Saturday 16 March 2024

Hairy solar power

Hi

Definitely warmer but still not much sign of the sunshine, a few glimpses to tantalise, but not enough to spark a gardening frenzy just yet. The time will come.

Solar planning nearly went in this week, just dotting the i's and all that. I have got to send a drone up to get a decent aerial shot of the site this weekend, as requested by the local planners. All the rest is done and looking sensible. Although not a huge installation it should be super efficient with adjustable mounts to change the angle of tilt to better follow the track of the sun over the seasons, and bifacial panels which pick up extra refracted light on the reverse side of the panels. This should help even out the output a bit more over the year and generate more power overall, giving us options to install more electrical kit to further reduce our fossil fuel use.

Plans to apply for some grant help for new investments we are looking to make in mechanising the propagation area, took some baby steps forward this week, after several hours on the phone to the RPA (Rural Payments Agency). There was some complication with us having registered the nursery back in 2008, but never having claimed anything to date or been on their website as a user. This meant despite having 5 different code numbers from them at the time of registration we didn't have the right code number and password to actually get online, and it took a number of calls to sort it out. I had one particularly confusing call where the lady on the grant helpline came pretty close to hanging up on what I'm sure she thought was a computer illiterate or just deranged nurseryman, I could hear the frustration building up in her voice. We were both on the right website but on quite different pages, so as she tried to steer me to the right parts I kept saying 'no that's not on my screen'. Eventually she found my page and got lost herself on it, which made me feel a bit better and even she laughed about it in the end. Once I got through to the right department they found all our registration details straight away and all I had to do was remember the answers to my account security questions! I can barely remember my name these days and having applied for this 16 years ago the likelihood of me recalling that information was pretty remote. However so little has happened in my life that the right memorable occasion popped up surprisingly quickly and I even remembered the date. So we can now get online and make our application. The grant window is short and opened last week, so we can't hang around, but at least we should have an answer in a fairly short time, fingers crossed.

The FFF Fiat is still in the garage as they search for the fault that has dogged us for the last 2 months. We are wondering if they are trying to drag it out past the 3 year warrantee period which ends at the end of the month, although they assure us this is not the case. What is slightly worrying is that they are still trying to download computer software updates to put it right and I'm not sure a spanner has yet to be used. I'm sure they know what they are doing, it is certainly way above my pay grade to look under a bonnet these days.

Ordering replacement labels

There is now a new spreadsheet/form available for anyone to use to order any replacement pot labels you may need. Being made of biodegradable card coated with vegetable starch they don't last forever, unlike plastic, so you may need to replace a few if stock has been around for a while. We are happy to replace any missing labels free of charge if you just let us know what you need. Just fill in the sheet and email it to derek@kirtonfarm.co.uk and we will put them together.

Availability list.

Both Anemone blanda White and the Blue Shades have shot up all of a sudden, with buds well on show too. A great seller. Three different spring flowering white Bergenia are now showing colour and looking their best. Brunnera macrophyla (perennial forget-me-not) are really chunky and showing their first blue flower buds, plenty to come.

Pulsatilla in all three colours now shooting through and producing fat bud straight away. The bronzed green ferny leaves of Polemonium Heaven Scent look well and flower buds are now appearing. Ever popular Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes head Lilly) has pushed through and are already coming into bud. Plenty in stock, get them while you can. Selling fast don't hang about. Scilla sibirica still coming into bud, a really strong blue colour.

Bold white flowers of Ipheon Alberto Castillo will be out shortly as the first buds appear. Muscarii Blue Magic and Muscari latifolium now in bud and showing excellent colour, it's all go. Allium christophii is shooting through and the excellent newcomer Allium Ostara is now up too. The ever popular Allium Purple Sensation is showing but only just. Ajuga Chocolate Chips is going to be the first Ajuga in flower this year with plenty of tight bud appearing. Pulmonaria are putting on a real spurt of fresh growth with flowers & buds are well on show. The first couple of varieties have sold out already, but Opal and Majeste are still looking great.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Monday 11 March 2024

Hairy propagation

Hi,

Bit of a keen breeze but the sun is shining and it feels much more like spring. Rumours of excited gardeners opening their wallets abound, but only between the rain storms. We had a shockingly wet day on Monday, which was not a great start to the working week, however things have definitely perked up now and potting is going full steam ahead.

