Big King Water Barrel

On special for the next week at WaterButtsDirect we have the excellent “Big King Robust Water Barrel”.  It’s one of our highest quality butts with a 280 litre capacity and it’s available this week with a stand, downpipe connector, Freshatank disc and watering can for only £99! The usual price for just the butt, stand and connector is over £100.

Check out our Deal of the week page to see this offer!

Enjoy!
Liam

Parasol Mushroom

Environmental issues are often so labeled with buzzwords and clichés that they become annoyingly over-familiar to the general public – I’ve noticed that the eyebrows of one or two of my friends have a habit of raising slightly when they hear the words ‘global warming’, for example.

That said, there are a few issues about which people seem to be disturbingly ignorant. Perhaps the most profound of these is peak oil – the fact that we are now (or soon will be) using up our oil reserves faster than we can discover new ones. This probably means the end of cheap energy and it has far reaching effects on every aspect of our lives. It’s not the end of the World say some (and they’re right), but it is (and you can sing this bit) the end of the World as we know it.

Here in Britain we’re uniquely well-placed to adapt to the challenges – we have unparalleled resources when it comes to alternative energy; we have a well-educated population with a history of resilience, adaptation and invention; we even have the ideal climate for growing food. What we need to develop is some kind of public will to see the changes through – a Blitz mentality if you like, and I really don’t think the comparison is over-egging the pudding. I don’t think such a thing will happen spontaneously, unless a very significant event takes place – something on the scale of Norfolk disappearing under water. So what we all need to do is to start putting into effect small changes, manageable steps and positive, sustainable solutions. As these become familiar we will move further and further away from the oil economy and ‘business as usual’, and we’ll develop a resilient society where quality of life is a more important measure of our success than gross domestic product.

I’d like to invite you all to think about small changes you can make to your lifestyle with this in mind. Can you walk to a local baker in the morning, rather than shopping at a supermarket out of town? You’ll get better bread from a local source, and the exercise is no bad thing. Or perhaps you can think of new uses for old things, rather than throwing them away?

On a similar note, in one of Joy’s posts to this blog last year she mentions the Turtle Bag and how versatile it is. She even asks readers to suggest alternative uses, and I have to say I think I have a pretty good one. Each morning, at about seven o’clock, I go out onto a little local nature reserve with my dog, Stig. Obviously this is primarily for Stig’s benefit, but this year I have been taking the opportunity to learn a bit about mushrooms. I’m now at the stage where I can confidently ID several tasty varieties and bring them home for breakfast. While it’s easy enough to stick my harvest into a normal bag as I pick them, I’ve always thought it slightly wasteful of all the spores the mushrooms release as they jiggle and shake all the way home. If only I had some kind of mesh bag, I could be releasing those spores all over the grass, ensuring good foraging for future seasons… you see where I’m going?

So there you are; an example of how easy it is to provide something for yourself (and a few parasol mushrooms are well worth the effort, believe me), and also to find a new and practical use for an existing resource.

Paul Wagland

Hello folks, and thanks for reading my first post on the Original Organics blog.

Liam offered me the chance to share my thoughts on ‘all things green’ and of course I jumped at the chance.  Starting a blog is a bit like a new job, or maybe even your first day at school; a bit scary perhaps, but exciting too – and full of unexplored potential.

That’s how I feel about the big environmental issues that currently face us.  We know there are changes ahead of us, we’re not quite sure how it’ll all turn out and, increasingly, we know we have to do something right now to get ourselves on track.  We may have access to the resources (there’s plenty on display within these pages) but of course it takes more than that – we also need the will to succeed, a positive attitude and some common sense.  Just coming to a site like this shows you have the right qualities, so well done you for having the sense to realise something needs to be done and not for waiting until someone else tells you so!

I’ll be posting every couple of weeks, bringing you positive ideas and encouragement, but I hope also you’ll be adding your own energy, advice and thoughts as we go.

Paul Wagland

This week’s Deal of the Week on WaterButtsDirect, the home of waterbutts, is the Garden Lake Waterbutt Kit, complete with Stand and Downpipe Connection Kit and with an excellent FreshaTank disc and Watering Can all for the excellent price of £47.00!  A saving of over 25% from the individual item prices.

Garden Lake Waterbutt

You can check out this offer over at WaterButtsDirect.

Cheerio,
Liam

Afternoon folks,

I just thought I’d post a quick Blog to say that we’ve just changed what is probably the most important page of our website – the Wormery page – hopefully for the better!

The Wormeries page is by far the most visited page of the Original Organics website and is the page which visitors land on from search results and our online ads, so it’s very important that it is effective.  It is our primary chance to show off our excellent products, convey to visitors that we’re good people to do business with – and hopefully convert them into paying customers and Wormery owners!

The old version of the page, whilst quite informative, was very long and didn’t make it easy to compare the available options.  The aim of this exercise was to tidy it up, make the page less cluttered and easier to use – but still provide visitors with the information they’re looking for.

I’ll be monitoring how it compares to the old page very closely over the coming weeks and will undoubtedly be making the odd tweak here and there to make it even easier to use.  But I’m sure you’ll agree it is quite an improvement.

Oh… and here’s how the wormeries page looked nearly 4 years ago!

If you have any comments, as ever, please do let us know!

Liam

A short note to say that due to the rare occurrance of a ‘heatwave‘ currently sweeping the nation we have taken the decision to delay the despatch of orders for worms or Wormery Starter / DIY Kits for the moment – probably until Monday when the freak weather is likely to have disappeared.

Much better to be here in the cool than waiting in a hot van for delivery we think.  But we do apologise if it causes you any inconvenience.

Thanks,

Liam

As soon as I saw these classy caddies I just fell in love with them!  Apparently, yes it is possible to love a composting product this much…

You’ll see what I mean though (I hope!) :-

New to Original Organics and available now from our website for the rather excellent price of £15.97! Available in Clay (pictured), String and Apple Green.

Let me know what you think.

Liam

Just a quick note to say that to support this year’s Comic Relief campaign, we’re going to be donating £1 for every order placed this weekend – whatever the order value!

Applies to orders placed via www.OrginalOrganics.co.uk up until Midnight Sunday night.

So, if you’ve been thinking about a Wormery, Bokashi Bucket, Waterbutt, Green Cone, Compost Bin, Raised Bed or anything else from our range for a wee while – if you buy this weekend you’ll also be supporting the Red Nose total!

We’ll be totting up how much we’ve raised, including our own scrape around the office (and raid of the petty cash!) next week.

Cheers,

Liam

Morning everyone,

Due to the adverse weather conditions, combined with our rural location, the majority of us have unfortunately not been able to get into work so far today.  The snow is still coming down, too and we are suffering intermittent power failures.

In addition, at this time we think it very unlikely that our couriers will be able to collect from us today – unless there is a significant improvement in both weather and road conditions.  Because of this, orders may take a day or two longer to arrive than they would under usual circumstances.

We hope to resume normal service on Monday – weather permitting.

Many Thanks for your understanding.

Liam Martin
Director

NB.  This sale has now ended.  The sale ended January 31st 2009.

I hope everyone had a really excellent christmas and that Santa brought you some very nice pressies.  Here’s just another post-christmas treat for you.  It’s the launch of our Winter Sale.

This one really is our biggest and best ever – and, at these prices, it simply can’t last long!

Take 15% off our entire range when you shop online with us at www.originalorganics.co.uk and enter the discount code WINTER15.  So, for a limited time, you can buy from the experts with even bigger value than normal!

Here are some examples of the savings you can make :-

The Original Wormery (our Bestseller) – Buy this Wormery
RRP £64.90 – Usual Web Price £50.80
With 15% Off Web Price :- £43.18 (save over £20 from RRP!)

The Worm Works (4-Tray System) – Buy this Wormery
RRP £105.95 – Usual Web Price £94.95
With 15% Off Web Price :- £80.71 (save over £25 from RRP!)

Double Bokashi Composting Rotation Kit – Buy this Bokashi Kit
Usual Web Price £34.25
With 15% Off Web Price :- £29.11 (save over £5!)

Have a look at our wonderful bestselling Wormeries and our excellent Bokashi Composters now!

… and here’s to a prosperous 2009 for all!

Regards,

Liam

We’re really pleased to confirm we’ve been accepted as a member of Ethical Junction and are now proudly displaying the membership badge on our website.

In their words :- “Ethical Junction brings together businesses and consumers who share a commitment to ethical values.” Becoming a member requires strict interrogation of our own ethical values and business practices – so being accepted proudly demonstrates our commitment to conducting our business ethically.

Amongst other things that means looking after our employees, reducing our carbon footprint, being ‘fair’ in our business practices and ensuring that there is no exploitation of workers in our supply chain.

Visit our Membership Page on the EJ Website

Liam

NB. This offer has now ended.

We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
… and a Happy New Year!

We’re pleased to unveil, for a limtied time only, our extra special Christmas Offer!

FREE OVERNIGHT DELIVERY on *any* order placed on our website, www.originalorganics.co.uk

It’s simple.  Order by 4pm on a working day and your order will be delivered the next working day – and we’ll pay!  It sounds crazy – it probably is… perhaps we’ve had a bit too much mulled wine!

Unfortunately, there are some restrictions on area – as our couriers cannot deliver overnig to some remote areas, but nobody will pay a delivery charge – no matter where you are in the UK!

For more information and to see the not so small print – see our website…

Be quick – this offer cannot last long!  We’re bound to see sense sometime soon.

