Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, tagged "Rotline", "Rotline" Question of the Week, cat poop, compost bins, Composting, dog poop, pet waste on November 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Although, pet waste can be composted, it takes careful monitoring to make sure the bin is over 140 degrees for 14 days to kill all the bacteria, intestinal parasites and pathogens. Also, the bin must be turned regularly to insure the cooler outside edges are moved to the hot center of the bin.
The intense level of monitoring necessary, plus the high risk of putting “sick” soil into your garden bed make pet waste composting inadvisable.
Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, Composting for kids!, Composting Workshops and Events, General, How to, Master Composters, tagged compost bins, compost lessons, compost workshop, Composting, Composting for kids!, El Cajon, Farmer's Market, food scraps, free workshops, greens, Master Composters, mulch, nitrogen, vermicomposting, vermiculture, worm castings, worm tea, worms on October 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Saturday, January 22, 2011
10 – 12 noon
San Diego Botanic Gardens
230 Quail Gardens Dr.
Encinitas, CA 92024
Saturday, February 5, 2011
10 – 12 noon
Water Conservation Garden
12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West
El Cajon, CA 92019
Monday, March 14, 2011
2-4 p.m.
Welk Resort Farmer’s Market
8860 Lawrence Welk Drive, Escondido, CA 92026
Saturday, March 19, 2011
10 – 12 noon
Summer’s Past Farm
15602 Olde Highway 80
El Cajon, CA 92021
Learn about the ins and outs of backyard composting and vermicomposting at this free workshop! Workshop will include information about selecting a bin, maintenance, harvesting, and more! A limited number of compost bins and worm bins will be available for purchase after the workshop.
Click here to pre-register now or to view a full list of upcoming workshops!
Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, tagged compost bins, escaping worms, food scraps, red wigglers, removing chlorine, sediment in worm tea, soil amendments, too acidic, vermicomposting, wandering worms, wayward worms, worm bin, worm bin problems, worm castings, worm tea on October 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
If your bin becomes too acidic, too moist, too dry, too compact, full of rotting food, full of food they don’t like, too hot, too cold or they just organize an expedition, your worms can attempt an escape from your bin. This thwarted escape plan (if your lid is on tight) ends up with many worms in your bottom collection tray.
To rectify this situation add water to the collected liquid in order to dilute the sediment and ease its flow through the sieve. Then strain the liquid through a sieve or small holed colander, rinse the collection tray out and reassemble the worm bin. Add the worms, collected in the sieve, back into your top working tray. If you clean out the bottom bin regularly you can save all your wayward worms and keep the liquid fresh and in top condition. Dilute the liquid with 5-10 parts tap water before adding to your garden. Remove the chlorine from tap water by letting it stand in the sun for several hours.
Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, tagged compost, compost bins, composting faq, green tips, harvesting a worm bin, Master Composters, organic gardening, red wigglers, red worms, sustainability, vermicomposting, worms, Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin on September 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin is designed with two different tiers. When the first tier fills to the line inside the bin, you add the second tier and start feeding and add some new bedding. The worms will usually go wherever you are feeding them but oftentimes there are a few that stay behind. Here are a couple of tips from our Master Composters to speed up the process of harvesting:
1. Irresistible Foods Method: Add some melon or avocado to your bin. The worms will not be able to resist and will all congregate in the same area to eat. After a couple of days, physically move them where you want them to go.
2. Sun Method: Dump the contents of your bin on a plastic tarp outside in the sun. The worms do not like light so they will burrow to the bottom. You can even make cones of compost and take off the tops to speed up the process a bit.
3. Slurry Method: One of our Master Composters suggests putting some of your vermicompost in a bucket of water. Once in the bucket, the worms and compost will separate and you can quickly rescue your worms and put them back in your bin. Pour out the extra water and add your compost to your garden!
4. Waiting Method: Your worms will eventually move to other areas of your bin as long as you continue to feed there. If you happen to accidentally grab some worms with the vermicompost don’t worry too much about it. Red wigglers reproduce very quickly and your bin will not be affected.
Have any other tricks for harvesting?? Leave a comment and share them with us!
Posted in Composting Workshops and Events, tagged Alpine, compost bins, Composting, Crest, Crestridge Ecological Reserve, El Cajon, free composting workshops, gardening, Harbison Canyon, Lakeside, sustainability, vermicomposting, worms on September 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
10 – 12 noon
Crestridge Ecological Reserve
1171 Horsemill Road
El Cajon (Crest), CA 92019
Learn the basics of backyard composting and vermicomposting including bin set up, maintenance, harvesting, and more! The workshop will be held at Crestridge Ecological Reserve during the Earth Discovery Institute Native Plant Sale. There will be a limited number of compost bins available.
Please register online at www.solanacenter.org or by phone 760-436-7986 ext. 222. Workshop is provided by the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation and the County of San Diego.
Register today!
Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, tagged "Rotline" Question of the Week, compost, compost bins, Composting, environment, grass, grass clippings, grasscycling, Master Composters, natural fertilizers, soil amendments on August 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Grass clippings can definitely be added to your compost pile. Grass is a “green”, or nitrogen source. One caveat of adding grass to your pile, however, is that it has a high water content which can cause it to pack down and get slimy in your pile. This can be avoided by adding grass in thin layers and alternating with it dried leaves or mulch. If you discover a matt of clippings in your pile, just break it up with a shovel or garden fork and layer the pieces back into the pile.
Grass clippings are a great nitrogen source for your compost pile and can also be left right on your lawn as a natural fertilizer!
It is also quite beneficial to simply leave the clippings on your lawn as you mow. Grasscycling is a great way to provide your grass with natural fertilizer and saves work.
Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, How to, tagged "Rotline", "Rotline" Question of the Week, bins, compost, compost bin location, compost bins, compost insects, Composting, Heat, home composting, moisture, sustainability, vermicompost, vermicomposting, water, water conservation, where should I put my compost bin?, worm bin, worm bins, worms on June 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There are several things to keep in mind when setting up your composting station:
A worm bin is best placed in the shade. The worms will not fare well in hot temperatures or during a deluge of water during a rainstorm. By placing them in the shade, they will be more protected from the elements and less likely to dry out.
As for a regular compost bin, direct sunlight does not cause the compost pile to heat up. The microbes working busily inside the compost are why the pile heats up. With this in mind, keeping your compost bin in the shade will decrease water evaporation. Also, people are more likely to turn their pile if they do not have to go out into the hot sun to do it.
For a compost bin, it is best if it is placed on the dirt. This allows the beneficial insects to crawl up into the bin. These insects will speed up the decomposition process and are naturally occur in a healthy compost pile. Put hardware cloth or wire mesh underneath the compost bin to prevent the larger animals from digging underneath and into the bin. If a compost pile is set on cement, it is likely that the cement will be stained.
For a worm bin, it does not matter if it is placed on cement or on dirt. It is more important that the bin is in the shade. People often even keep worm bins inside their garage, under their counter, or in a closet.
Most people do not want to put their compost bin directly up against their house because of smell and pest attraction fears. If you are composting correctly, neither of these problems should be of issue. How close you put your bin to your house should more so be determined by hose length (if your bin is further away than your hose is long, you’ll be lugging buckets over to your pile!) and ease of use. If you don’t see yourself hoofing it across the yard to dump out your kitchen scraps, then you probably shouldn’t put your bin all the way across your yard. As for the pests and smells, err on the side of caution. If something goes wrong in your pile and it starts to smell or you get an unwanted visitor, it’s better away from your house than directly under your kitchen window.
If you plan on being an active composter and turning your compost pile, it is important that you have a space twice the size of your compost bin. This allows you to turn and then rebuild your bin directly next to where it was previously sitting. Turing your bin increases air flow and allows the microbes to break down the material more quickly. If you plan on having a more passive bin, this is obviously not necessary, though you probably want a little room around the bin so it can be accessed from all angles. Worm bins, on the other hand, do not need extra space.
Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, tagged "Rotline" Question of the Week, compost, compost ashes, compost bins, compost corks, compost cotton, compost dryer lint, compost feathers, compost finger nails, compost hair, compost napkins, compost nut shells, compost pencil shavings, compost seaweed, compost toothpicks, compost vacuum, Composting, Solana Center, weird things to compost on April 1, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The microbes in a compost pile are truly amazing – they can break down almost anything made of natural products. There are many items that people throw away not realizing that instead, they could throw them into their compost pile. Below is a list of things one usually does not think to compost!
Questioning if something is compostable? Give us a call on the “ROTline,” (760) 436-7986 x 222 or email us at compost@solanacenter.org.
Posted in General, tagged compost, compost bins, Composting, food scraps, free workshops, gardening, Master Composters, recycling, san diego, San Diego Zoo, Solana Center, sustainability, vermicomposting, worms on December 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Saturday, January 9th, 2010
8am-10am
San Diego Zoo Otto Entrance
(one block south of main entrance)
Learn how to create rich garden soil, save water, and reduce trash at the landfill by recycling your kitchen scraps and garden debris at this FREE workshop.
Workshop is taught by trained Master Composters from the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation and cover how and what to compost using both a vermicomposting (worm) bin and a backyard composting bin.
Pre registration required. Please register online at www.solanacenter.org or by phone 760-436-7986 ext. 222. Limit 25 participants.
Click here to pre-register now!
Posted in "Rotline" Question of the Week, tagged compost, Composting, "Rotline" Question of the Week, Temperature, Heat, compost bins, hot composting, nitrogen, decomposition, greens, psychrophiles, mesophiles, thermophiles, microorganisms on November 17, 2009 | 3 Comments »
It is a common misconception that a compost pile heats up because of the sun. Sure, if it is hot outside, the pile will be warmer than if it is cold outside, but the sun is not what causes a compost pile to hit the triple digits.
Thermophilic microbes are happily munching away in this 150 degree F compost pile
The microorganisms residing inside of the compost pile are what cause the increase in
temperature.
If a compost pile rises in temperature, it is an indication that the composting process is going well. When the thermophiles run out of things to eat, the temperature will steadily drop. This is a good time to turn your bin, add water, and add more nitrogen-rich green material into the center of your pile. The addition of material that is nitrogen rich, like coffee, manure, or fresh cut grass, will heat your pile right back up as the thermophiles go to work.
Compost thermometers are great ways to tell which stage of decomposition your compost pile is at. These can be purchased at the Solana Center for $20.
