Wormeries Blog

Top Ways to Have A Sustainable Christmas

From Nut Roasts to Nutmeg, There Are Plenty of Ways To Have Your Greenest Christmas Yet

This year is the perfect opportunity to start living an eco-friendly lifestyle, with Christmas coming up there has never been a better time to focus your efforts on all things sustainable. There are many ways in which you can make your Christmas the greenest one yet, whether big changes or small, you can make a difference.

Sustainable Wrapping Paper (or fabric)



Christmas wrapping paper is one of the more prominent items amongst the store shelves leading up to Christmas, but it seems awful wasteful to spend money on an item that is designed to be discarded. What’s worse is that some wrapping paper can’t be recycled, and those that can be aren’t always produced using sustainable paper sources.  So, whenever you can, always try to purchase an FSC certified wrapping paper, or alternatively you can utilise reusable wrapping materials such as fabric (and save them again for next year!). Sellotape can’t be recycled, so using a fabric wrapping makes even more sense.

Gifts That Last



Similar to wrapping paper, gifts have become disposable in nature to so many people. When purchasing a gift, it’s always worth considering how long the item will last, or if it serves a long-term function.

If you can’t find any gifts which are long lasting you can always consider pre-loved items. Many charity stores will have treasure troves of used and unused items on display, so you’re sure to find a bargain or two, plus you have the benefits of saving a bit of money and helping a charitable cause. You can also re-gift previous ones you have received, there’s always going to be someone who can make use of those unwanted gifts!

Why not turn your hand to making something homemade? Nothing says thoughtful more than going through the effort of creating something yourself, plus you can reuse and recycle old items lying about the house for fresh new purposes.

Alternatively, you can opt for an eco-friendly gift, or a product which will enable a friend or family to start living a sustainable lifestyle.

Eco-Friendly Gifts



There are plenty of eco-friendly gifts available, with many being beneficial in everyday life. Wormeries are a great project to start if you love gardening, they can be a prime source of vermicompost (the most effective type of compost), and they’re educational for the young ones too.  

A water butt will help supply your garden with water, so you can save money on water bills all the while helping to save the planet! Water butts don’t have to be plain either, there are many types which will find themselves perfectly at home within your garden, from clay effect water butts, to water butt planters, there’s ample choice to fit your style.

Our range of VegTrug products make gardening much more accessible, with easy to reach planters for any size garden, you can start providing your own home with fruit and veg in no time. These natural looking yet stylish products are sure to make a great gift.

Decorations



LED lights require less power than traditional bulbs, so if you’re looking to decorate your tree consider using them for an eco-friendly alternative. For many decorations you can go the DIY route, if you’ve got children this is a fantastic chance to get them involved too! Compostable decorations are becoming more and more popular, with dried oranges, bay leaves, and more working together to create an aesthetically pleasing garland, which smells nice too! A wreath is also easy to construct, with almost everything you need to make it being found amongst nature.

Sustainable Tree



You might be wondering just how eco-friendly a Christmas tree can really be? This is a reasonable concern to have, with the answer not being as clear cut as you might think. We all like to try and live as sustainably as we can, so even a small change such as swapping out one Christmas tree for another, can make a big difference. We have an entire guide about choosing a sustainable Christmas tree here.

Recyclable Christmas Cards



Similar to decorations, you can also make your own Christmas cards from scratch, all you need is some eco-friendly card to get started. If you want to make it even more festive you can use some eco-friendly glitter, as the normal type isn’t recyclable. If you’re not that crafty you can also get hold FSC certified cards much easier than you used to be able to.

Food Waste



It’s no secret that Christmas day is notorious for producing vast amounts of food waste, but there are solutions to this all to common problem. The first and most obvious one is to simply reduce the amount of food you purchase in the first place; however, this isn’t always easy to do. So, if you do find yourself with more food than you realised there are several options available to you.

Adding your food waste to a compost pile is one way to dispose of it in an eco-friendly manner, and if you don’t have space in your garden for a large composter you could always use a kitchen-based composter such as a Bokashi Bin or Junior Wormery. For those with a bit more space in the garden there is the Aerobin, a hot composter which can produce usable compost within 12 weeks!

Vegan Christmas



One of the best ways you can help the environment is by switching to a meat-free diet. While there are no strictly defined practices of veganism, the core tenets of the belief include living in a way which avoids exploitation and cruelty to animals, this can be through food, clothing, entertainment, or any other purpose which requires animals. There are plenty of vegan options available these days, it doesn’t all have to be tofu and nut roast! The UN states that meat and dairy livestock account for 14.5% of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions. This is roughly the same amount as all transport (car, ship, plane) emissions across the planet. Switching to a plant-based diet can cut emissions massively.