Sales are pretty encouraging despite the weather, but there is an air of pent up demand building, so we are bracing ourselves for a surge when the weather does eventually settle down. One key to coping is going to be having a full contingent of vans available and that looks a bit hopeful as the Fiat is back in the warrantee garage for a fifth time. Fingers crossed they fix it this time. Too much computer diagnosis and not enough spanners and greasy hands in my view, but I may be a bit old school.

Following on from last week's peat-free propagating challenges we got some quotes in this week on the new propagating kit needed, which was a bit scary, but on the plus side it looks like there might be a bit of grant funding available to help out via the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund. I have started official enquiries and am now awaiting a call back from the Rural Payments Agency to check that we are eligible and registered. We have been down equipment grant routes before but never with any success, there has always been some minor silly issue which tripped us up, but this time it looks a bit simpler and we may actually get some help. The next issue is how we find suppliers of un-rooted cutting material of the right varieties, as it is becoming apparent that most suppliers now only deal in mega quantities and we are not really in that sort of league. I suspect we will be able to get some lines on a sensible scale and have to adjust our range accordingly so we still have a great selection. It's all a bit unsettling as we try and find sensible solutions that aren't going to send costs skyrocketing. Life is never dull on the nursery, there is always something to sort out.

Big weekend coming up with someone's big retirement and birthday, sadly I have to sign up again on Monday so no pipe and slippers for me. Dinner at the pub with friends on Saturday and maybe a family tea on Sunday, perfect weekend. Saving the party up until the autumn when we have a bit more time to manage it, assuming I still have the energy.

We completed the most expensive bit of recycling we have ever done last weekend with the return of our reupholstered sofa and chairs. We inherited them from Caroline's uncle a few years ago, as excess kit when they downsized. Originally 1930's made, they had been recovered at least once and ended up all different colours and styles, but underneath was high quality 1930's build and style. Now they have been resurrected in rusty brick red velour with contrasting grey piping, real 1930's style to match our 30's built house. The new webbing and stuffing has transformed the comfort level, it is a real work of art. Now we just have to change the 50 year old carpet and we could have a room fit for visitors!

Ordering replacement labels

There is now a new spreadsheet/form available for anyone to use to order any replacement pot labels you may need. Being made of biodegradable card coated with vegetable starch they don't last forever, unlike plastic, so you may need to replace a few if stock has been around for a while. We are happy to replace any missing labels free of charge if you just let us know what you need. Just fill in the sheet and email it to derek@kirtonfarm.co.uk and we will put them together.

Availability list.

Both Anemone blanda White and the Blue Shades have shot up all of a sudden, with buds well on show too. A great seller. Brunnera macrophyla (perennial forget-me-not) are showing their first few blue buds, plenty to come. Primula denticulata have fat buds now, in all three colours. Limited numbers but looking good.. Pulsatilla in all three colours now shooting through and producing fat bud straight away.

The bronzed green ferny leaves of Polemonium Heaven Scent look well and flower buds are now appearing. Ever popular Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes head Lilly) has pushed through and are already coming into bud. Plenty in stock, get them while you can. Bold white flowers of Ipheon Alberto Castillo will be out shortly as the first buds appear this week.

Cyclamen coum White are still showing great flower and bud. These will usually keep going until well into Spring. Many of the spring bulbs are in action now with many of the small Narcissus we grow in bud and colour. Muscarii Blue Magic and Muscari latifolium now in bud and showing colour, it's all go. 

