GETTING READY FOR WINTER RAINS

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GETTING READY FOR WINTER RAINS & "GREEN" MARE ISLAND to MEDUSA RACE
by JANE BOGNER
SUNDAY, November 16, 2003

The first rain of the season and cooler nights have prompted the leaves to change colors. Most people see fallen leaves as a lot of work. I see them as the rich compost that will feed my garden next spring. I compost some leaves and used others as mulch for garden paths that get muddy during the rains.

Even though we can garden year round in the Bay Area, I usually quit before Thanksgiving. Several years ago, I began planting winter wheat and agricultural mustard in my garden just to have something growing. My lazy winter garden attitude developed into my devotion to compost or cover crops.

Compost crops are an easy, organic way to grow and feed your soil when you are not using your garden. They can improve soil structure by keeping nutrients from leaching beyond the reach of the next crop and help maintain air spaces in our clay soil which is essential for good soil health.

Disease and pest problems are interrupted when different crops are rotated in your garden. Winter crops help suppress weeds and can provide a living mulch that will protect soil from erosion and other weathering effects.

Some Fall-planted compost crops will pump excess water out of the soil allowing earlier planting. I plant fava beans in spots that collect winter rains because they can pump soil dry in as little as five days in warm weather and we enjoy eating the beans.

Agricultural mustard is a fast-growing crop that bring minerals to the surface. If you like showy flowers, consider planting phacelia, vetch, pea, or clover. These are good ground covers and attract beneficial insects. Vetch, pea and clover are members of the legume family and fix nitrogen in the soil.

When the crop has matured, what do you do with it? One solution is to turn it in. Spade green crops directly into the soil and wait 14 to 30 days for it to decompose before planting.

Compost it for maximum benefit. By making compost from your compost crops you not only increase soil volume and quality, but feed earthworms and soil organisms, which in turn stimulate and speed up the release of nutrients.

VALCORE has a flyer on compost crops. Seeds are available from the following companies: Bountiful Gardens (Willits CA), 707 459-6410, www.bountifulgardens.org, Harmony Farm Supply (Graton, CA), 707 823-9125, www.harmonyfarm.com, and Peaceful Valley Farm Supply (Grass Vallejo, CA), 888 784-1722, www.groworganic.com.

“GREEN” MARE ISLAND TO MEDUSA 10K/5K RACE

This is the fourth year that we have had a green race. It takes a little more planning and cooperation from volunteers and runners and it pays off. We had a total of 865 pounds of waste of which 52 percent was recycled or composted. This event drew 893 runners (plus family and friends) and more than 400 volunteers.

This year, Vallejo debuted new Event CRV Recycling Containers. The city of Vallejo Recycling Coordinator Derek Crutchfield recently was awarded a state grant to set up CRV recycling at events and at Six Flags Marine World. These containers will be used as a pilot program this year and will be available for events in the future. For more information call Derek at 648-5346.

In addition to the CRV recycling containers we had compost buckets for fruit and non-meat food scraps, paper recycling bins and trash containers. Sierra Club members monitored these bins to educate people on their correct use. Forty pounds of CRV containers, 48 pounds of scrap containers and 250 pounds of cardboard and paper were recycled.

Sierra Club purchased Earthware (corn-foam plates, bowls, forks and spoons) that was used at the pre-race sponsors party and race day VIP tent. One hundred pounds of these biodegradable cornstarch items plus paper napkins and food wastes are being composted in VALCORE’s (and Jane’s) backyard composting bins.

If you are interested in using Earthware at your next party, please remember that you must personally compost the used dishes as our local compost yard does not accept food waste. The city of Vacaville and Dixon does allow fruit and vegetable waste in their yard waste containers for curbside pickup.

The following companies carry biodegradable plates, cutlery, cups and glasses: Green Earth Office Supply, www.GreenEarthOfficeSupply.com, 1 800 327-8449 or Simply Biodegradable, www.simplybiodegradable.com, 1 866 782-2371.

FRIED TURKEY UPDATE

If you are deep frying your turkey this year, you can recycle the used vegetable oil. Bring it to Vallejo Garbage Service (2021 Broadway) Thursday - Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Call 552-3110 for more information.

VALCORE Recycling Vice President Jane Bogner's "A Sorted Affair" is published every other week in the Times-Herald, Community Outlook Section. For recycling information call Genie Kaggerud, VALCORE Recycling manager at 645-8258 or visit www.VALCORErecycling.org.