Hairy wildlife

Hi Everyone,
Slightly more organised this week after a welcome dip in sales after three mega busy weeks. Just about running out of herbs put the brakes on some sales I'm sure and unfortunately next week won't be much different. Anyway it has given us a bit of extra clearing and potting time which has been great. We have a couple more extra staff in to help out over the next month or two, which means we can pot and despatch at the same time, a real novelty for us. The tunnel clearing has miraculously also kept ahead of the full steaming potters, which is a dream, it's like a well oiled machine out there, we could almost be professional! The perennials are also getting a bit low on numbers, although we have done a scary amount of potting over the last couple of weeks so that position should recover very soon. The next herbs are also well on the way, so hopefully it won't be too long before we have a list to present again. Meanwhile we can only offer a mixed herb trolley of our own choice for the coming week and we may have to limit volumes a bit to spread the joy a little further. Just let me know how many you need to get by and we will do our best to put a nice mix together from the limited range we have. There are a few coriander, parsley, dill, tarragon, rosemary, so it won't be a mix of  'odd herbs' but I do have to emphasise numbers are still low so please don't get too excited just yet. As well as my weekly herb sowing, this weekend should give me the chance to get a few more wooden labels printed, it's been a bit hand to mouth over the last couple of weeks with the huge volumes needed, printing has been a 'just in time' process which isn't how I really like to work. The odd label being needed for an order is fine, but when a list appears on my desk and the order is already being picked up, the pressure builds. I always think there will be time to catch up but so far that time has just disappeared and catching up has been a distant dream! Some of that time this week was spent under the potting machine, which had a moment. The pot take-off arm was failing in its duties and being very lethargic in its attitude to work. It failed to respond to a good talking too or generous amounts of lubrication, which usually does the job for me, and we had to resort to phone a man who knows. Instant diagnosis and a quick adjustment to a rocker valve under the machine sorted it all out. It was just wearing down with age, just like the rest of us. Now if I could find my own rocker valve to adjust, I'd be fine. Swallows are sitting on their nest in the donkey shed, having given up in the barn. We didn't have a pair last year so it's good to have them back. Sadly the large colony of House Martins we used to have on the house (peaked at 13 nests in 2017) have deserted us and for the second year I have no dawn chirping outside the bedroom window. Plenty of other bird activity though with daily sightings of Red Kites over the nursery, they saw a group of 8 over the farm last week so they are definitely well and truly settled in. Robins are sitting on eggs again in the stack of crates we use as a work table in the potting tunnel. The first lot fledged ok so they seem happy enough working round the potting team who keep a close eye on progress. There are young wagtails, sparrows and blue tits all over the place at the moment despite the threat from all the jackdaws and magpies so they all seem to be doing ok at the moment. We have seen up to four hedgehogs in the garden on the night vision security camera feeding on the nightly feast put out there by Caroline. It is special hedgehog food that looks suspiciously like GoCat although it does smell different. Big highlight this week was a slowworm in the nursery cottage garden, I haven't seen one for years.
Availability list highlights
As already mentioned herbs stocks are now at an all time low and can only offer a mix of our own choice. Just let me know how many go can manage with for the moment and we will put something yummy together if we can. We have more stock growing but not ready yet. We will all have to continue to be a bit more flexible than usual if we are to get all the stock delivered over the next few weeks, but as always we will do our best. Main current highlights on the flowering stock front are; Both Oxalis are now in bud with a bit of colour showing on both, but don't hang  about they are disappearing fast. All of our Hemerocalis are now in bud. We have some strong bushy Crocosmia varieties looking great, it will be a while before they flower, perfect for planting now. The short Eryngium Blue Hobbit is showing off its spiky flower stems and buds. Cosmos Chocamocha and Osteospermum Tresco Purple are back on the list again, hopefully enough for a couple of weeks! The Salvia Hot Lips and its new friends are running low for next week but lots more ready again after that, so don't panic.
Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.