Morning all,
Run out of things to say about the spring weather. At least in the cool temperatures things aren’t running away on the growth front, the plants seem to be waiting for the great plant buying public to make an appearance. Let’s hope it’s not too far away and this is just a bit of a late start. Panic has not quite set in here but I know there are many growers suffering significant losses already where early crops have not shifted and the follow on ones are not being potted with no obvious pick up in the weather anticipated. Cash-flow for everyone is a worry especially with the losses suffered last year, the last thing we growers really needed was a late spring. Even when things kick off, it will still be weeks before we see the pressure on cash availability lift which just adds to the usual spring excitement. So here is an appeal to anyone with available cash, help your desperate plant suppliers by paying up as soon as you can. They may be too embarrassed to ask for early settlement but I know they will greatly appreciate it and will I’m sure return the favour with even better service in the future. Please don’t be tempted to ask for discounts while offering help, it would be like kicking a man when he is down. The whole production system is on a knife edge so let’s work together to get through this tricky time.
Enough of the real world, back to our happy little universe of all things rosy and hairy. Easter is here and we are ready for a little extra splurge of orders to rush out this coming week. We will endeavour to get everything delivered before Friday but we may have to slip a few out later if demand goes bonkers anticipating a sunny spring weekend. We live in hope. If you can get your orders in ASAP that will help immensely in organising the week. Thanks.
No metal detecting yet, too wet and cold on the odd day I have had time to do anything, but watched some You-Tube videos to pick up some tips. Bought a little treasure digging spade in readiness and looking forward to my first hoard which seem to appear all the time if you believe the videos! I feel a slide into train-spotting mode coming over me. Still it will hopefully be safer than hockey. Picked up a spectacular bruise last weekend after catching the end of a stick at the top of my thigh. A white shape appears from one side of the large circular bruise and the words of Baldrick in Black Adder 2 sprang to mind: ‘Not to worry my lord, the arrow didn't in fact enter my body. No, by a thousand to one chance my willy got in the way.’ Feeling more comfortable now and only one more game to play after Easter.
Off to the Winchester beer festival tonight to sample some local produce and see a band so hope to drown some sorrows there. Must not overdo it, got some seed sowing to do on Sunday anticipating some super sales in a few weeks time.
Availability
Super range of chunky Aquilegias looking full of life and vigour.
Polemonium Heaven Scent is a great spring performer. The strong chunky dark bronze-flushed early shoots are SO attractive in this early period and the first flower buds are already nestling among the leaves. STUNNING AT THE MOMENT.
Pulmonaria’s are in bud and showing colour although only a few left.
Erysimums are great, especially the Bowles Mauve which flowers endlessly and the strongly variegated Peach variety.
Last few Primula veris in bud, just a few trays left.
The border bulbs are looking strong, with most Camassia’s and Alliums up and the hardy Gladiolus Byzantinus looking perky.
Anemone blanda showing some bud and a flower or two. Still lovely bud and flowers on the Helleborus niger too.
Eco news
Didcot coal power station shut down this week. The chap running it blamed EEC rules rather than the polluting effects of running such installations which was a bit distracting. Hopefully they can find enough replacement capacity to see us through the next few years, the investment needed is a bit slow arriving and the possibility of lights going out may be a bit closer than is comfortable. Gas supplies into the country were disrupted this week by a breakdown which resulted in some panic, luckily it came back on line quickly but it makes you realise just how vulnerable we are to supply hiccups whether they are mechanical or financial. Meanwhile the nuclear investors are looking to drag out the start of work on new installations until they can be guaranteed high enough returns by the government. They could suddenly make renewables look cheap. Value your energy and use less.
Nature notes
Bird song deafening at times this week, hopefully they know something we don’t.
If you need a fax list please let us know, pick it up from the website or alternately send an email address.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday 25 March 2013
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Helping to inspire an eco generation!
http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/10298513.Winchester_primary_school_declares_war/
http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/10298513.Winchester_primary_school_declares_war/
Monday 18 March 2013
Morning all,
Spring still torments us with a day or two of promise then a kick in the proverbials. Bitter drying winds last week followed by one nice day on Thursday and a drenching over the last couple of days. The rain is currently hammering on the roof of the office which doesn’t fill me with optimism for this weekend’s retail sales levels. Still ‘every cloud’ they say, we did have two record days on the turbine generating front.
