Morning all,

I can always tell when it’s been a hectic week when I open up Word to record my weekly thoughts and last week’s version was the last file opened. The first thing to do is welcome a few newcomers to my weekly availability list posting, brace yourselves, this is as much to do with my unloading of stuff running around in an aging brain as it is providing the latest list of yummy looking hairy pots for you to release into the wild. I look on it as a bit of a free therapy session to delay the inevitable visit of men in white coats. The extra readership comes courtesy of the local GAN tradeshow which took place last week. It was a little quieter for us than last year, but still rewarding, and it was quite a shock to hear the next day that it was to be the last one. Attendance by stall holders and visitors did seem reduced and maybe the show had run its course, but it will leave a gap in our spring build up. The official reason for the closure was that the space was needed for plant production which is a positive move for a nursery!

Signs of hard times are hitting home here with the local pub closing this week, it has been struggling and has passed through several tenants in the past few years. Then I heard yesterday that the pub we use, to rehydrate after a tough game of hockey, has closed too, which was quite a surprise as it seemed really busy. That meant there was nowhere to drown our sorrows after getting stuffed 9-0 yesterday!

This week could be a big one on the awards front, with the dinner to announce the Nursery Stock Grower of the Year. We are one of three or four finalists, but we have decided not to lash out on the shockingly expensive tickets. It would have been £500+ for two of us to attend on the off-chance we might win, and I can think of better value things that the dosh could go on. Luckily I located someone who is attending, who has ‘volunteered’ to collect any surprise packages that come our way.

As an alternative night out we are getting a few friends together to go and see the very exciting Imelda May, must polish up my dancing shoes! www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxj5wlXY9No&feature=channel

Talking of dancing shoes, we went to see Ben Waters again this week (Boogie Woogie pianist).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT4IzEo6hhY&feature=related A great night out enhanced rather bizarrely by a tall lady in a red shirt and black tights, who danced from start to finish in what can only be described as a ‘classical style’. Pointy toes, pirouettes, leg kicks, no-holds barred, it’s great when you reach a certain age when what other people think doesn’t matter, as long as you are having a good time! After an initial embarrassment period, on the part of the audience, she certainly made a lot of people smile!

Eco news

I can now tell you that we will be incorporating the new bio-insecticide Met52 in our potting composts. This was launched at the GAN show and is a fungus that gives long term protection against the dreaded vine weevil. Since introducing the herb and soft fruit ranges we have shied away from using chemical control in favour of introducing the safe nematode controls, but they are expensive, not always effective and take a lot of time to apply. Although not all our stock is attractive to this pest, by using the fungus in all compost mixes, it should give us an opportunity to get right back on top of its control.

Wind turbines continue to get closer to starting but still not quite there. Turbine prices due to increase at the end of the month so the pressure is on!

January electric use down on last year (warmer weather and less heating), so a good start to further carbon reduction for 2011. Gave away a load of trays and pots to other growers this week, and more loads went off to the plastic recycling man, so we are very nearly clear of our old plastic pot orientated production clobber. The wood burner continues to use up the scrap wood and a few old coir pots so we are land filling less and less rubbish. For a business employing 25+ people we send a remarkably small amount of stuff to land fill, just one wheelie bin (small 4 wheeled) a week, and we hope to get this down to a domestic sized one later in the year when the recycling gets really fine tuned.

Nature notes

Spring is springing, loads of bird song well into the evening at the moment shows that as Valentines Day approaches (don’t forget chaps) thoughts are turning to love. There was definite plopping in the big pond the other night when I walked past, although no sign of any spawn yet. Sunny yesterday but cool today (9.2 C in the office at the moment)

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries