At The Recycle Works we love to hear from you about what you use your purchases for and what differences they make. We’ve recently been contacted by one of our lovely customers who purchased an Enviroshed from us and he has very kindly sent us details of how gorgeous it’s looking with it’s sedum roof.
Enviroshed with Sedum Roof
We thought you’d like to see the pictures and maybe get some ideas of how pretty sheds can actually be! To view lots more pictures simply visit this link.
Please do keep sending us details of your Grow Your Own and gardening projects. We really do love hearing from you!
Well can you believe it? We’ve been wanting to put together video footage for a while now but we weren’t sure who would be the best person from the team to present in them. However, we most definitely now have the answer and we’ve made our first instruction videos in order to give our customers simple and easy to watch instructions for our wonderful new Vitogrow products.
The Vitogrow products are mini greenhouses and propagators, all in one, with guaranteed success! Our instruction videos will be available on the order page for each product – so watch out for more.
Bike Week is the biggest nationwide cycling event in the UK. A national celebration of cycling, Bike Week helps you get more out of life – by getting on your bike and exploring your local community.
New for 2009, Bike Week focuses on encouraging families to taking up cycling as a regular activity in their local community. Bike Week is the time to “live local and get cycling.”
Bike Week is free to enter and open to everyone – you can either take part in an event or organise one yourself, you don’t have to be an experienced cyclist either, anyone can set up a Bike Week event.
To find out more or participate in one of the local events, simply click here and find out more!
The self-watering Vitogrow is a salad and herb garden that makes growing your own easy – anywhere and is available in two sizes. We were so impressed with them when we saw them that we knew they’d be a real hit!
Vitogrow contains everything you need to get growing. Just add compost and sow your seeds. No experienced required. In fact the manufacturers are so confident that anyone can grow in Vitogrow that they guarantee you crop success.
Also, plants are healthier in a Vitogrow because they are provided with constant access to water and nutrients without the plants sitting in water.
There are two other wonderful products available in the range, the Quadgrow and the Octogrow. You can have with with or without lids, the choice is yours.
These are especially useful if you have a limited amount of space or require portability. We’re also sure they’re going to be a real hit with the schools who’ve already purchased them as they’ll help produce wonderful crops!
Well it all started when I went to the supermarket this weekend and bought two packs of rocket for a meal with Friends on Saturday night. I’ve never really considered the cost of vegetables and salad before until the day when I announced, ‘I’m going to grow some vegetables!’
Those two packets of rocket cost me £2.98 and most weeks I’ll buy at least two, or maybe even three, so I’ve worked it out that over the Summer I’ll probably spend at least £40 just on rocket alone! Not any more!
My mission this week is to plant my own and then in 21 days I’ll be able to eat the fruits of my own labour. I’m anxiously awaiting my first onions, garlic and potato to be ready – must think of a recipe! So in case you’re thinking like me and fancy growing your own salad leaves, here are a few of my newly learned pointers as it’s not rocket science!!!
To grow, fill the container will multi purpose compost and leave a 2.5cm gap between the top of the container and the level of the compost. (I’ll of course be using one of our Salubrious Salad Beds – how could I not!) Scatter the seeds thinly on top of the compost and cover with 2 cm of compost and water well.
The container then needs to be put in a slightly shaded or sunny spot and kept well watered. Wait 21 days but please do eat something else in-between and then the leaves will be ready to pick.
I’m told that you can either snip them off as you want them or you can cut the whole plant off leaving about a 1 to 2 cm stump. The leaves will keep growing back and will be good to eat until they flower, at which point they can go on the compost heap.
Of course it’s not just rocket you can grow – I just love the stuff, that’s all! You can grow mizuna, chicory, radish leaf, carrot leaves…….the varieties are endless!
I’ll take pictures as I go along as I’m a real novice gardener and I’ll prove that if I can do it, anyone can so watch this space and I’ll report back, with photographic evidence as well!
As it’s Compost Awareness Week, we’re blogging all this week about composting so we thought that one of the most important things would be to cover ‘how to make compost’!
First create a space in which to do your outdoor composting. This should be an open space preferably direct on the ground, otherwise on hard standing. Compost can be made in a heap or a suitable container can be used such as a compost bin, which we have a huge variety of available at The Recycle Works. When composting kitchen waste it is essential to use a secure container and bokashicomposters are superb for this job in particular.
Gather together as much Organic Waste as possible and make a loose pile. These organic materials soon begin to heat up as the composting process starts. The volume then quickly shrinks. At this stage it is important to dig over the compost using a pitchfork, to introduce more Air into the middle of the pile. This should be done a few times at the early stages of composting as natural compacting occurs.
The Heat naturally generated quickly builds up again as microbes resume composting in the improved conditions. The temperature will quickly reach 130-I60F in a large well-mixed pile. This will help destroy weeds, seeds and disease and the materials will decompose much faster.
Turning also subjects insect larvae and spores to lethal temperatures inside the pile, which later cools as the microbial activity is succeeded by that of worms and beetles. Add more materials at any time until the pile is as big as the space will allow or the bin is full. Check regularly. Compost should be Moist to give the best results. If it is dry add a bucket of water. If it is too wet mix in some brown or dry materials and cover to prevent more rain getting in. A well-balanced mixture of green and brown materials produces good compost. Compost will mature at less than half the original volume.
