS
- A copy of the "Guide to Understorey Plants for Fruit Trees", valued at $15.00
- A copy of the "Learn to Love Your Weeds" Grow Great Fruit short course, valued at $19.00
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PLEASE NOTE: This is a LIVE, ONLINE class. You'll be able to ask questions during and after the presentation.