The Benefits of Composting

There are a number of ways to get involved with composting, from using a standard wooden composter, Wormery, hot composter, and more!


How To Compost

• First of all, you need a container to hold your compost (view our range here).
  
  
• Secondly, you need a location. Different types of containers will work better in different environments, but generally you want a consistent temperature as much as possible.
  
  
• Some composters are suitable for outdoors, such as larger wormeries and garden composters
  
  
• If space is an issue you can also use a container design to be used indoors, such as a Bokashi Bin or similar items.
  
  

What To Put In It?

• Generally a mix of brown and green materials is advised
  
  
• Green materials includes kitchen waste, grass, and weeds
  
  
• Brown materials includes wood, cardboard, and dead leaves
  
  
• Lime can change the acidity of the composter if there is an imbalance
  
  
• A wormery will need Tiger Worms in order to function
  
  

Maintaining It

• Depending on your type of composter, you may need to turn the materials inside of it to add air in to the mix
  
  
• Some composters are designed with this in mind, and have functions to allow the turning more easily, such as the Maze 245 Litre Compost Tumbler
  
  
• Wormeries have different needs to traditional composters, you can find out more about Wormeries here
  
  

Using Your Compost

• Once your compost is ready you can use it in a variety of ways
  
  
• If you're growing vegetables and herbs, the compost can be placed around the base of these plants to ensure better and healthier growth
  
  
• Adding compost to grass will maintain and improve a healthy lawn
  
  
• Mix with soil for use with potted plants, adding additional nutrients to the plant
  
  
• Flower beds can be improved with the addition of compost, giving the plants an extra boost

Our Wormeries

	Great for kids	Great for flats	New	Bestseller	Bestseller	Bestseller	For dog & cat waste	For dog & cat waste
	Junior Wormery	Midi Wormery	Stainless Steel Wormery	Original Wormery	3 Tray Tiger Wormery	4 Tray Tiger Wormery	3 Tray Pet Poo Wormery	4 Tray Pet Poo Wormery
Price	£61.00	£71.99	£191.99	£104.99	£106.99	£115.99	£121.00	£130.99
Dimensions	Diameter: 35cm Height: 36cm	Diameter: 36cm Height: 43cm	Diameter: 34cm Height: 43cm	Height: 77cm Width: 61cm Depth: 44cm	Height: 53-74cm* Width: 42cm Depth: 42cm *Height expands as compost builds	Height: 56-87cm* Width: 42cm Depth: 42cm *Height expands as compost builds	Height: 53-74cm* Width: 42cm Depth: 42cm *Height expands as compost builds	Height: 56-87cm* Width: 42cm Depth: 42cm *Height expands as compost builds
Capacity	18 Litres	27 Litres	30 Litres	100 Litres	46.5 Litres	62 Litres	46.5 Litres	62 Litres
Suitable for	1 Person	1-2 People	2-3 People	Family	Family	Family	1 Large or 3 Medium Dogs	2 Large or 4-5 Medium Dogs
Colours	Silver	Silver	Stainless Steel	Silver	Black Green Terracotta Red Purple Blue	Black Green Terracotta Red Purple Blue	Black Green Terracotta Red Purple Blue	Black Green Terracotta Red Purple Blue
Everything you need is included when you buy a Wormery Tiger Worms, Lime Mix, Coir Block for Wormery Bedding & Instructions
Tiger Worms or Worm Voucher	250g	250g	250g	250g	250g	250g	250g	250g
Lime Mix	1.5kg	1.5kg	1.5kg	1.5kg	1.5kg	1.5kg	1.5kg	1.5kg
Coir Block for Wormery Bedding	650g	650g	650g	650g	650g	650g	650g	650g
Aeration	Brass Vent	Brass Vent	Brass Vent	Brass Vents	Airflow Lid	Airflow Lid	Airflow Lid	Airflow Lid
Drainage	Drainage Platform	Drainage Platform	Stainless Steel Tray Platform	Patented Drainage System	Multi-Tray Drainage and Sloped Sump Tray	Multi-Tray Drainage and Sloped Sump Tray	Multi-Tray Drainage and Sloped Sump Tray	Multi-Tray Drainage and Sloped Sump Tray
Ease of Harvesting Liquid Feed
Ease of Harvesting Compost
Rubberised Compression Lid Seal
Expandable?
Stand			Built-In	Available	Included	Included	Included	Included
5 Year Guarantee
Helpline
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Price	£43.99	£53.99	£109.99	£64.99	£76.99	£83.99	£91.99	£98.99

Avid gardeners and organic produce experts have waxed lyrical for many years about making compost in the garden and how it is the best way of disposing of food waste and feeding plants. Many of us have tried to compost but may have found it to be hard to keep on top of or, alternatively, have succeeded in making an amazing feed for plants and grasses. Either way, you may have noticed that worms and maggots end up getting involved and infiltrating your waste heap. Whilst maggots and worms are usually a bad sign, in this case it’s a good thing. Maggots and worms will consume food waste quite quickly and will produce the right kind of compost that is required for feeding plants and soil. So why not use worms to your advantage and have them do what comes naturally to them?

