Hi
Still topping up the water aquifer levels over the past week, which must be good news for next year's supplies locally. We had one lull in the dampness and managed to get one tunnel recovered, just 5 to go. I'm hoping the brighter forecast for early next week will appear as predicted, as I have taken a gamble and removed another two more covers in anticipation. It doesn't take us very long to attach a new cover, it's the preparation that can put a spanner in the works. It's not until you get the old cover off that you can really see the condition of the wooden beams along the tunnel edge and if the odd one has rotted or split,
then we need to get it replaced before the new cover goes back on. It doesn't take a huge amount of time or resources but it just adds in an irritating delay and the dreams of getting two covered in a day evaporate. With a good run we might get them all done next week which would be perfect timing, before temperatures drop and the tunnel sheets get less stretchy.
As the potting slows right up, just the odd little batch still going through, and sales drop away, we get started on the autumn clear out and clean up. All through the main season we just don't have the time to keep on top of all the housekeeping, sales and production output, naturally take priority. Now pressure on storage space in the barn builds as we squeeze all in the cleaned up wooden boxes to store dry through the winter. Suddenly the quantity of recycling materials we have stored away in there becomes a huge inconvenience, so to clear that away and make a load of space is very gratifying to all. Today we managed to take 16 pallets of material to Eco Gen Recycling in Alresford which is just a few miles away. The plastic tubs we use in the lab all get recycled along with the old tunnel sheets and big card boxes that the pots are delivered in all find a home there. The recycling collections we get from the local waste collectors are like many, more expensive and very restricted in what they will take away, so to get a higher percentage of our waste recycled we have to organise collecting stuff together ourselves and then finding other parties to help out on the recycling. It is surprising how much extra we can get recycled rather than incinerated with a bit of effort.
Tunnel clearing continues into the autumn as we amalgamate the remaining pots from some of the summer and autumn plant batches. It's another satisfying job, transforming the tunnel from a bomb site to a clear and clean space ready to produce mega crops again next spring. We aim to have 8 or so empty tunnels ready to put the potted bulbs down onto in a month or two, and for the late winter and early spring potting which needs a home before more space appears after the anticipated early spring sales. It's all go.
Time for a bit of shopping too. Our next big batch of card based colour pot labels is ordered which will, unfortunately for me, trigger a mind numbing session of proof reading in few weeks, before the actual print run. We are delighted and relieved how the new card labels we introduced last year, went down, we used about 160,000 which were used in about 50% of all the stock sold, without any know issues and the labels we have left are still in mint condition. These new initiatives are always a bit of a worry, however much testing you do beforehand, so to be able to order 288,000 for next year with confidence is a nice position to be in (until the invoice appears). As the first outdoor plant supplier to develop and commit to using this type of thing, we might even make a bit more fuss about it this year and perhaps mention it to the trade press, apparently single-use plastic avoidance is quite the in thing these days.
Wooden box collections
We are just about done with the collections of our wooden boxes, just a couple of outlying ones still to gather in. If anyone still has any trays ready to go, just drop me a line and we will pop in when next close by. Thanks for all your help, on the whole we have kept up a great return rate, which helps the whole system continue to work sustainably.
Availability highlights
Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are now showing great colour. Cyclamen coum varieties are now beginning to bud up and flower. These hardy stars will flower from now until mid Spring. Nicely subtle bloomers with a constant feed of new flower rather than one huge flush. Autumn evergreen coloured foliage seems to be a popular theme among the remaining stock in flower, We have fab looking Ajuga in an attractive range along with the lovely Euphorbia's. Winter interest lines in evergreens bowls along too, with Hellebore orientalis in stock and the Bergenia's coming back on line.
