Warm and Hairy

Morning all,
OK I have to admit I haven't made the progress on Mailchimp that I had hoped for so still on the old system which seemed to work ok again last week. It's been a hectic week and the time has just disappeared.
After the electricians finished last Friday in the new office, the air con folk were here this week to install an air con unit we scavenged from the lab after we installed a more gentle blowing system in there last year. All running nicely now and providing we don't get tempted to use its cooling facility in the summer and have it set on 'heat only' it should workout much cheaper to run than the old little electric heaters and should run at a more comfortable temperature for no extra cost especially with all the insulation installed. Now we've just got to bite the bullet and pack up and move again, I' m hoping to get the printing and basics set up over the weekend and perhaps get the tricky part of the telephone and computer systems move on the following weekend. Having moved into the temporary office just before Christmas I am hoping to have learnt from my mistakes and the next move will all go smoothly with no accidental cutting of phone-lines this time!
The lovely weather has helped all round keeping the orders bubbling along and we even managed to re-clad 4 out of the five tunnels that had split covers which was an unexpected bonus. It swallows up time but is a very satisfying job to get under the belt so early in the year. Just one more tunnel to go and the forecast for next week looks promising to get that done too. We slotted in a bit of potting and propagation for good measure, in among all the other activities, so all in all a good week.
We had our annual review of bio controls this week, making a few final adjustments to the plan of predator introductions. It's always a bit of a leap in faith, releasing hundreds of pounds worth of tiny insects to open ended and open sided tunnels. Aren't they just going to fly away? Overall it seems to work we only have to spray the occasional breakaway pest outbreak during the season where they outrun their foe. The review is a fine tweaking session really. Last year we found that sticking some of the sachets that the predators are held in, onto our bamboo skewers with a bit of double sided tape allows us to position them in much more reliable positions nice and quickly making the installation cheaper and the predator more effective. This year we have changed the encarsia (whitefly predator) from being supplied loose to being supplied with the pupae stuck on little cards. A vile of 15,000 amounts to much less than a thimble full, which are spread over the whole nursery so it's easy to get the distribution wrong and the pupae can land anywhere so a fixed number on a card is much easier to spread evenly. Using our skewer sticking method also holds the cards in a perfect position so the small extra cost should be balanced by more effective application. Well that's the theory.
I see lots of students went on strike on Friday to highlight the need to take action on climate change. Hopefully lots of them used the time usefully and made their voices heard, it would be easy to be cynical about an extra day off school but I find it is encouraging that the next generation are thinking seriously about the future and their role in it. Hopefully we won't have messed it up too much by the time they get to take over.
Availability highlights
Our wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are also bursting into flower already. We saved the seed from the wood on top of our hill and it was worth the effort. Primula grandiflora Rosea are sprouting up now and flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far
behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface.
Our spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with Opal even opening the odd flower already. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud although it will be a little while before they show much colour, but the promise is there.
We have a few spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. The winter and spring flowering Cyclamen coum varieties we grow are now showing colour. The strain we grow has an exceptionally long flowering season with colour usually showing from November through to March and even April. They rarely get swamped with masses of flower at any one time, they just keep going on, producing a pretty and dainty show for ages. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems just about to produce their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. Our variegated Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are close behind and look pretty early in the year too, just in a more subtle way.
Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.