Choosing The Right Wormery

You may have browsed through our Wormery section and feel overwhelmed by choice, the selection on offer is vast. Here are a few simple questions to ask yourself to help you make the decision:

• 
  

  How many people are in your household?

It seems obvious but the more people in your household, the more food waste you create. Although, some smaller households can create vast amounts of organic food waste for many reasons. Maybe they have a plant-based diet and do not use a lot of food packaging or they entertain frequently. Alternatively, a large family that eats out a lot would not produce much food waste as they do not cook habitually. The best way to tell is to monitor how much you change the food waste your local council collects. For example, a family could be filling their caddy up every week for pick up. In this situation, a larger or four tray Wormery would suit them best. If you’re not quite filling a food waste bin up every week but still produce a fair bit of food waste, is may be good to try the three tray Wormeries. We also have spare trays that you can add if three trays turn out to not be enough. Each tray holds 15.5 litres (around 2 stone) of waste.

One or two people living together would usually benefit from a small wormery such as the Midi Wormery  or the Junior Wormery. Or those living in a flat may find the Stainless Steel Indoor Wormery beneficial as it fits well on a kitchen worktop, so there is no need to store outside. This could also be a great option for those who do not cook a lot or are not at home often.

• 
  

  Have you owned a Wormery or composted successfully before?

Essentially, this is the difference between getting a deluxe or a standard Wormery. Our deluxe Wormeries have a Composting With Worms book (along with other helpful extra items), which explains a lot of what someone may need to know about worm composting. This is perfect for beginners or those getting back into it.

• 
  

  Do you have any pets?

Without going into too much detail, pets produce poo, worms can eat this poo. Our Pet & Dog Poo Wormeries have Bokashi Bran supplied which is a rich bran that helps worms break down the waste, so it is best to add Bokashi as you add the waste. In addition, any cat litter that is organic (wood or paper based NOT clay or silica gel) can be added to these Wormeries. Just do not over fill it.

If you wish to use a pet poo wormery, do not forget that this compost cannot be used on fruit and vegetables, only plants. Also, take care when handling the waste.

Where Does A Wormery Go?

Due to a Wormery being enclosed, it is best to keep it in a shed or garage out of the sunlight and rainfall. This will stop the compost over heating or rain flooding the Wormery and killing the worms. Worms work best at 18-25 degrees Celsius they are slower at 10 Celsius or lower and temperatures over 30 are to be avoided.

If you do not have a shed or garage, you are able to keep it out of direct sunlight and rainfall in a bush or under suspended tarpaulin if you need to keep it outside. Anywhere that is not in direct sunlight and there is nothing tight covering the Wormery (they get oxygen from the little holes and gaps built in) is perfect.

Organic Living

Many of us have started being more cautious about the plastic we use and how to save water and electricity, some may have started composting too. The more we do to become eco-friendly, the more we think about what we can do next. You may even already compost, or at least send food waste with your bins, but composting does have another level. Wormeries create liquid feed for plants and a rich vermicompost that is perfect for helping plants grow. It is really is the most natural way to grow in your garden.

Have you started a Wormery and want to share your story with us? Why not inbox us on Facebook or tag us in your photos on Instagram and Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

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1. In the bottom, place an 8cm (3¼in) layer of moist ‘bedding material’ such as old compost or coir if it is provided by the supplier. This creates a humid layer in which the worms can burrow and begin to digest their food.


2. Now add the composting worms.


3. Cover with no more than 8-10cm (3¼-4in) layer of kitchen waste and leave for about one week to allow the worms time to settle into their new environment.

• Any raw vegetables, except for onions, shallots, leeks and garlic that are best used in small amounts or cooked first


• Any cooked vegetables


• All fruit, except citrus peel, which needs to be limited or preferably cooked before adding


• Tea bags, eggshells, coffee grounds and small amounts of bread


• Limited amounts of newspaper, shredded office paper and cardboard, but not glossy magazines


• Small amounts of garden waste such as annual weeds, leaves and other soft green material

• Dairy products, fat, grease, meat, fish and bones as these are likely to attract unwanted pests and flies.


• Larger quantities of tough leaves and woodier material as it will slow the system down.