Yet another fresh batch of Erigeron Stallone is in bud, it just goes on and on. Autumn is here with Sedum Autumn Joy in bud. We have trimmed them short to flower low, but the flowers are still making a great show. The neat little Erodiums are still flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages. We have an ongoing flower flush on the ever popular Scabiosa Butterfly Blue.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Sunday 20 October 2019
Saturday 12 October 2019
Hairy trip and dip
Hi
Every cloud has a silver lining. The autumn rain puts a damper on many activities but it is topping up the very low local water levels down here and pushing the wind turbines round nicely. If the forecast is right over the next couple of weeks we could have a good run of output and catch up a bit on our slightly low numbers for this year. Night time temperatures are not too bad which should give the predatory nematodes I released last Saturday a good run at knocking out any vine weevil grubs they find, which makes me feel better about settling the last of the predator invoices. At this time of year when I see the totals spent on predators for the season it looks like a pretty major investment and all we do is let them go free in the tunnels. They are so small we can't see them actually doing anything, we just have to assume they are doing their job, based on the evidence of low pest populations. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
The bulb potting was finished this week and the top of despatch is matching the bottom with the level of congested mayhem. We have trolleys and trolleys of potted stock all waiting for those roots to get going and shoots to burst through. We put them onto trolleys initially to try and delay the local rodents from tucking into a free lunch. In the past we have had complete batches wiped out where we put them straight onto the beds, but the trolley trick allows them to be a bit more established before we put them down. It adds a bit more handling to the job but at least we can be more sure of getting a crop out of it in the end. Live and learn.
I managed an evening out last Saturday with a jive ball at the Guildhall. A big do with hundreds of party goers, it was a great night out despite a dodgy start and finish. Having scrubbed up fairly well from a day on the nursery, I arrived in my DJ and best shoes to find a host of security bouncers on the door. Wanting to make a cool and grown up entrance in front of the welcoming committee, I skipped up the stone steps, tripping over my own feet and landing on my hands and knees in front of them. Cool or what. The evening was rounded off by a dash back to the car park in heavy rain. I avoided the ramp which I had seen earlier had a muddy puddle at the bottom in favour of the steps. Stayed upright this time but didn't see the puddle in the dark at the bottom. One step in, sod it, another step, a bit deeper, another and I'm in over my laces. So I arrived in my best shoes and left not. This is why old folk don't go out much, we are such an embarrassment in public.
If anyone was paying attention last week you may recall I videoed Caroline resetting the turbine blade tip. Well I found a young person to help get it off my phone so here it is, it is a bit pixelated but you can get the drift of what's going on. The technique used is to push the blade away from you and as it swings back, hit it with your special foam covered extendable pole. The tip then pops back into position.
Wooden box collections
We are up to our necks now in cleaned and drying boxes as we draw close to finishing our big autumn sweep. There are pallets of them already stacked up nice and dry in the barn ready for next season, with the bottom of despatch festooned with carefully balanced piles of boxes all vying for that rare bit of sunshine or breath of drying air movement to get fully dried off. Thanks to all those for helping out with the collection and if anyone still has any trays ready to go just drop me a line and we will pop in when next close by. I know we have another Manchester run next week and a couple into London too, so by the end of the week we should have covered most bases. In this case all that reuse/recycling does work, well done to all.
Availability highlights
Autumn evergreen coloured foliage seems to be a popular theme among the remaining stock in flower, We have fab looking Ajuga in an attractive range along with the lovely Euphorbia's. Winter interest lines in evergreens bowls along too, with a few Hellebores in stock and the Bergenia's coming back on line. Yet another fresh batch of Erigeron Stallone is in bud, it just goes on and on.
The next batches of our mini Chrysanthemum (Garden Mums) are looking colourful. Lovely bushy plants with lots of flower and bud and more to come. A good range of colours, showing off nicely.
Autumn must be here with Sedum Autumn Joy in bud. We have trimmed them short to flower low, but the flowers are still making a great show.
