Backyard Composting Program Scheduled Oct. 26 in Las Cruces

Date: Oct. 6, 1999
Editor: D'Lyn Ford, (505) 646-6528, dlford@nmsu.edu

LAS CRUCES -- As homeowners clean up their yards for the winter, it's tempting to take the yard wastes to the landfill. But with a little effort, leaves, grass clippings and other organic material can be turned into rich compost.

A free, 2-hour program on backyard composting will be held Oct. 26 at the Doña Ana County Cooperative Extension Service office, 808 N. Alameda, in Las Cruces. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m.

"Leaves are a major landfill problem in the fall," said George Dickerson, Extension horticulturist with New Mexico State University. "These leaves take up a lot of landfill space when they could be recycled in the garden as a natural organic resource."

At the composting program, gardeners will learn how to compost leaves and other organic wastes, and how to use the resulting compost in the garden as a soil conditioner, nutrient source and natural fungicide.

For more information about the program, contact John White at the Doña Ana County Extension office at (505) 525-6649.