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The Composter Newsletter
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation

Solana Center

March 2010
In This Issue
Upcoming Workshops
Upcoming Events
Master Composter Course
Subsidized Compost Bins
Getting a Bin
The Circle of Rot
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Spread the word about composting!

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Solana Center for Environmental Innovation
137 N. El Camino Real
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 436-7986
www.solanacenter.org

Visit the Solana Composter Blog!

Become a Solana Center Volunteer!
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Upcoming
Workshops

Diane instructing Quail workshop
All workshops are FREE
and open to the public

San Diego Zoo
Saturday, March 13, 2010
8 a.m. - 10 a.m.
Otto Center, 1 block south of main entrance
Backyard Composting and Vermicomposting
*registration limited to 25*

Summers Past Farms
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.
15602 Olde Highway 80
El Cajon, 92021
Backyard Compost and Vermicomposting

Water Conservation Garden
Saturday, May 15, 2010
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West
El Cajon, 92019


San Diego Botanic Gardens (formerly Quail Gardens)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
230 Quail Gardens Drive
Backyard Composting and Vermicomposting

Click here to Pre-Register!

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"Rotline" Question of the week:

Can I add frozen food to a worm bin?

Click here to find out or lend your expertise and experience.
 
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Water Smart Plant Fair

Saturday, March 20th
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon
WCG

Please join us in the compost demonstration area for tips and tricks about composting.
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 San Diego Science Festival

Saturday,
March 27th, 2010
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

PETCO Park

San Diego Science Festival

Join the Solana Center at this exciting and family friendly event with over 500 free science related exhibits.
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class
Electronic Waste Collection Event
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
9am-12pm
at the Solana Center


Accepted items: Monitors, laptops, televisions, DVD players, telephones, cell phones, computers, PDA's, copiers/printers, fax machines, and much more...
We DO NOT accept: household hazardous wastes, batteries, large household appliances, & CFLs
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Creek to Bay logo
8th Annual Creek to by Cleanup Day
Saturday, April 24th, 2010
9am-12pm
at many sites throughout the County


For more information or to volunteer at a site, please visit the Creek to Bay website.
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Master Composter Course
Sponsored by the City of San Diego
classLearn the art and science of composting in this five-week, hands-on course taught by Master Composters from the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation. 

5 Consecutive Tuesdays
March 16 - April 13
6:00 - 8:30pm
City of San Diego Environmental Services Building
9601 Ridgehaven Court, San Diego, 92123

After completing the course, participants volunteer 30 hours for the Solana Center by teaching and inspiring people in their communities at workshops and community events, in school classrooms and gardens, and at compost demonstration sites.

The cost of the course is $5 plus the purchase of the course textbook,The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Pleasant and Martin.

To learn more about the course, please click here.

To download an application, please click here.

Please contact Carlie if you have any questions about the Master Composter Course.

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Subsidized Compost Bins
Available for Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Unincorporated San Diego County Residents
Smith & Hawken Biostackclass
Capacity: 12 cubic feet
Dimensions: 28'x28'x34' high

General price: $99 (retail $129)
Encinitas residents: $35*
Unincorporated County residents: $45*
Carlsbad residents: $50**

Wriggly WranchWriggly Wranch Worm Bin
Capacity: 2 cubic feet
Dimensions: 16'x23'x25'

General price: $89 (retail $110)
Encinitas residents: $35*
Unincorporated County residents: $40*
Carlsbad residents: $40**

*Encinitas and Unincorporated County Residents: limit 2 subsidized bins per fiscal year July-June, proof of residence required (license, personal check, water bill, etc.)

**Carlsbad Residents: limit 1 subsidized bin per fiscal year July-June, proof of residence required (license, personal check, water bill, etc.)

Solana Center accepts check or cash only.
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How to get your bin
  1. Drop by the Solana Center on a Tuesday or Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 137 N. El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024. No need to make a reservation. Please remember your proof of residency. Solana Center accepts check or cash only.
  2. Have a bin shipped to you. Subsidized shipping available for Unincorporated County residents ($10/bin). Otherwise, please click here for a shipping quote. Order forms can be found at the Solana Center website.
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Have composting questions??
Ask the "Rotline"! Click here to email your question or call (760) 436-7986 ext. 222.

Be sure to check the Solana Composter Blog for the "Rotline" Question of the Week!

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The Circle of Life...the Circle of Rot
Red Worm Fertilizing Products
by: David Emmerson, Master Composter

In the life cycle on a poultry farm, the age-old question has been posed, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" This rhetorical musing focuses on the fact that life is a circle that is continuous with no beginning or end.  When we look at life on earth we see connections. Any one living thing can't be truly understood in isolation. Just as the egg, nest, maternal protection, food, breeding, housing, etc., all go into understanding the life of a single chicken, a visit to Red Worm Fertilizing Products ranch will take you on the journey through the life cycle of the nutrients on which all life depends. We often become aware of nutrients by reading labels on cereal boxes, looking at produce in the grocery store or taking our daily multi-vitamin tablet. But how do those nutrients get into our food? From where do they come? Is there a huge warehouse of nutrients stored in the earth like at a Costco store, on pallets and later delivered in a brown UPS truck to our door? The answer is like the chicken-egg dilemma. There is also a circle of life for the nutrients required by all living things. This circle is often shown in biology textbooks as a food chain, or food web. However, the key link that closes the circle, allowing it to continue is the decomposers. They are often barely included in the story, almost as an afterthought. However, without them, there would be no tomatoes, there would be no cereal, and really, there would be no people.
Red Worm Fertilizing Products


One place in San Diego County that completes the circle extremely well is Red Worm Fertilizing Products. It is a local, family ranch that does a great job with all phases of returning nutrients to the soil.  All phases of the process: horses, manure-bedding mix, organic compost, worm bins, worm castings, and finally avocado trees can be found here. The horses housed on the ranch and other area horse farms produce the manure and bedding mix that is processed into organically certified compost. This compost is available for fertilizer to nurture any kind of plant, whether it be ornamentals in your yard or for growing crops. It is also put into the 450 large worm bins. These red worms turn this compost into worm castings which are organically certified and extremely rich in nutrients, the "black gold" of the organic farming movement. The worm bins are located underneath avocado trees, accepting their shade and providing nutrition in return. The circle is completed as the plants that are fed by the compost and worm castings are fed to animals, such as the horses. So, we might ask, "Which came first, the producers or the decomposers?"
Worm Bins at Red Worm Fertilizing Products
The real answer won't matter because you will have the whole circle of life including returning the nutrients into the soil when you visit Red Worm Fertilizing Products. Daniel and Laurie Rojas have a gorgeous location, set up on a hillside on Highland Valley Road, southeast of Escondido. The sweeping vistas are a marvelous backdrop to the horse corrals and the avocado grove. In between are the hundreds of large worm bins and the rotating mounds of compost that are turned and monitored for proper temperature in order to receive the "Certified Organic" label. They are passionate about what they are doing and are also attentive and friendly if you are interested in obtaining any of their products. I have used both their worms and their compost/worm bedding. Both are excellent and very reasonably priced. Their own words say it best: "We believe that the health of the soil is essential to the health of people and other living things.  We are committed to preserving the health of the environment and all living things by providing high-quality soil amendments that are nontoxic and safe for use with all organic crops and plants. Our soil amendments make "going green" convenient and simple. They are used locally and nationally by large-scale commercial operations as well as individuals in their homes."

http://redwormproducts.com
Red Worm Fertilizing Products is located at:
16161 Highland Valley Road
Escondido, CA 92025
619-339-1963
619-518-5291
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This newsletter is sponsored by:
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