The neat little Erodiums are flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages. We have an ongoing flower flush on the ever popular Scabiosa Butterfly Blue. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are now showing great colour. Cyclamen coum varieties are now beginning to bud up and flower. These hardy stars will flower from now until mid Spring. Nicely subtle bloomers with a constant feed of new flower rather than one huge flush.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Every cloud has a silver lining. The autumn rain puts a damper on many activities but it is topping up the very low local water levels down here and pushing the wind turbines round nicely. If the forecast is right over the next couple of weeks we could have a good run of output and catch up a bit on our slightly low numbers for this year. Night time temperatures are not too bad which should give the predatory nematodes I released last Saturday a good run at knocking out any vine weevil grubs they find, which makes me feel better about settling the last of the predator invoices. At this time of year when I see the totals spent on predators for the season it looks like a pretty major investment and all we do is let them go free in the tunnels. They are so small we can't see them actually doing anything, we just have to assume they are doing their job, based on the evidence of low pest populations. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
The bulb potting was finished this week and the top of despatch is matching the bottom with the level of congested mayhem. We have trolleys and trolleys of potted stock all waiting for those roots to get going and shoots to burst through. We put them onto trolleys initially to try and delay the local rodents from tucking into a free lunch. In the past we have had complete batches wiped out where we put them straight onto the beds, but the trolley trick allows them to be a bit more established before we put them down. It adds a bit more handling to the job but at least we can be more sure of getting a crop out of it in the end. Live and learn.
I managed an evening out last Saturday with a jive ball at the Guildhall. A big do with hundreds of party goers, it was a great night out despite a dodgy start and finish. Having scrubbed up fairly well from a day on the nursery, I arrived in my DJ and best shoes to find a host of security bouncers on the door. Wanting to make a cool and grown up entrance in front of the welcoming committee, I skipped up the stone steps, tripping over my own feet and landing on my hands and knees in front of them. Cool or what. The evening was rounded off by a dash back to the car park in heavy rain. I avoided the ramp which I had seen earlier had a muddy puddle at the bottom in favour of the steps. Stayed upright this time but didn't see the puddle in the dark at the bottom. One step in, sod it, another step, a bit deeper, another and I'm in over my laces. So I arrived in my best shoes and left not. This is why old folk don't go out much, we are such an embarrassment in public.
If anyone was paying attention last week you may recall I videoed Caroline resetting the turbine blade tip. Well I found a young person to help get it off my phone so here it is, it is a bit pixelated but you can get the drift of what's going on. The technique used is to push the blade away from you and as it swings back, hit it with your special foam covered extendable pole. The tip then pops back into position.
Wooden box collections
We are up to our necks now in cleaned and drying boxes as we draw close to finishing our big autumn sweep. There are pallets of them already stacked up nice and dry in the barn ready for next season, with the bottom of despatch festooned with carefully balanced piles of boxes all vying for that rare bit of sunshine or breath of drying air movement to get fully dried off. Thanks to all those for helping out with the collection and if anyone still has any trays ready to go just drop me a line and we will pop in when next close by. I know we have another Manchester run next week and a couple into London too, so by the end of the week we should have covered most bases. In this case all that reuse/recycling does work, well done to all.
Availability highlights
Autumn evergreen coloured foliage seems to be a popular theme among the remaining stock in flower, We have fab looking Ajuga in an attractive range along with the lovely Euphorbia's. Winter interest lines in evergreens bowls along too, with a few Hellebores in stock and the Bergenia's coming back on line. Yet another fresh batch of Erigeron Stallone is in bud, it just goes on and on.
The next batches of our mini Chrysanthemum (Garden Mums) are looking colourful. Lovely bushy plants with lots of flower and bud and more to come. A good range of colours, showing off nicely.
Autumn must be here with Sedum Autumn Joy in bud. We have trimmed them short to flower low, but the flowers are still making a great show.
The neat little Erodiums are flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages. We have an ongoing flower flush on the ever popular Scabiosa Butterfly Blue. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are now showing great colour. Cyclamen coum varieties are now beginning to bud up and flower. These hardy stars will flower from now until mid Spring. Nicely subtle bloomers with a constant feed of new flower rather than one huge flush.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 7 October 2019
Hairy Clamber
Hi,
It's looking pretty autumnal out there, as the wind blows and rain patters on the roof of the shed, sorry I mean office. The forecast for next week doesn't look much different either, so we are gathering ourselves for a last potting push in the wet and cool conditions. Still have my fingers crossed for a few warm still days at some point, so we can get the replacement tunnel covers on before the winter sets in. It all seems to have changed so quickly.