Once the composter is full and the contents have stopped shrinking quickly, the compost is left to mature. At this point you can start a new compost pile. In time the contents will become unrecognisable and the mixture is then ready for use. A big well-managed mixed pile can be ready for use in a few months. An unattended pile may take about a year. It is traditional to use 3 separate units, one mature and being used on the garden, another maturing and one currently being filled.
So we hope this helps you get started and here’s to lots and lots of lovely compost!
Compost Awareness Week (3rd to 9th May 2009) is all about learning how to make a difference with compost and all of us at The Recycle Works can be evangelical about compost when we want to be!
The campaign is also keen to encourage people to put their compost to good use by trying their hand at growing their own fruit and vegetables. After all, not only do they taste wonderful, they can save you an absolute fortune year on year. Lots of events have been planned throughout the whole of the country and if you’d like to find out more about what’s planned near you, simply visit www.compostawarenessweek.org.uk
So this week our blog postings will be dedicated to all things compost to help you produce the best compost, in the easiest possible way!
We’re delighted to let you know that the teams’ hard work during 2008 has been recognised by the ECMOD Business Excellence Awards and we can now proudly display this logo on all our marketing.
The ECMOD brand is synonymous with high level educational, information sharing, networking, and supplier sourcing for businesses engaged in catalogue, online and multi-channel retailing, including those that market specifically to business customers.
We’re told that this year’s awards received an unprecedented number of entries and therefore it’s wonderful to be one of only eight compnaies who were Highlt Commended for their achievements and hard work.
If you’d like to know more about the awards themselves, then click here. Here’s to winning in 2009! The Recycle Works are determined to continue delighting its’ customers!
Can you believe it! We won a BIBA last Friday night which we’re absolutley ecstatic about!
Hailed as the ‘Business Oscars’, the 2009 BIBAs is the most ambitious event of its kind and, this year, attracted 900 entries from some of Lancashire’s top performing companies.
Held at The Winter Gardens, the ‘Oscar’ style ceremony was attended by over 600 people and the first award to be announced was ‘Best Use of E-Business’. We knew we were one of five finalists but to actually here our name called out was phenomenal.
Chief Executive of North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Babs Murphy, said:
“All the finalists represented on the night should also be praised because they are shining examples of what can be achieved, particularly in these difficult and challenging times, by people with a real aspiration to improve their business and significantly contribute to the local economy.
Sylvia Hopwood, Managing Director of The Recycle Works commented:
“To say we are thrilled to have won a BIBA is an understatement. The last twelve months have seen huge changes take place within the business and it’s wonderful to know that everything the team has done has been recognised and ultimately is reaping the rewards. Watch out for us continuing to grow and develop our
e-business strategy as there’s some exciting things about to happen!”
Sylvia and Debbie collect the BIBA
The gorgeous BIBA statue has taken pride of place both by Sylvia’s bedside and in the office but a huge thank you must go to all the team at The Recycle Works for all their hard work as well as a thank you to all our customers. We wouldn’t be where we are without any of you!
For more information about The BIBA’s, visit the site by clicking here.
Sunday was a great day out for all of the Borders Organic Gardeners’ (BOG) members and their families when they held their annual Potato Day. It was a spring-like day which made parking so much better than the muddy field it could have been with all those hundreds of cars. By the time I had found my car key (still at home) which had totally vanished from the face of the earth between midnight and 08.30am I left home rather late and arrived about an hour after opening time.
So I was distraught to find that all the Myan Gold and the Rocket had sold out again! I thought I had learned that lesson last year so I was really cross with myself. However I did get some Myan Queen, same parent, and a selection of early and late season seed potatoes.
When I eventually arrived there was still loads of advise and hundreds of varieties to choose from. These dwindled throughout the day until most were completely sold up.
Quite new to me, I learned something really fascinating about the start of potato varieties. Called miniature these named potato varieties were fascinating. They were for sale, but you have to be dedicated to grow them. They are all disease free, and basically you plant them and grow them on for 4 years without harvesting them, at which point you have your pure stock of the variety chosen. From then you can harvest the pure strain.
The dining area was consistently busy with such a devastatingly tempting menu. I had a portion of Stovies! This is comfort food, per se and just perfect after a spell in the garden on a chilly day. The tasting table had cakes and scones and even a Christmas pudding with potatoes in the recipe!
Eat your heart out Debbie! I am thinking of the Day she had a competition with Simon to see who made the best Chocolate Cake. Debbie’s cake was delicious. Debbie’s cake was made with mashed potatoes. She won and deserved to win. Simon’s chocolate cake was supposed to be made with prunes but it never materialised because he said that he had too much Bokashi to make!!!
Two helpers who know what’s best having a well earned rest.
BOG was not all about Potatoes. As a dedicated association they had invited many other trades and crafted products to show and sell their wares. Cheeses, Vegetables to eat now, butchery, eggs, wood sculptures for the Garden and willow crafting to name a few. There was so much information about courses on horticulture and composting and much much more.
