A nip in the air

Only a light scattering of snow for us softies in the south, and which Archie and Angel are duly grateful about.  Even with fleece jackets on, after a quick look round they decided it was far too cold outside in the garden and would rather be indoors.

This morning we woke up to find that Jack Frost had been busy during the night: the temperature was -4C but by the time we went out for our morning walk it had warmed up to a more temperate -2.5C!
It did all look rather beautiful and to my mind at least, the frost rimed plants and grass make up for the lack of flowers. No sign of any snowdrops yet, although daffodils, narcissi and crocuses are all pushing pointy little green stems up, and I even spotted a couple of daffodil buds the other day ...
there are also plenty of catkins around which I always think is a welcome indicator of Spring being not too far away.  Although I am baffled as to why they are called catkins - more like wiggly lambs tails when there is a breeze.

I'm hoping to put the post up about the dog poo wormeries soonish - the nice folk at Earth Essentials did send it to me, but unfortunately it was in a format I couldn't download on my computer. But in the meantime, here are some comments from satisfied customers - both about the dog poo wormeries and the conventional type - to help whet your interest ...

"I saw the dog poo wormery at Crufts last year and so in the summer I bought one.

The trouble is I got so addicted to composting I had to go to Crufts this year to buy a home waste bin - so that I could make room in my original bin for the dog poo.

I was surprised that there is virtually no smell from the bin and no blue bottles hanging round it - which is a plus.
My advice is - if you have edible plants in your garden - get a home waste and a dog poo bin - if not - go for a large bin.

- Marian Wolff"

"I bought my dog poo wormery 12 months ago and was very sceptical about it as I've had various gimmicks in the past which have been a complete waste of money. However, I followed the instructions which came with the wormery and have been amazed by it. 

I have 7 dogs and although the bin isn't big enough to accommodate the waste from them all, which I didn't expect it too, so I shall buy another bin in the future.

One of my concerns was that the bin would smell - but it doesn't.

I would give the bin 10 out of 10 and would recommend it to anyone with dogs.

- Sue Ashbourne, Canine Hydrotherapy Centre"

 "I saw the Earth Essentials wormery when we were at the Berkshire show this summer. I was a little dubious as I had a wormery before from a well-known maker and it was terrible. All the worms kept escaping and after three bags of worms and a replacement lid I gave up. I really wanted to have one though so after a lengthy conversation with Jill I decided to give it another go. This one is BRILLIANT! It works! My top tip is though, when you first put your worms in put an old pillow case or similar laid over the top then close the lid onto that so it is sandwiched between. Then no "Steve McQueen" worms can get out and then they soon settle down. Within a week or two they were happy and are now munching their way through our peelings. It doesn't smell either, it is great and I would definitely recommend them. I will purchasing a dog poo wormery as soon as I have cleared a space for it. Thanks again.

- Emma"

"We have been using the Big wormery at Elmwood Golf Course since April with the aim of reduce the amount of food waste generated in the clubhouse from going to landfill. The system is well built, easy to maintain and backed up with an excellent aftercare service from Earth Essentials. The system generates a lot of interest from visitors to the course who are interested in our many environmental initiatives and the compost created by this system allows us to produce high quality compost teas which we then use out on the course to help reduce our inputs of chemicals, fertilisers and water.

                                                - Kind regards, Greg"