composting

With help from the green waste recyclers in our community, Cason Valley-based Full Circle Soils & Compost had a record-breaking compost year in 2020.


On our walk today I was commenting to my husband “I can’t believe two pine trees could lose that many needles!” This was after I spent a number of hours raking the needles up from the driveway. My next question was “Can I compost pine needles?”

Next time I write about loving all my wonderful cottonwood trees, would someone please remind me why they call it fall?! For weeks, my husband and I have been raking, blowing, mowing, sweeping and moving leaves every day for hours and we are still not done.

With help from the community of Carson City, Full Circle Compost received all sorts of green waste from residents in the first year of Waste Management’s green-waste recycling program.


Seriously, “lasagna gardening?” Readers may remember my article on hügelkultur last year, a centuries old Eastern European method of no-dig raised beds made out of logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, petroleum-free newspaper, manure, compost and/or other organic matter. Topped with soil and it’s ready to plant.

If there’s one thing that could be considered a positive during the mandated quarantine, it’s that nature is becoming a lot happier. From the return of dolphins in Venice, to the return of wildlife in Yosemite, and a lack of air pollution all around, Earth Day this year is certain to be a memorable one.

The first of a series of 12 educational gardening classes presented through the collaboration of Carson Tahoe Health and The Greenhouse Project begins this Friday, Jan. 24. Site managers Cory King and William Pierz have put together the monthly series of classes.

Red wriggler worms are decomposing work horses. They eat paper and food scraps turning them into compost, a nutrient-rich material for plants.

I asked Cory at The Greenhouse Project to share a worm composting method. He suggests a 3-bin method, starting with plastic bins approximately 1-1/2 feet by 2-1/2 feet. The boxes are shallow, because worms are surface-dwellers and prefer to live in the top six inches of bedding material.

CARSON CITY — If Homer wrote the Odyssey today, he might very well title it, The Love Story. The ancient Greek epic poem that chronicles Odysseus’ ten-year journey back from the Trojan War to the Island of Ithaca and his beloved wife and son is, among other things, a love story. And in many ways literally and figuratively parallels the odyssey Taylor Love has been on the past few years.

I’m watching leaves fall. What does one do with all these leaves? I mentioned in a previous article, some can be used as mulch around trees and shrubs. Others can be shredded with the lawnmower and added to a compost pile. However, winter composting presents a few challenges, primarily due to the cold temperatures. But you can still compost.

The nonprofit organization greenUp!, which provides environmental education to businesses, announced Wednesday that it has eight restaurants so far that will be part of the Green Dining District pilot program on Carson Street in Carson City.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s 4-H will host its annual Capital City Farm Days this Thursday and Friday, April 11-12 at Carson City Fairgrounds, Fuji Park.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s 4-H presents Capital City Farm Days, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 11-12 at the Carson City Fairgrounds and Fuji Park Exhibit Hall, 601 Clear Creek Road in Carson City.

There will be about 30 presenters teaching elementary-age youth about Nevada agriculture, where food and fiber come from, and environmental issues related to agriculture.

Carson City 4-H programs, brought to you through the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, have new and on-going project clubs open to area youth ages 5–18.

Carson City Cooperative Extension’s Capital City Farm Days is set for April 11-12, 2019. This popular annual event for pre-K though 5th graders takes place at Fuji Park Exhibit Hall and Carson City Fairgrounds.

The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Division of Environmental Protection’s Recycling Program has awarded grants to six Nevada organizations, including a Carson City pilot project involving 30 restaurants.

Nine out of the 10 Carson City School District schools earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification, which signifies their buildings perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

Garden Media Group (GMG), a public relations firm based in Pennsylvania, has been predicting gardening trends since 2001. In their recent report, “Rooted Together,” they have incorporated statistics from the National Gardening Association’s (NGA) annual survey to come up horticultural predictions for 2019.

Enjoy the last few days of summer as fall is around the corner. Today is Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. Today brings the second and final volunteer training event at the Nevada State Museum, morning and afternoon hikes and walks, a rally at the capital, a fundraiser at Mills Park, plenty of art exhibits and more.

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Grow Your Own, Nevada! Program presents four classes to help Nevadans get on the path to more sustainable, local, healthy living by growing and preserving more of their own food. The next class on Sept. 18 discusses composting and fertilizer basics.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Grow Your Own, Nevada! Program presents four classes to help Nevadans get on the path to more sustainable, local, healthy living by growing and preserving more of their own food.

CARSON CITY — Third and fourth graders from the Empire X-Factor Enrichment class at Empire Elementary School learned the technical side of filmmaking this past semester while producing a 2-minute public service announcement on how students and teachers can further ‘Green’ efforts at their schools.

The Nevada Department of Conservation & Natural Resources’ Division of Environmental Protection’s (NDEP) Recycling Program has awarded grants to five organizations throughout the State.


Each year on Earth Day, April 22, more than 1 billion people in 192 countries join together to celebrate and protect our common home. From participating in community clean-up events, to reaching out to local leaders about environmental concerns, and spending time appreciating the outdoors, Earth Day serves as an annual opportunity to promote environmental stewardship across the globe.

In this week's It's Your City, host Cortney Bloomer sits down with Sandy Wallin of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, which is hosting Capital City Farm Days this Thursday and Friday at the Carson City Fairgrounds and Fuji Park Exhibit Hall.

Earth Day recognizes, celebrates, and promotes our region’s unique beauty while educating the public about local environmental issues.

Nevada's rural roots will be on display for school children to see next month in Carson City with the annual Capital City Farm Days, hosted by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension 4-H.

Carson City School District becomes the latest participant in an energy-awareness and savings program called powerED. McKinstry, an energy and facility services expert, will administer the two-year educational-focused program.

As we celebrate Earth Day this April, let’s remember how important environmental stewardship is to the health of Lake Tahoe, and how important our individual actions are.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s 4-H's Capital City Farm Days in Carson City is set for April 20-21. There will be 28 presenters teaching elementary-age youth about Nevada agriculture, where food and fiber come from, and environmental issues related to agriculture.