Tuesday was just one of those days. We had the diesel generator up and running the previous week as part of its service with no problem, would it start when we needed it? Not a hope. We had a power cut in the morning and it was a very cold, windy and frosty morning and it just wouldn’t play ball. We eventually got it going with the forklift af ter much colourful discussion with the generator and the day was able to get underway, just half an hour late.
As things began to thaw we discovered an entire irrigation line had fractured along its whole length. We have a clever(ish) system which blows compressed air down the irrigation lines to clear them before cold nights to prevent freeze damage but for some unknown reason the solenoid valve that should have opened to clear the line didn’t and we had to replace it. In a completely separate incident the main feed from the irrigation storage tank to the pumps started a leak from a joint which had to be taken apart to reseal. The washer was perished and in an effort to gum it up, tighten and reseal it, the plastic nut split. Oh joy.
Meanwhile someone had caught a copper pipe with a trolley post (for the umpteenth time, so my fault for not relocating the pipe) and it burst spraying water all over th e pricking out area. Luckily we had all the necessary repair kit to hand so we have now replaced and relocated the pipe and made life that little bit more perfect.
Shortly after lunch, the power returned and it was then that we noticed that two of the turbines had failed to restart. They had both deployed their emergency braking blade tips which would need manually resetting before a restart. This is a bit of a design hiccup apparently and they are trying to come up with a solution. In a strong win d when the power is cut the brakes don’t quite slow the blades up quickly enough and the tip brakes deploy as the safety backup. They simply need clicking back into position but when they are sitting 11.5m from the ground this isn’t quite as easy as it sounds. Our installers popped in the next day to hang from the mast ladder and nudge the tips back with a boxing glove on a pole. Very high tech stuff. So Tuesday was a great day.
In contrast Thursday went brilliantly, I delivered my report on all things hairy and our wind turbine installation to 3 separate audiences of youngsters at St Bede Primary School in Winchester as part of their Waste Week activities. The kids were great, the school have obviously hit a fantastic balance of discipline, learning and enthusiasm which came across so clearly in the few hours I was there. There are a couple of images of a chap doing facial gymnastics and an enthralled crowd on their news
page www.stbedewinchester.co.uk/news_detail.asp?Section=8&Ref=674
When I got back we took the decision to press on and recover a couple of tunnels before the weather closed in again for the week. Despite being a bit short handed we managed to get both done in under 2½ hours which was brilliant.
We have exchanged all our broken CC trolley kit successfully so we are now fully loaded with plenty of trolleys and shelves to cope with that imminent spring rush. The newly vamped broken equipment storage area is complete so no excuses now for any kit not to be in its correct place. We could almost be professional.
We started potting this week which is a bit later than usual, for some reason demand doesn’t seem to outstripped supply yet.
Availability
Polemonium Heaven Scent is a great spring performer. The strong chunky dark bronze-flushed early shoots are SO attractive in this early period and the first flower buds are already nestling among the leaves. STUNNING AT THE MOMENT.
Pulmonaria’s are in bud and showing colour already.
Erysimums are great, especially the Bowles Mauve which flowers endlessly and the strongly variegated Peach variety.
Last few Primula veris in bud, just a few trays left.
The border bulbs are looking strong, with most Camassia’s and Alliums up and the hardy Gladiolus Byzantinus looking perky.
Anemone blanda showing some bud and a flower or two.
Still lovely bud and flowers on the Helleborus niger too.
Nature notes
Just been for a walk between the showers, to check the turbines are all ok after a couple of heavy thunderstorms last night.
All was well and despite the grey and damp and I could hear at least four skylarks singing away, getting their territories sorted for the coming spring. An uplifting song on a grey day.
If you need a fax list please let us know, pick it up from the website or alternately send an email address.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Spring still torments us with a day or two of promise then a kick in the proverbials. Bitter drying winds last week followed by one nice day on Thursday and a drenching over the last couple of days. The rain is currently hammering on the roof of the office which doesn’t fill me with optimism for this weekend’s retail sales levels. Still ‘every cloud’ they say, we did have two record days on the turbine generating front.
Tuesday was just one of those days. We had the diesel generator up and running the previous week as part of its service with no problem, would it start when we needed it? Not a hope. We had a power cut in the morning and it was a very cold, windy and frosty morning and it just wouldn’t play ball. We eventually got it going with the forklift af ter much colourful discussion with the generator and the day was able to get underway, just half an hour late.
