Hairy Gas

Morning all,

Another bright weekend, joyously autumnal feel to it, pretty nippy early on but the sun makes up for that.
We had a great week ploughing through the last batch of potting compost and getting several tunnels cleared of the end of season debris. I am hoping for another good splurge on the potting this week keeping back just enough compost to pot the spring flowering bulbs and last Erysimum batches both due in over the next couple of weeks. Might be a bit tougher this week I reckon we are 7 people down on Monday compared to last week, a combination of holidays and the last of the uni students getting back to their ‘studies’.
Great game of rugby last night, very entertaining, certainly more competitive than our 9-2 defeat on the hockey pitch. Our first competitive game was doomed from the start. Away against one of the best teams in our league, only 10 men to start with, down to 9 within 2 minutes with an injury, he limped back on later, just before another one went off after being hit on the eyebrow defending a shot on goal. In the end we did pretty well keeping it to 9, I did my bit saving at least three off the line. Main bonus was getting off still upright, stiff today and resolved to get fitter for next time. Like that is going to happen! Had a very productive box collecting session over the last couple of weeks so thanks for putting those all together. We are well underway repairing and drying them all out ready for the winter. If anyone still has any boxes to collect please do drop us a line, we lose Phil our driver after this week for a while so it might take a little while to get to you but we can add you on the list.
Bought our first mince pies yesterday, just for a laugh. Shocking really how much retail commitment there is towards that one day. Still need to get the log cutting started. Used up a few of last year’s this week as it got a bit cool in the house, just took the edge off nicely and sent me to sleep. Hopefully all that house insulation and the wood-burner we put in will pay dividends again this winter and we can keep the central heating off again, bar a few of the coldest days.
Disappointing VW revelations this week, once again big business lets us all down and it turns out we diesel drivers are polluting more than we were told, all in the name of making a fast buck. It makes a mockery of anyone trying to do the right thing, why bother if no one else cares. Maybe because more and more do care. Let’s hope so. There wasn’t much sign of balanced discussion at Sparsholt college last week where they put on an open evening to show their plans for a green gas plant. Basically a modest bio-digester producing gas from fermenting grass to pump straight into the mains gas pipe. A relatively simple scheme, well hidden on the edge of the campus using grass and rye grown as part of a cereal crop rotation and supplied from local farms. The main impact would be the extra tractor journeys to bring the crop into the site of a maximum of 21 tractor return trips a day during the 5 month harvesting period. It would not only produce almost carbon neutral gas but be used as part of the development of renewable energy training and education courses for the engineers of the future. No extra traffic in the village and virtually no impact, but to stand in the middle of the room and listen you would think they had announced the building of a nuclear waste dump. All the queries of the local parish council were nicely answered on a sheet of A4 but any thought of reasoned discussion seemed to pass the majority of the visitors by. Come on boys and girls let’s put some thought into the legacy we are leaving the following generations and make a bit of a difference by promoting and changing to a better way. Our postcode is one of the highest carbon producing in the land and it shows little sign of wanting to change. Come on we can’t do it alone.

Availability highlights
The ever popular dwarf violet/red Aster Jenny looks very neat now with the odd bud showing colour. Starlight is slightly more purple in tone but a really strong bright colour and neat habit. Lady in Blue budding nicely, nice and short with very pretty pale blue flowers about to do their thing.
A few more Anemones coming back on the list again as we catch up again after a very busy summer.
Helleborus are coming back on stream now as they gather their strength for their great winter display.
Absolutely stonking Ajugas in different foliage colours and forms. Fantastic ground cover and bursting with vigour. Just around the corner are the late flowering Hesperantha (Schizostylus) in a range of 4 varieties and autumn/winter flowering hardy Cyclamen.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries