Rotline: How often do I turn my compost pile?

Rotline Question: How often do I turn my compost pile? Answer: We love this question, mainly because the answer is so incredibly forgiving. How often you turn your compost depends on what you are planning to do with it.   For example, will you be feeding your house plants once in a while or amending the soil in your six…

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3 Composting Myths Debunked

Composting is a rewarding practice for so many reasons. It allows you to prevent waste by creating healthy soil, provides organic material to help store more water in the ground, and can even benefit your wallet by decreasing the need for frequent trash pickup. But we’ll be the first to admit that getting started with composting can be intimidating – especially…

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Rotline: Is it possible to have too many worms in my vermicompost bin?

Rotline Question:  Is it possible to have too many worms in my vermicompost bin? Answer:  Red wiggler worms are amazing in so many ways, and population management is one of them. So, the short answer to the question is “No, you can never have too many worms!” Here’s why:As worms adjust to their home, they…

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Mental Wellness And Gardening

Written by Master Composter Volunteer Mary Purpura, MA, HTR If you garden and compost, you know there are many physical benefits. Digging, hand tilling and turning compost piles can all increase your heart rate, offering a boon to your cardiovascular system. Weeding and planting maintain and improve hand strength. All that time spent outdoors tying…

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Carbon Farming for Climate Resilience

Did you know that San Diego is fortunate to have more small farms than any other county in the nation? With the unique combination of urban and rural landscapes, San Diego was one of the first southern California regions to adopt the framework for carbon farming pioneered by the Marin Carbon Project.  Carbon farming describes a variety of agricultural…

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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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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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