Allium christophii is shooting through and the excellent newcomer Allium Ostara is now up too. Purple Sensation is showing but only just. Erysimum Fragrant Sunshine are already looking perky with bud showing on most. Pulmonaria are putting on a real spurt of fresh growth and buds are well on show. The first couple of varieties have sold out already, but Opal and Majeste are still looking great.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Sunday 3 March 2024

Hairy propagating

Hi

Looking forward to some better spring weather at some point. It's pretty miserable out there at the moment, rain wind and damn cold down here, but maybe a bit better by Sunday before another wet patch. Story of my life at the moment but we won't go there. Late next week looks much more promising, sun and warmth, just in time for Mothers Day, I'll believe it when I see it.

I suspect it's all going to kick off a bit early this year with Easter coming up fast at the end of the month and all that joyous 4 day week juggling to contend with. Best not to think about it, what will be will be. I often wonder what it's like on the other side of the fence for the bulk of the population, who can treat it as a relaxing fun time with the family. One day.

Super exciting time this week with the arrival of new bins as we change waste contractors. Nice colour but slightly surprised to find someone else's rubbish in one of them when I unlocked it. Best bit is that we can recycled a wider range of stuff and the price is a fraction of the previous contract.

Sales were a little quieter this week although still ok considering the weather, but it did leave me time to consider some more possibly exciting purchases. I'm always getting in trouble for spending before collating, but one needs to speculate to accumulate and all that. I have been having a bit of a crisis of confidence about maintaining supply to some sites where we have been told that unless all young plant modules planted into our peat-free potting composts, no matter how tiny, are peat- free themselves, we will not be permitted to supply. With only about 18 months notice of the deadline coming into effect, only two of our 7 main module suppliers say they will be able to supply anything in a peat-free module and one of those 2 is us! With the average volume of compost in the pot currently being about 0.8% we felt this was already quite an achievement especially as we have been using peat-free potting composts for over 11 years while others have been dragging their feet and also considering all the other sustainable stuff we have been incorporating into our products and business. Anyway rather than arguing the toss I have been trying to find an upside to this crisis and a plan seems to be forming as to how we might scrape our way out of it. Basically it means bringing much more propagating 'in-house', setting up new prop facilities, mechanising seed sowing, rooted cutting production and installing reusable prop trays and washing kit. There are a lot of ifs and buts at the moment which make it a risky investment and it may affect the variety range we can offer, depending on what plant material we can source, time will tell. Besides at 65 what else am I going to spend our money on?

Ordering replacement labels

There is now a new spreadsheet/form available for anyone to use to order any replacement pot labels you may need. Being made of biodegradable card coated with vegetable starch they don't last forever, unlike plastic, so you may need to replace a few if stock has been around for a while. We are happy to replace any missing labels free of charge if you just let us know what you need. Just fill in the sheet and email it to derek@kirtonfarm.co.uk and we will put them together.

Availability list.

Both Anemone blanda White and the Blue Shades have shot up all of a sudden, with buds well on show too. A great seller. Primula grand. Rosea are showing their bold colour on multiple short stems. Brunnera macrophyla (perennial forget-me-not) are showing their first few blue buds, plenty to come. Primula denticulata have fat buds now, in all three colours. Limited numbers but looking good.. Pulsatilla in all three colours now shooting through and producing fat bud straight away.

The bronzed green ferny leaves of Polemonium Heaven Scent look well and flower buds are now appearing. Ever popular Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes head Lilly) has pushed through and are already coming into bud. Plenty in stock, get them while you can. Bold white flowers of Ipheon Alberto Castillo will be out shortly as the first buds appear this week.

Cyclamen coum White are still showing great flower and bud. These will usually keep going until well into Spring. Helleborus orientalis are producing a few buds, but numbers are dwindling on some varieties as sales bowl along. Many of the spring bulbs are in action now with many of the small Narcissus we grow in early bud and colour. Both forms of the petticoat daffodil (Narcissus bulbocodium consp. and White Petticoat) already showing well. Muscarii Blue Magic and Muscari latifolium now in bud, it's all go.

Allium christophii is showing and the excellent newcomer Allium Ostara is now up too. Erysimum's are already looking perky with bud showing on most. Pulmonaria are putting on a real spurt of fresh growth and buds are well on show. The first couple of varieties have sold out already, but Opal and Majeste are still looking great.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries. 