As things began to thaw we discovered an entire irrigation line had fractured along its whole length. We have a clever(ish) system which blows compressed air down the irrigation lines to clear them before cold nights to prevent freeze damage but for some unknown reason the solenoid valve that should have opened to clear the line didn’t and we had to replace it. In a completely separate incident the main feed from the irrigation storage tank to the pumps started a leak from a joint which had to be taken apart to reseal. The washer was perished and in an effort to gum it up, tighten and reseal it, the plastic nut split. Oh joy.
Meanwhile someone had caught a copper pipe with a trolley post (for the umpteenth time, so my fault for not relocating the pipe) and it burst spraying water all over th e pricking out area. Luckily we had all the necessary repair kit to hand so we have now replaced and relocated the pipe and made life that little bit more perfect.
Shortly after lunch, the power returned and it was then that we noticed that two of the turbines had failed to restart. They had both deployed their emergency braking blade tips which would need manually resetting before a restart. This is a bit of a design hiccup apparently and they are trying to come up with a solution. In a strong win d when the power is cut the brakes don’t quite slow the blades up quickly enough and the tip brakes deploy as the safety backup. They simply need clicking back into position but when they are sitting 11.5m from the ground this isn’t quite as easy as it sounds. Our installers popped in the next day to hang from the mast ladder and nudge the tips back with a boxing glove on a pole. Very high tech stuff. So Tuesday was a great day.
In contrast Thursday went brilliantly, I delivered my report on all things hairy and our wind turbine installation to 3 separate audiences of youngsters at St Bede Primary School in Winchester as part of their Waste Week activities. The kids were great, the school have obviously hit a fantastic balance of discipline, learning and enthusiasm which came across so clearly in the few hours I was there. There are a couple of images of a chap doing facial gymnastics and an enthralled crowd on their news
page www.stbedewinchester.co.uk/news_detail.asp?Section=8&Ref=674
When I got back we took the decision to press on and recover a couple of tunnels before the weather closed in again for the week. Despite being a bit short handed we managed to get both done in under 2½ hours which was brilliant.
We have exchanged all our broken CC trolley kit successfully so we are now fully loaded with plenty of trolleys and shelves to cope with that imminent spring rush. The newly vamped broken equipment storage area is complete so no excuses now for any kit not to be in its correct place. We could almost be professional.
We started potting this week which is a bit later than usual, for some reason demand doesn’t seem to outstripped supply yet.
Availability
Polemonium Heaven Scent is a great spring performer. The strong chunky dark bronze-flushed early shoots are SO attractive in this early period and the first flower buds are already nestling among the leaves. STUNNING AT THE MOMENT.
Pulmonaria’s are in bud and showing colour already.
Erysimums are great, especially the Bowles Mauve which flowers endlessly and the strongly variegated Peach variety.
Last few Primula veris in bud, just a few trays left.
The border bulbs are looking strong, with most Camassia’s and Alliums up and the hardy Gladiolus Byzantinus looking perky.
Anemone blanda showing some bud and a flower or two.
Still lovely bud and flowers on the Helleborus niger too.
Nature notes
Just been for a walk between the showers, to check the turbines are all ok after a couple of heavy thunderstorms last night.
All was well and despite the grey and damp and I could hear at least four skylarks singing away, getting their territories sorted for the coming spring. An uplifting song on a grey day.
If you need a fax list please let us know, pick it up from the website or alternately send an email address.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday 11 March 2013
Morning all,
Not really what we wanted to see but it looks like another cold snap. After a great week when spring felt it was really upon us we are back to a biting easterly wind and the threat down here of some snow tomorrow. At least the wind is driving the turbines well this morning, they are very nearly at full output.
I have to keep this quick this week as I am supposed to be helping get Sunday lunch set up. Just the nine of us in a combined Mothering Sunday and birthday (mine) celebration. With 4 of the guests well past 3 score and ten it should be a riot! I’m not complaining really, I’m getting my favourite roast (pork with crispy crackling), home cooked with and all the trimmings and anyway after a couple of beers I’ll be asleep by 3.30 along with the other oldies. We know how to live it up. I got a great surprise present this year which I really wanted but didn’t realise, a metal detector. Just one step away from train spotting really, but with a big ploughed field behind us with lots of ancient activity in it and a friendly landowner, I can get lost for hours, which I suspect might have been the ultimate objective. I can set up a grid to record all the finds and see if we can get some more depth to the previous goings on in a busy bit of dirt. If I’m not careful I could get as obsessive about this as I do about nurseries, sustainability and lean management. It’s a shame I don’t get as keen on something that might look after us in our rapidly approaching dotage.
