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
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
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
Join the Solana Center at this exciting and family friendly event with over 500 free science related exhibits.
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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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8th Annual Creek to by Cleanup Day Saturday, April 24th, 2010 9am-12pm at many sites throughout the County
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Master Composter Course Sponsored by the City of San Diego
| Learn 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 Biostack 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 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 | - 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.
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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.
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?"
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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