Sunday 25 February 2024

Hairy Electric

Hi

Are we in for a bit of a cold shock after several days of very pleasant temperatures? A bit damp at times, but hats have been discarded here on some days. I don't think it's going to be too bad, just back to average for a while. Fingers crossed it doesn't blunt sales too much. Growth on many lines is definitely spring-like and making us all feel that those longer warmer days are close by when ones sap rises and buds swell. Exciting times.


Potting is already well underway with a batch of summer flowering corms and bulbs currently being juggled through the potting machine. It's all a bit cosy in there with quite a big team needed to count the bulbs into each pot and get them the right way up, but it won't take too long. We will soon be back to good old module potting which only needs three bodies on the machine rather than six or seven and we can get some efficiency back into the system.


I was a bit premature last week heralding all vans back on the road, with one Fiat going back to the dealership for more warrantee work on Wednesday. It's fourth trip back for apparently the same fault, hopefully this time they might find something physically wrong with it rather than just running computer stuff through its engine management system! It's been away for three days now so it feels like they might be looking deeper into it this time. To be fair they were very embarrassed by its return.


Our ongoing solar project is making good progress at last with a planning application now being prepared. The scheme is not huge but designed to even out and top up our wind turbine supply and make better use of our 33Kw export capacity which is currently well underutilised. We are putting in a small battery store just to eliminate a bit more imported power that we might use overnight and also trying to make the panels more efficient. We are doing this by installing tilting frames to follow the lower winter sun and bifacial solar panels which can collect light from both sides, so collecting some bounced or diffused light and creating more power from the same sized panel. All sounds good, just need to get it on the ground and generating. One hiccup with the whole money saving aspect is the change to much higher standing charges rather than just being charged

per unit. A sly move by the electric companies but something that will become a key factor in choosing our next contract supplier.


Ordering replacement labels


There is now a new spreadsheet/form available for anyone to use to order any replacement pot labels you may need. Being made of biodegradable card coated with vegetable starch they don't last forever, unlike plastic, so you may need to replace a few if stock has been around for a while. We are happy to replace any missing labels free of charge if you just let us know what you need. Just fill in the sheet and email it to derek@kirtonfarm.co.uk and we will put them together.


Availability list.


Both Anemone blanda White and the Blue Shades have shot up all of a sudden, with buds well on show too. A great seller. Sown from self collected seed from our wood on top of the hill, our wild Primula vulgaris are in flower. They are followed close behind by the Primula grand. Rosea which are showing bold colour. Primula denticulata have fat buds now, in all three colours. Limited numbers but looking good. Pulsatilla in all three colours now shooting through and producing fat bud straight away.


The bronzed green ferny leaves of Polemonium Heaven Scent look well and flower buds are now appearing. Ever popular Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes head Lilly) has pushed through and are already coming into bud. Plenty in stock, get them while you can. Cyclamen coum White are still showing good flower and bud. These will usually keep going until well into Spring.


Helleborus orientalis are producing a few buds, but numbers are dwindling on some varieties as sales bowl along. Many of the spring bulbs are in action now with many of the small Narcissus we grow in early bud and colour. Both forms of the petticoat daffodil (Narcissus bulbocodium consp. and White Petticoat) already showing well. Muscarii Blue Magic now in tight bud, it's all go.


It's a short crop but Erythronium Pagoda is now up with buds appearing. It's a rapid grower and won't hang around long. Allium christophii is showing and the excellent newcomer Allium Ostara is now up too. We are not having much success with ordinary snowdrops, but the giant version (Leucojum) that sold out in a week last year are now shooting. We planted a lot more this year so should be plenty to go round.


Erysimum's are already looking perky with bud showing on most. Pulmonaria are putting on a real spurt of fresh growth and buds are well on show. The first couple of varieties have sold out already but Opal and Majeste are still looking great.


Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Saturday 17 February 2024

Hairy replacements

 


 

 
Hi,

Definitely spring in the air now. Balmy temperatures and not too much rain so far. Hoping we don't pay for this later, but not really much we can do about it, so best to just make the most of it. It has helped us hugely, making the preparation and tidying of the overwintered stock so much easier and comfortable. Usually these tasks at this time of year can make any brass monkey cross their legs in anticipation of numb or painful appendages.

Touch wood we have all the vans back on the road again. The Fiat returned from its warranty work (3rd time in a month) with updated software which so far seems to have cured it, although I would feel more confident if they had replaced something that was broken. The old Peugeot appeared to have a slow leak on the air suspension but reported back to be a false alarm, however it did breakdown while in the garage with a sensor failure! All well now, fingers crossed.

Started on a bit of potting this week, making the most of the warm weather. 



P
lenty of young plants have started arriving, so despite my resistance, the season is really getting under way. As each week slips by thoughts of clearing another winter job fade as I panic that we are already getting behind with all the other main season preparations. I always aim to get a big batch of price labels printed so I am not distracted when things get manic, but that idea again has not found the time to materialise. Seed sowing into our peat free modules is also underway again as the new season beckons. I am trying to delegate more of this work to free up the weekends a bit, but as we get to the end of the second sowing week, only 2 out of 60 trays has been completed so that looks like my weekend sorted!

Ordering replacement labels

There is now a new spreadsheet/form available for anyone to use to order any replacement pot labels you may need. Being made of biodegradable card coated with vegetable starch they don't last forever, unlike plastic, so you may need to replace a few if stock has been around for a while. We are happy to replace any missing labels free of charge if you just let us know what you need. Just fill in the sheet and email it to derek@kirtonfarm.co.uk and we will put them together.

Empty Wooden Box Use in display appeal

Just a quick early season reminder that we really need our wooden trays back as soon as they are emptied. We know the trays look lovely and are jolly handy to have around, but the whole sustainability thing falls apart if our empty boxes are incorporated into your displays. Each box costs £10 to make/replace so it doesn't take many to disappear into a display stack for it to mount up to a very expensive additional cost and a potential embarrassing shortage of trays for us at peak times. We appreciate any help you can give us, thanks.

Availability list.

Sown from self collected seed from our wood on top of the hill our wild Primula vulgaris are showing their first flowers. They are followed close behind by the Primula grand. Rosea which are now opening their very first violet-pink little flowers. Pulsatilla in all three colours now shooting through and producing fat bud straight away.

The bronzed green ferny leaves of Polemonium Heaven Scent are expanding nicely, making an attractive show. Flower buds follow very quickly so a great plant for early spring sales.

Cyclamen coum are still showing good flower and bud. These will usually flower from October through until well into Spring, with a tasteful sprinkling of flowers rather than being drowned in them.

H. orientalis are producing a few buds, but numbers are dwindling on some varieties as sales bowl along.

Many of the spring bulbs are in action now with many of the small Narcissus we grow in early bud. Both forms of the petticoat daffodil (Narcissus bulbocodium consp. and White Petticoat) already showing well and producing nice fat flower budscilla mischtschenkoana is showing great colour with a pale blue splash of light. Don't miss out they won't be around for long.

Muscarii Blue Magic now in tight bud, it's all go. It's a short crop but Erythronium Pagoda is now up with buds appearing. It's a rapid grower and won't hang around long. Allium Purple Rain has made an appearance and looks full of promise. It emerges a few weeks before the ever popular Purple Sensation but is just as attractive. Allium christophii is up too.

We are not having much success with ordinary snowdrops, but the giant version (Leucojum) that sold out in a week last yeaare now shooting. We planted a lot more this year so should be plenty to go round.

Ever popular Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes head Lilly) has pushed through and are already coming into bud. Plenty in stock, get them while you can. Erysimum's are already looking perky with bud showing on many.

Pulmonaria are putting on a real spurt of fresh growth and buds are well on show. The first couple of varieties are sold out already, but Opal and Majeste are still looking great.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.