It's been a week of all action jobs, on top of the potting and box collecting. We had two turbines throw out their centrifugal pinned blade tips on Sunday afternoon, that's the first time they have done that for nearly four years. It is one of the safety measures to avoid over-speeding blades if the power cuts out and the brakes don't come on in time. Unfortunately it was too wild on Sunday to send Caroline up the mast, but first thing Monday it was harnesses and hard hats on for a quick clamber.
All went smoothly, once I remembered how to park the blades in the right position for Caroline to knock back into position. I've got a nice little video clip of her in action, but I don't have a young person here at the moment to get it off my phone and onto the computer so that will have to wait.
Then we had a double whammy in the loos, with a water pipe coming adrift and the outflow getting blocked on the same day. The water pipe was ok but the other was a bit more of a challenge. Pipes were disconnected and a variety of poking rods, hoses and sticks deployed, but in the end we had to get the pit pumped out to reduce resistance to the flow and then it all cleared. Not much fun but still a relief to all in the end! So much for the fab lifestyle of running you own nursery.
It's our financial year end, so the rest of the week has been spent doing a lot of counting, not one of my favourite jobs as it all seems so unproductive. One of those things that just has to be done. At least after 35 years of doing it we have lots of useful spreadsheets and systems to make it as easy as possible. Although much of the stock is listed on the nursery computer programme, it still needs double checking and adjusting to get it accurate. Just a few more tunnels to go, so I should be finished on Sunday before the real work gets going again on Monday.
The last of the summer predators arrived this week. It's getting a bit cool in most tunnels for most to be active enough, so we restrict them to the warmer micro prop weaning tunnels, especially the main heated and lit one, where the pests tend to keep growing all year as well as the plants. The only 'whole nursery' release will be the three nematode species which should go out on Sunday evening. It will be the last of our vine weevil control applications for this year and will hopefully knock out any
late weevil hatches before the winter sets in. Our small monthly applications, applied throughout the growing season, certainly seem to do the trick in keeping this nasty pest under control. With the range application hiccups that can occur, especially when it's me in charge, the multiple applications spread the risk, providing a constant background population of weevil eaters.
Wooden box collections
Thanks for all the box collection responses, we have made a great start on our late summer/autumn box retrievals and will be trying to get round everyone to collect up all the empty wooden boxes we can over the next few weeks. The barn is filling up rapidly with cleaned, dried and mended boxes which is great to see. All that reuse/recycling does work, well done to all.
To keep it efficient we will try and tie in trips with other deliveries we may be doing in the area, so there is no obvious master plan. but the more trays we know about the better.
Availability highlights
Autumn evergreen coloured foliage seems to be a popular theme among the remaining stock in flower, We have fab looking Ajuga in an attractive range along with the lovely Euphorbia's. Winter interest lines in evergreens bowls along too, with a few Hellebores in stock and the Bergenia's coming back on line. Yet another fresh batch of Erigeron Stallone is in bud, it just goes on and on.
The next batches of our mini Chrysanthemum (Garden Mums) are growing away well. Lovely bushy plants with lots of flower and bud and more to come. A good range of colours, showing off nicely.
Autumn must be on its way with a Sedum Autumn Joy in bud. We have trimmed them short to flower low, but the flowers are still making a great show. The neat little Erodiums are flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages. We have another flower flush on the ever popular Scabiosa Butterfly Blue. It just keeps on going. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are now showing great colour. Cyclamen coum varieties are now beginning to bud up and flower. These hardy stars will flower from now until mid Spring. Nicely subtle bloomers with a constant feed of new flower rather than one huge flush.
Have a good from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
It's looking pretty autumnal out there, as the wind blows and rain patters on the roof of the shed, sorry I mean office. The forecast for next week doesn't look much different either, so we are gathering ourselves for a last potting push in the wet and cool conditions. Still have my fingers crossed for a few warm still days at some point, so we can get the replacement tunnel covers on before the winter sets in. It all seems to have changed so quickly.
It's been a week of all action jobs, on top of the potting and box collecting. We had two turbines throw out their centrifugal pinned blade tips on Sunday afternoon, that's the first time they have done that for nearly four years. It is one of the safety measures to avoid over-speeding blades if the power cuts out and the brakes don't come on in time. Unfortunately it was too wild on Sunday to send Caroline up the mast, but first thing Monday it was harnesses and hard hats on for a quick clamber.
All went smoothly, once I remembered how to park the blades in the right position for Caroline to knock back into position. I've got a nice little video clip of her in action, but I don't have a young person here at the moment to get it off my phone and onto the computer so that will have to wait.
Then we had a double whammy in the loos, with a water pipe coming adrift and the outflow getting blocked on the same day. The water pipe was ok but the other was a bit more of a challenge. Pipes were disconnected and a variety of poking rods, hoses and sticks deployed, but in the end we had to get the pit pumped out to reduce resistance to the flow and then it all cleared. Not much fun but still a relief to all in the end! So much for the fab lifestyle of running you own nursery.
It's our financial year end, so the rest of the week has been spent doing a lot of counting, not one of my favourite jobs as it all seems so unproductive. One of those things that just has to be done. At least after 35 years of doing it we have lots of useful spreadsheets and systems to make it as easy as possible. Although much of the stock is listed on the nursery computer programme, it still needs double checking and adjusting to get it accurate. Just a few more tunnels to go, so I should be finished on Sunday before the real work gets going again on Monday.
The last of the summer predators arrived this week. It's getting a bit cool in most tunnels for most to be active enough, so we restrict them to the warmer micro prop weaning tunnels, especially the main heated and lit one, where the pests tend to keep growing all year as well as the plants. The only 'whole nursery' release will be the three nematode species which should go out on Sunday evening. It will be the last of our vine weevil control applications for this year and will hopefully knock out any
late weevil hatches before the winter sets in. Our small monthly applications, applied throughout the growing season, certainly seem to do the trick in keeping this nasty pest under control. With the range application hiccups that can occur, especially when it's me in charge, the multiple applications spread the risk, providing a constant background population of weevil eaters.
Wooden box collections
Thanks for all the box collection responses, we have made a great start on our late summer/autumn box retrievals and will be trying to get round everyone to collect up all the empty wooden boxes we can over the next few weeks. The barn is filling up rapidly with cleaned, dried and mended boxes which is great to see. All that reuse/recycling does work, well done to all.
To keep it efficient we will try and tie in trips with other deliveries we may be doing in the area, so there is no obvious master plan. but the more trays we know about the better.
Availability highlights
Autumn evergreen coloured foliage seems to be a popular theme among the remaining stock in flower, We have fab looking Ajuga in an attractive range along with the lovely Euphorbia's. Winter interest lines in evergreens bowls along too, with a few Hellebores in stock and the Bergenia's coming back on line. Yet another fresh batch of Erigeron Stallone is in bud, it just goes on and on.
The next batches of our mini Chrysanthemum (Garden Mums) are growing away well. Lovely bushy plants with lots of flower and bud and more to come. A good range of colours, showing off nicely.
Autumn must be on its way with a Sedum Autumn Joy in bud. We have trimmed them short to flower low, but the flowers are still making a great show. The neat little Erodiums are flowering well. Neat and tidy, they will flower for ages. We have another flower flush on the ever popular Scabiosa Butterfly Blue. It just keeps on going. Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are now showing great colour. Cyclamen coum varieties are now beginning to bud up and flower. These hardy stars will flower from now until mid Spring. Nicely subtle bloomers with a constant feed of new flower rather than one huge flush.
Have a good from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
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