On the nursery this week we sent out a lot of stock, both potted stock and micropropagated modules so hopefully in a few weeks we will see the pressure easing on the overdraft which will be a relief after what seems like a long winter (18 months?). I logged on to our new CC trolley online account and checked out how easy it should be to swap our broken trolley parts . Then we spent an age sorting out all the broken bits into a countable and transportable state. However it is all done now and we just have to pinpoint the exchange day to get the job completed. CC have a really tricky job juggling trolley equipment hire and repair with an industry not exactly flush with cash where in some cases businesses are willing to freeload equipment use to the cost CC and those who participate and contribute to the system. Unfortunately over the past few years CC have tended to alienate their own customers with rather over aggressive solutions to problems they were facing with rising repair costs and I know I’m not the only one who dreaded the next communication from them. The red tag and scanner fiasco was an
expensive waste of resources for many, I can’t remember seeing a scanner in operation for ages. I try and scan the bases we are returning as a gesture towards doing it right but I can’t find our scanner, that £400+ and a lot of time wasted. Recent attempted clampdowns on the equipment specifications allowed for exchange simply meant that we haven’t sent in kit for repair because of uncertainty of what to send, how to pack it and what the implications were for non compliance. After a bit of a management reshuffle and some customer input, it does look like they might have come up with a more practical and sensible approach by simply restricting the actual volume you can get repaired in one year to keep their costs manageable. If they keep up this approach we will certainly participate in and appreciate their service rather than despise it. Another lesson in heavy handed bullying not paying off.
I see Tesco are saying how they are going to buy and support British food producers more (huge advert/statement in last weekend’s papers), paying a fair price for traceable quality stuff. Another set of bullies have learnt their lesson, mmm, we’ll see.
Availability
Polemonium Heaven Scent is a great spring performer. The strong chunky dark bronze-flushed early shoots are SO attractive in this early period and the first flower buds are already nestling among the leaves. STUNNING AT THE MOMENT.
Pulmonaria’s are in bud and showing colour already. Blue Ensign with its royal blue colouring are nearly all sold with just a few trays left and the dappled leaves of the other two are looking good. Opal’s pale blue flowers looking particularly pretty now. Erysimums are great, especially the Bowles Mauve which flowers endlessly and the strongly variegated Peach variety. Delphiniums are showing chunky fresh growth despite the cold.
The border bulbs are looking strong, with Camassia’s and Alliums the first up. Anemone blanda showing some flower.
Lovely bud and flowers on the Helleborus niger too.
Nature notes
Loads of frog spawn. This week’s warmth got them going. They seem to put up with frost and ice ok so hopefully we will get another big hatching this season to spread around the nursery.
If you need a fax list please let us know, pick it up from the website or alternately send an email address. Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Not really what we wanted to see but it looks like another cold snap. After a great week when spring felt it was really upon us we are back to a biting easterly wind and the threat down here of some snow tomorrow. At least the wind is driving the turbines well this morning, they are very nearly at full output.
I have to keep this quick this week as I am supposed to be helping get Sunday lunch set up. Just the nine of us in a combined Mothering Sunday and birthday (mine) celebration. With 4 of the guests well past 3 score and ten it should be a riot! I’m not complaining really, I’m getting my favourite roast (pork with crispy crackling), home cooked with and all the trimmings and anyway after a couple of beers I’ll be asleep by 3.30 along with the other oldies. We know how to live it up. I got a great surprise present this year which I really wanted but didn’t realise, a metal detector. Just one step away from train spotting really, but with a big ploughed field behind us with lots of ancient activity in it and a friendly landowner, I can get lost for hours, which I suspect might have been the ultimate objective. I can set up a grid to record all the finds and see if we can get some more depth to the previous goings on in a busy bit of dirt. If I’m not careful I could get as obsessive about this as I do about nurseries, sustainability and lean management. It’s a shame I don’t get as keen on something that might look after us in our rapidly approaching dotage.
