Interview with Sarah Owens | Food Cycle Feature

We connected with Encinitas-local cookbook author of Sourdough, Toast and Jam and  Heirloom: Time Honored Techniques, Nourishing Traditions, and Modern Recipes. Sarah is a naturally-leavened baker, professional horticulturist, and culinary instructor who believes strongly in the power of baking to foster community and social change. She is an advocate of regenerative agricultural practices to rebuild…

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Biochar: A Valuable Composting Ingredient

Article written by Master Composter volunteer, Melody Plan. What is biochar? Before the bins, compost thermometers, and subsidized compost vouchers, our ancestors buried char: wood, manure, or leaves cooked at a relatively low temperature in a low-oxygen environment over a long period of time, directly into the ground to fertilize the soil. You may say “That sounds…

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Benefits of Compost and Mulch on Fire-Damaged Land

2020 has become the largest wildfire season recorded in California’s modern history as wildfires have devastated many parts of state this year. As of October, 4,267,386 acres have burned so far and we’re still not quite in the clear yet. We are all looking to the coming months to bring much-needed rainfall for our state, allowing us to start to…

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Food Cycle Participant Spotlight: Sustainable Shelby

We love our Food Cycle participants! Solana Center is proud to bring the Food Cycle program to the County of San Diego. The community compost program makes it possible for Food Cycle members to divert organic materials from the landfill without having to compost it on their own. Participants simply collect their food scraps and…

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Sustainability in the Great Outdoors

Summer time and holiday weekends are commonly filled with camping trips and outdoor adventures. As more of us venture into the great outdoors, it is important to pause to make sure you are being aware and considerate to your impact on these beautiful places. Check out a few of our favorite tips and camping-hacks to…

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Food Cycle Participant Spotlight: Nicole & Mike of Sustainability Saturday

Solana Center is proud to bring the Food Cycle program to our community. The program makes it possible for community members to divert organic materials from landfills without having to compost it on their own. Participants simply collect their food scraps and organic materials and bring them to the Center for processing on-site to create…

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Sustainable Food Storage Options

Have you ever gone shopping for fresh fruits and veggies to find you’re surprised by how much plastic packaging you see around them? It is not uncommon to see fruits sold in plastic clamshell containers or plastic bags offered to bag loose vegetables at most grocery stores. Depending on what you’re looking to buy sometimes packaging is unavoidable. But we’ve gathered a few…

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Are Compost and Soil the Same Thing?

Have you ever found yourself wondering if compost and soil are the same thing?While they are both beneficial, they are not quite the same. We’ll tell you why!  Compost is a small but important part of soil. Compost is made from your decomposed kitchen and yard waste and becomes the living part of soil. Soil is…

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4 Tips For Processing Your Organics at Home

Knowing Food Cycle is so important to many and helps prevent thousands of pounds of food scraps from going to landfills, we wanted to share four ways you can process your food waste at your home during the interim period when our Food Cycle program was on hold. 1. Ensure that you’re maximizing the volume available in your bucket. This…

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Build Better Soil and Improve Profitability with Regenerative Farming

Changing environmental regulations and increasing water costs are a challenge to the profit margins for San Diego farms and ranches. But current scientific research on regenerating soil health shows that carbon farming in addition to growing cash crops can be beneficial both economically and environmentally, including: Improving water retention Restoring degraded soil leading to better,…

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