Enhancing soil quality largely revolves around rebuilding soil organic carbon (SOC). SOC correlates with other indicators of soil health such as water availability, nutrient retention, and soil aggregate stability, and SOC formation and protection is directly linked to soil microbial activity. Given projections of more frequent and intense extreme weather events alongside rising temperatures in the Southeastern United States, we need to develop and adopt practices that support SOC accumulation and enhance microbiome resilience. While organic farming techniques (i.e., cover cropping and the addition of carbon-rich amendments) hold promise for increasing SOC levels, the causative relationship between organic management practices and soil health metrics is highly variable. This session will summarize 1) research focused on rapidly improving soil health outcomes with addition of stable carbon sources, such as biochar and compost, and the synergistic impact this has with cover crop adoption in low carbon soils of the southeast coastal plain, and 2) the current understanding of soil microbiome dynamics in organic farming.