Merry Christmas,

Liam

Caren shows off our new Turtle Bags!

I would like to share one of my best buys of the year……..a simple string bag or rather a  Turtle Bag! – About 5 months ago I was shopping and had run out of old plastic carrier bags to keep in my handbag, ‘just in case’. I was paying for several items in a local shop when I saw a small display of string bags. I bought one, packed my purchases in it and left.

Innocuous enough you may think but since using this wonderful bag I have been stopped in the street and asked where one could be bought from, a friend has also asked the same question.  On another occasion, I left some heavy shopping in the bag with a friendly shopkeeper to look after to be picked up later, on returning to retrieve said Turtle bag and shopping, she remarked how she could have sold the bag several times over as she had had enquiries by customers who saw it.

Having shown work colleagues ‘the bag’ interest was such that Clive, the boss, has bought in Turtle Bags to sell to our canny customers. We have already had some original ideas as to other uses for these bags, such as, ‘over winter’ storage for home grown onions! – We would welcome more original ideas.

I can only speak from experience, but would urge anyone who shops to buy at least one. My bag now goes everywhere with me as it fits easily into my handbag, it expands to accommodate more shopping than I can comfortably carry for too long and  another, more eco friendly benefit  is that I do not have to buy or use plastic bags anymore.

Oh yes – they are called Turtle bags in honour of the much endangered species their extensive use could help to save. Jellyfish are a significant part of the diet of many Turtles. Unfortunately many hundreds of thousands if not millions of ordinary plastic bags end up in the worlds oceans. Now to a Turtle swimming underwater a floating or submerged plastic bag is simply indistinguishable from a Jellyfish. The difference is, of course, that the plastic bag is indigestible; clogs up the Turtles insides and sadly condemns it to a slow death by starvation.

So buy a bag to make shopping easier, to reduce waste and to save a Turtle.

Joy

So Liam pops his head round the door and suggests I should write a blog about Bokashi composting. A fairly reasonable and straightforward request you might think – but it took me on a winding journey back through a bit of family and world history to achieve the simple result asked of me.

My Uncle Dennis died 7 years ago and my father 4 years later. Although brothers they were very different people. They did however share a steadfast set of values and moral beliefs summed up in the words, honesty, decency, duty, fairness and integrity. Like many sincere, caring and intelligent people both were what used to be called ‘left of centre’ politically and both served their country and more during the Second World War.

My father was a pilot and navigator with the RAF serving in coastal and bomber commands during the war and moving on to organisational development  and officer training roles from 45 to 58. My uncle served with the British army and their allies in Burma and along with too many thousands of others was captured and imprisoned by the Japanese.

Of every 100 air crew officers who signed up along with my father in 1938 of those in bomber command less than 38 saw VE day. A Bomber Command crew member had a worse chance of survival than an infantry officer in World War I. I believe this experience seriously affected my father’s life thereafter – he had few close friends for the rest of his life and you don’t need a PhD in Psychology to see why.  These remarkably brave men were, of course, engaged in major purposeful aggressive action against the Axis powers.
What then of the C. 30% of prisoners of war (by definition non combatants ) who did not come through the terrible treatment  and appalling conditions of brutality, barbarism, torture and starvation imposed by their captors in the far East not to mention the illness, shortened lives and trauma for the survivors. For Dennis his eyesight was badly damaged, Malaria recurred and the hidden damage was there for all not to see (if you follow) for the rest of his life.

So from very different wartime experiences both brothers, no doubt like thousands upon thousands of others ‘chose’ the quiet, stoical, and perhaps somewhat isolating approach of internalising their experiences and of rarely discussing them even with, or perhaps particularly with close family. It was indeed at rare, unusual yet revealing and enlightening moments when I could share a brief but deep discussion about the war with my father.

All very interesting but ‘what about the Bokashi’ Do I hear my reader cry? OK – bear with me just a little longer if you will…

When Dennis and his comrades were finally liberated in 1945 it was 11 months until he returned home to his wife. Many of the liberated prisoners were so ill, emaciated and weak that it was judged bad for civilian morale for them to return to the UK and be seen in such a ‘pathetic’ state. They needed serious medical attention and some serious rest and recuperation. So it was Blighty by way of a long stay over with our Canadian allies for thousands too ill and no doubt disinclined to complain.

Now, perhaps understandably all this lead to many survivors and their families having less than totally forgiving and friendly thoughts towards  the defeated Japanese Empire. Although anti German feelings were clearly very strong in those soon after the war years – this has dwindled and changed over the decades that followed. Today any vestiges of enmity tend to be confined to the football field. Germany has changed, faced up to its past; its atrocities and the horrendous doings of Hitler and his band of sadistic, psychopathic fascist thugs. Apologise made and repeated; bridges built; talks talked and walks walked and to their utter credit to deny the holocaust in Germany today is a criminal and imprisonable offence.

Possibly for deep historical and cultural reasons well beyond my ken, Japan took a different route. Emperor Hirohito was allowed to remain as titular head of state after the war courtesy of General Mac Arthur and our American friends and there was and some might say still is, an ambivalence about their past. Japanese school history books make less than complete and accurate references to the war and war criminals are still revered by some. Actions and mistakes have perhaps not been squarely faced up to as they have elsewhere.

The saying is that history is written by the victors. Whilst in the obvious sense this is true, it is at the same time grossly over simplistic to the risk of obscuring as much as it enlightens.

Now, I am far from an expert and the deep and historically rooted cultural traditions of the Japanese peoples are no doubt honourable; and the answer to the conundrum of their post war stance may well be hidden from me within the complexity of anthropology. However in over simplistic terms it was this apparent ambivalence and above all else the lack of an open and totally unequivocal apology for war crimes that meant that during my youth, households in our extended family (and I suspect many others) went decade after decade without a Japanese car, microwave, video or other Japanese made electrical or electronic gismo.

Time heals and as the older generations die out (no chrysanthemums in the wreaths) and the newer ones grow up- memories mellow and attitudes change. This is good and right and proper – for we all have to eventually forgive although not for me to forget – that may be for future generations but I hope not, for if we don’t learn from our history we cease to learn anything and if we cease to learn we may just as well cease to be.

So this verbose attempt at relevance, succinctness and attempting to follow Basil Fawlty’s advice of not mentioning the war has manifestly failed but it brings me at last to Bokashi bins and composting, a Japanese invention which I am pleased to embrace and to extol the many virtues and benefits thereof.

Bokashi is a Japanese word meaning fermented organic matter. It is a form of intensive composting using a starter culture of effective Microorganisms (EM). The culture is a bit like making Yogurt or a ginger beer plant in that it grows and can be used and reused over and over.  It is made by inoculating a suitable medium such as wheat or rice bran (but technically any organic matter from sawdust to beer will work) with EM, water and usually some molasses to speed up the process.

Once made this Bokashi mix can be used easily to speed up the fermentation and breakdown of kitchen food waste.   The speeded up fermentation should virtually eliminate any risk of unpleasant smell and the waste is ready for the next stage within a few weeks. The next stage is simply to dig it into the garden or add it to your Wormery or garden Composter. The waste doesn’t so much rot or decompose and the product is rather different in appearance than compost. It retains more of its original shape, appearance and structure and looks as though it has been pickled. Garden soil, your Wormery or composter will soon finish the job.

Bokashi bins are sealed and have a tap to capture the excellent juice which ids a concentrated plant food in itself. Interestingly if you don’t have mains drainage and rely on a septic tank or similar then Bokashi juice will help maintain a healthy environment and improve its performance.

The EM are just natural lactic acid and phototropic bacteria and yeast whish form a microbial community within the food waste to help its rapid processing. All you have to do is intersperse layers off food waste with a sprinkling of the activated bran and nature will do the rest simply and efficiently. Moreover it will deal with cooked waste as well even bits of meat and fish.

Various propriety Bokashi bins and the inoculated bran are widely available on the web and increasingly in the shops and as you might expect we do two versions ourselves. (from just £19.56!)

So it’s a big thank you to the Japanese for devising this remarkable simple, efficient, fascinating and clean form of organic waste recycling.

Thanks for reading.

Clive

There probably aren’t that many people that are yet to hear the news that Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, yesterday announced that the rate of VAT is to be reduced in an effort to stimulate our economy.

From Monday 1st December, the official standard VAT rate will be 15%, down from 17.5%.  It will remain at this level for 13 months until the end of 2009.

I personally welcome the move – even though it is causing me a mini logistical nightmare altering all our prices!  It is, of course, the duty of any ethically-minded company to pass this saving on to the consumer.  Every penny discount helps for consumers and small businesses in my view.

However, to ensure that customers are not disadvantaged if they wish to buy now, we’ve actually dropped our prices this morning to reflect the discount ahead of the official changeover date next Monday.  Though the price has been reduced, the VAT portion of the price will remain at 17.5% officially until Monday – but we will be taking that hit between now and then so that customers can benefit from the reduction immediately.

The reduction takes, for example, £2.13 off the price of our Deluxe Original Wormery Kit.  It gives a discount of £2.34 off of the Deluxe Worm Works 4-Tray Wormery Kit.  It also brings our standard P&P charge down from £5.95 to £5.82.

So – order from Original Organics and help save the environment and your bank balance at the same time! Our wormeries do make the bestest, most fascinating, christmas pressies after all!!

As ever – any questions, ideas or queries – get in touch!

Liam