On the nursery this week we sent out a lot of stock, both potted stock and micropropagated modules so hopefully in a few weeks we will see the pressure easing on the overdraft which will be a relief after what seems like a long winter (18 months?). I logged on to our new CC trolley online account and checked out how easy it should be to swap our broken trolley parts . Then we spent an age sorting out all the broken bits into a countable and transportable state. However it is all done now and we just have to pinpoint the exchange day to get the job completed. CC have a really tricky job juggling trolley equipment hire and repair with an industry not exactly flush with cash where in some cases businesses are willing to freeload equipment use to the cost CC and those who participate and contribute to the system. Unfortunately over the past few years CC have tended to alienate their own customers with rather over aggressive solutions to problems they were facing with rising repair costs and I know I’m not the only one who dreaded the next communication from them. The red tag and scanner fiasco was an
expensive waste of resources for many, I can’t remember seeing a scanner in operation for ages. I try and scan the bases we are returning as a gesture towards doing it right but I can’t find our scanner, that £400+ and a lot of time wasted. Recent attempted clampdowns on the equipment specifications allowed for exchange simply meant that we haven’t sent in kit for repair because of uncertainty of what to send, how to pack it and what the implications were for non compliance. After a bit of a management reshuffle and some customer input, it does look like they might have come up with a more practical and sensible approach by simply restricting the actual volume you can get repaired in one year to keep their costs manageable. If they keep up this approach we will certainly participate in and appreciate their service rather than despise it. Another lesson in heavy handed bullying not paying off.
I see Tesco are saying how they are going to buy and support British food producers more (huge advert/statement in last weekend’s papers), paying a fair price for traceable quality stuff. Another set of bullies have learnt their lesson, mmm, we’ll see.
Availability
Polemonium Heaven Scent is a great spring performer. The strong chunky dark bronze-flushed early shoots are SO attractive in this early period and the first flower buds are already nestling among the leaves. STUNNING AT THE MOMENT.
Pulmonaria’s are in bud and showing colour already. Blue Ensign with its royal blue colouring are nearly all sold with just a few trays left and the dappled leaves of the other two are looking good. Opal’s pale blue flowers looking particularly pretty now. Erysimums are great, especially the Bowles Mauve which flowers endlessly and the strongly variegated Peach variety. Delphiniums are showing chunky fresh growth despite the cold.
The border bulbs are looking strong, with Camassia’s and Alliums the first up. Anemone blanda showing some flower.
Lovely bud and flowers on the Helleborus niger too.
Nature notes
Loads of frog spawn. This week’s warmth got them going. They seem to put up with frost and ice ok so hopefully we will get another big hatching this season to spread around the nursery.
If you need a fax list please let us know, pick it up from the website or alternately send an email address. Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday 4 March 2013
Morning all,
Still a bit of a nip in the air but spring is just around the corner. The forecast looks to be promising warmer temperatures next week which will be great although a bit of the wet stuff later on we could probably do without. Still, it might just be a passing shower. Orders are picking up now as thoughts turn to warmer times and a return to spring madness. Let’s hope it happens this year.
It’s been a week of certificates here. We successfully completed all the paperwork for our NVQ’s and 14 sets of certificates arrived earlier in the week. 2 more to come and then we can have more celebratory cake (PAT testing competence cake was very good). We are just discussing whether to have a combined cake fest or 16 separate celebrations. All my good work retreating from the last buckle hole on my belt could easily be undone. Although there was a lot more time and paperwork involved in completing the training than we perhaps realised, it should pay back quickly in saved time, more teamwork, better organisation of the workplace and a tidier and safer work environment. I think the trainers were quite impressed with our general set up in comparison with some they have visited so it was a bit more of a challenge to find any major improvements but we have still made a lot of changes. We are now heading towards an exemplary standard rather than just good which hopefully will become self motivating and propel us into profitability again. At least we won’t have to fill in as much paperwork to complete a project now the qualifications are done, we can just cherry pick the relevant stuff and get on with the job.
We refreshed the trolley storage in the yard this week to make it easier and simpler to operate and sensibly separate and store all the broken bits that come in. As with all the other improvements we now just have the most difficult bit, to maintain the level achieved when it gets busy. Having all done the training and improvements together, it might just work.
We also received our certification from the Carbon Smart scheme which recognises efforts to reduce your carbon footprint.
We are proud to say we have leapt straight into the scheme with the top Gold Award, hurrah. Their report was reassuring in that we are on the right track and their carbon foot print calculations came out the same as ours. This means we have reduced our levels from over 120 tonnes in 2008 to just over 50 in 2012. We know we can still do a lot more to further reduce this but need some cash to invest to achieve it so let’s hope for a good year. The savings would represent a good return on the investment needed but that doesn’t make finding the cash any easier!
http://www.carbonsmart.co.uk/carbon-smart-winchester
Eco-news
I have accepted an invitation to St Bede’s Primary School to have a chat about all things waste and windy . They are having a ‘waste week’ to raise awareness about waste and more general eco topics and as we still have (I believe) the largest wind installation in Hampshire (shame on you Hampshire) I’ve been asked to do a turn. Not too worried yet, 7-10 year olds are about my sort of intellectual level so communication should easy.
