Plans the next year of his life to grow the bulk of his own food. His first mentor, Michael Kappel, encourages him to make compost before he cultivates the land and they develop a plan and strategy for Steven to make 20,000 in his backyard pounds before he plants his first crops.

Single-handedly transforms his backyard in LA into an urban mini farm. 

Teaches 40 farming workshops and hosts garden tours for over 2000 guests. 

Builds over 50 edible gardens for residential and commercial clients (schools, restaurants, for-profit and non-profit business) around LA. 

Grows specialty greens for fine restaurants including Plant Food Wine, JiRaffe, Ashe, The City Club LA, and The Culinary Institute Of Los Angles.

Starts a CSA subscription for the neighborhood for his backyard produce. 

Becomes the protege of Farmer Jack McAndrew, one of the world’s premier Biodynamic compost makers of the 21st century. One year under Jack’s tutelage and over 1,000 hours of compost making, mastering the methods and techniques passed down through a lineage of some of the world’s most committed Biodynamic compost masters dating Back directly to Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Biodynamic agriculture.

Steven’s backyard farm is regarded as a one of a kind gem of urban agriculture in LA. He names it “The Wynbrandt Farm.”

Makes over 100,000 pounds of compost by hand at The Wynbrandt Farm (his backyard) out of cow manure and alfalfa hay and sells it solely by word of mouth to home gardeners and garden professionals across LA.

Wynbrandt Farms Compost is widely regarded as the most fertile compost available in LA. Steven creates a new standard for compost quality and a never before seen market for artisanal, handmade compost. 

Steven moves over 1,000,000 pounds by hand over this time period (bringing in the ingredients, composting them, harvesting, screening, bagging and distributing). 

LA Times publishes “King Of Compost” about Steven and his work on the front page of Saturday’s garden section, Dec. 2012.

Starts Wynbrandt Farms Consulting, creating site and resource specific compost programs for farms, orchards, vineyards to create maximum soil fertility. 

Expands compost operations making 50,000 pounds on farmlands in Malibu with a tractor with a loader bucket, mimicking the precision with which he makes it by hand.

Teaches in-class lecture and hands on workshops for academic institutions and organizations including UCLA, the UCCE Dept. of Ag. and Natural Resources, Santa Monica College, L.A. Unified School District, Demeter USA, The National Heirloom Expo, The L.A. Green Festival, Hazon, L.A. Community Garden Council, and a plethora or public and private community organizations.

Expands compost operations to farmlands in Sonoma County where he makes 200,000 pounds of compost that is sold to farms in Northern California and that Steven sells direct to his personal clientele, fine nurseries in LA, and at Erewhon Market. 

Wynbrandt Farms Compost becomes Demeter certified Biodynamic (Demeter is the highest standard of agricultural certification in the world and the world’s only Biodynamic certifier).

Wynbrandt Farms compost becomes the first and only (to this day) commercially available compost in California to use alfalfa hay, one of the “secret ingredients” of his lineage’s recipe that creates unparalleled compost. 

LA Jewish Journal, the most widely read Jewish publication in the US, publishes cover story, “Brother Earth,” about Steven and his work, Feb 2016.

Receives Impact-Makers To Watch Award from LA City Council member Paul Koretz and his Director of Environment, Andy Schrader at LA City Hall. 

Consults nationally and internationally.

Innovates, builds and trials in-vessel (container) systems to further elevate Wynbrandt Farms compost quality.

Develops Wynbrandt Farms Biodynamic Compost Tea, a microbial inoculant and a soil and plant super food. WF Compost and WF Tea becomes the first and only hand made, as well as no-turn Demeter certified Biodynamic composts in the US.

Develops the WF LifeCycler Compost Program - the nation’s first no-turn (90% less labor than turning methods), low tech (no moving parts, no electricity, etc.) compost system able to compost 100% of an organization’s food waste on site (2,000 to 50,000+ pounds annually). 

Compost tea is sold online to all 50 states and wins the respect and patronage of premier soil scientists, organic and Biodynamic farmers, and scores of garden and plant professionals.

Served on the Healthy Soils Advisory Panel as a composting and soil health expert, and was a contributing author and editor for the Healthy Soils Strategy document for the city of Los Angeles.

WF Compost tea is sold at 25 nurseries throughout California

Pioneering schools in LA sign on for the LifeCycler Compost Program - the first and only program in CA schools that composts ALL food waste with a no-turn method.