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Sacramento County organic waste program yields 'black gold'

Free compost available to residents in pilot recycling program

Here's why it's called "black gold" -- it doesn't get much richer than this compost from Sacramento County's Waste Management and Recycling program. (H/t Laura Cerles-Rogers)

Here's why it's called "black gold" -- it doesn't get much richer than this compost from Sacramento County's Waste Management and Recycling program. (H/t Laura Cerles-Rogers) Kathy Morrison

Since July 1. Sacramento County residents have been throwing all kinds of things into their organic waste (formerly green waste) bins: Chicken bones, greasy pizza boxes, used wine corks, snubbed cat food, moldy cheese, salmon skin and many other organic items, not just leaves and grass clippings.

A bizarre combination, to be sure, but the County Waste Management and Recycling program assured us that it would all be acceptable and put to good use.

Over the subsequent months we may have forgotten what the end result might be. But the county's been working hard and, nearly 11 months later, "it's soup." Specifically, all those bits and bones have been cooked into the black gold known as compost.

And it's free for the taking. Monday through Friday, between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the county will make compost deliveries to its property at 3843 Branch Center Road (near Bradshaw and Kiefer roads), based on demand.

There are some details. First, you have to shovel the compost yourself, with your own tools, into your own containers. No mechanical loading is allowed. It's available on a first-come, first-served basis, but can be loaded up anytime, 24/7.

The county says it plans to have compost available on demand from spring until early fall. The compost pile will be restocked as necessary. ​

This process started in California with Senate Bill 1383, which requires that organic materials be kept out of ​landfills. Each county or city had to come up with its own organic waste recycling program. We previewed  the Sacramento program's start in this post last summer. Many people now have the little buckets under their sinks and empty them into the organic waste bins each week.

Ingredients on a compost bag
Commercial compost: No guaranteed contents.

So what to do with this free compost? (Or any compost, for that matter.) Well, it's a spectacular soil amendment, and also an excellent mulch. What compost is not is plant fertilizer -- though plants certainly benefit from it. Because compost can be made of so many different things, and can be different in each batch, it has no guaranteed list of plant nutrients.  That goes for commercial compost as well as the county's -- see photo at right of a bag of commercial organic compost.

So if your roses need a dose of nitrogen or melons require some phosphorus, don't rely on just compost. But the soil they grow in will love it.

Find out more on Sacramento County's compost program here: https://wmr.saccounty.gov/Pages/Self-Serve-Compost.aspx

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Some of our previous posts on compost and composting:

Confessions of a serial composter

No room for composting? Tell it to the worms

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Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of March 24:

In between cloud bursts, try to catch up with early spring chores. 

* Attack weeds now! Get them before they flower and go to seed. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout. Aim for 1 inch below the soil line.

* Start preparing vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.

* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to help corral blossom blight.

* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.

* Feed roses with a balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available in that product).

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1-inch thick under the tree. This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.

* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.

* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.

* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, collards and kale.

* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground.

* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.

* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.

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