Nature notes
Still no frog spawn. I hope we haven’t missed out, they might have gone off the boil in the cold. I can’t say the pond looks like a very romantic venue at the moment.
1st March sees the official start of spring and the bird nesting season so don’t forget to survey any trees or hedging well before any cutting is carried out. It is apparently an offense to disturbed wild bird nests when occupied whether it is a peregrine or a pigeon. I have heard the NFU are asking for an extension for hedge cutting for a couple of weeks as it could well be a delayed nesting season with the lack of warm days over the last couple of months, so you still might see a bit going on, but time is really up until the autumn.
If you need a fax list please let us know, pick it up from the website or alternately send an email address.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Still a bit of a nip in the air but spring is just around the corner. The forecast looks to be promising warmer temperatures next week which will be great although a bit of the wet stuff later on we could probably do without. Still, it might just be a passing shower. Orders are picking up now as thoughts turn to warmer times and a return to spring madness. Let’s hope it happens this year.
It’s been a week of certificates here. We successfully completed all the paperwork for our NVQ’s and 14 sets of certificates arrived earlier in the week. 2 more to come and then we can have more celebratory cake (PAT testing competence cake was very good). We are just discussing whether to have a combined cake fest or 16 separate celebrations. All my good work retreating from the last buckle hole on my belt could easily be undone. Although there was a lot more time and paperwork involved in completing the training than we perhaps realised, it should pay back quickly in saved time, more teamwork, better organisation of the workplace and a tidier and safer work environment. I think the trainers were quite impressed with our general set up in comparison with some they have visited so it was a bit more of a challenge to find any major improvements but we have still made a lot of changes. We are now heading towards an exemplary standard rather than just good which hopefully will become self motivating and propel us into profitability again. At least we won’t have to fill in as much paperwork to complete a project now the qualifications are done, we can just cherry pick the relevant stuff and get on with the job.
We refreshed the trolley storage in the yard this week to make it easier and simpler to operate and sensibly separate and store all the broken bits that come in. As with all the other improvements we now just have the most difficult bit, to maintain the level achieved when it gets busy. Having all done the training and improvements together, it might just work.
We also received our certification from the Carbon Smart scheme which recognises efforts to reduce your carbon footprint.
We are proud to say we have leapt straight into the scheme with the top Gold Award, hurrah. Their report was reassuring in that we are on the right track and their carbon foot print calculations came out the same as ours. This means we have reduced our levels from over 120 tonnes in 2008 to just over 50 in 2012. We know we can still do a lot more to further reduce this but need some cash to invest to achieve it so let’s hope for a good year. The savings would represent a good return on the investment needed but that doesn’t make finding the cash any easier!
http://www.carbonsmart.co.uk/carbon-smart-winchester
Eco-news
I have accepted an invitation to St Bede’s Primary School to have a chat about all things waste and windy . They are having a ‘waste week’ to raise awareness about waste and more general eco topics and as we still have (I believe) the largest wind installation in Hampshire (shame on you Hampshire) I’ve been asked to do a turn. Not too worried yet, 7-10 year olds are about my sort of intellectual level so communication should easy.
Nature notes
Still no frog spawn. I hope we haven’t missed out, they might have gone off the boil in the cold. I can’t say the pond looks like a very romantic venue at the moment.
1st March sees the official start of spring and the bird nesting season so don’t forget to survey any trees or hedging well before any cutting is carried out. It is apparently an offense to disturbed wild bird nests when occupied whether it is a peregrine or a pigeon. I have heard the NFU are asking for an extension for hedge cutting for a couple of weeks as it could well be a delayed nesting season with the lack of warm days over the last couple of months, so you still might see a bit going on, but time is really up until the autumn.
If you need a fax list please let us know, pick it up from the website or alternately send an email address.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Friday 1 March 2013
We are excitied to announce that Kirton Farm Nurseries Ltd, home of The Hairy Pot Plant Company has successfully achieved the Carbon Smart Winchester Gold Certification. Well done us!
To see the full report on our carbon footprint for the Carbon Smart certification click here find out more and get your business involved at www.carbonsmartcertified.co.uk/welcome-aboard/
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