New hairy kit

Morning all,

Great celebration here with the arrival earlier today of the new 3.5t van. Looks lovely, it's amazing how different a van looks when it's so clean! Ordered for the start of our busy season (late February) it has now come at the moment we have run out of stock, but we got by and it's great to have such a lovely new bit of kit. Shame they put the short armed wing mirrors on it so you can't see down the side but new extended ones are on the way so that won't be a problem. Worse things happen. Lovely reversing camera and wider loading ramp should make life easier, plus super low emissions with the latest engine mods. Shame that an electric version still seems so far off, but range and load capacity are such big concerns for our type of delivery that there is nothing out there that is anywhere close to being practical yet. Hopefully it won't be too long because we have the wind turbines to recharge them, which would make them super economic to run.

Sales this week took a major downturn with the distinct lack of stock. I was quite surprised it took this long to slow up, we managed to stretch out the last of the perennial stock further than I expected to. It did give us some extra clearing and potting time this week, which we made good use of. We have potted 3 times more stock than we ever have done before, by the end of April, I hope we can find homes for it all, as well as the stock still to be potted of which there is plenty. Best not to look too closely at the numbers, it all gets a bit scary when you think that all this has to be potted, grown, despatched and delivered somewhere over the next few months. everything looks like being bigger than ever before. Everything seems to be hanging together at the moment, other than the obvious current shortfall in stock. Compost, young plants, wooden box parts and pots have all arrived in the nick of time with increased supplies lined up for all the extra production. One day at a time and it will all be fine.

The weather doesn't look brilliant for plant sales over the bank holiday weekend, it has been pretty wet today here which is a relief for the farm, but not so nice for us. There has hardly been a morning without a ground frost or worse here for the whole of the month and despite the sunshine plant growth has suffered. Now it has got wet but without much of a temperature rise which is disappointing and a bit miserable to work in! Good job we put those little heaters in for everyone. I think it was Thursday when we had a wet, cold breezy day and I was in the potting tunnel with fleece, coat and hat doing an active job and still feeling the cold. Luckily I was able to find an excuse to go and do something very important in the office after a couple of hours. I think it was testing Caroline's latest batch of ginger flapjacks. Anyway, we are looking forward to some warmer spring weather at some point please.

At least it is a bank holiday weekend which will be a relief to many. A nice break before returning to the fray next week. So we have the Saturday potting team set up and ready to roll, Sunday is lined up for mega herb sowing as usual, and Monday has a skeleton crew in to keep the potting machine turning over and picking up a few orders ready to despatch on Tuesday. Need to print some more box sides in any spare moments and a few price labels being printed wouldn't go a miss. It's a 'lifestyle  choice' I know and one I can enjoy, if I could just find time to reflect and consider what's going on. Luckily there seem to be others out there excited for us, which is lovely and does make you realise for a moment or two that we are in a good place really, especially when you look at the chaos of last season.

Keep up the good work out there and stay safe. We will have lots of plants very soon, so don't forget us.

There is still a Very Urgent Box return appeal

Please do send back any empty wooden trays you may have accumulated, we are REALLY, REALLY, desperate for them at the moment, otherwise we won't have anything to send the plants out in. We now have the parts in for 2,000 new boxes but at close to £10 a box this year, by the time we have printed and constructed them ourselves, it is not a cheap or easy option to simply increase box stock levels. We are spending £40,000 on new box stock over this spring and summer but that is not helping us yet. I know they are an investment on our part, and over many years of multiple use they are still great value, but they only earn their keep if they are in proper repetitive use. Thanks.

Availability list highlights

We can do a selection of our own choice of the herb range again for this coming week and can take a little guidance on any lines you don't need. We may have to restrict total volumes again on orders to a trolley or possibly two of herbs, to ensure everyone who wants something will hopefully get some. We have a few more herbs than recent weeks with a few strawberries coming on line after recovering from earlier rabbit grazing, but still not many. There is lots more on the way, just not quite yet. 

The continuing cold weather is delaying growth all round, but particularly in the perennials. Growth is there but just painfully slow in bulking up the plants. I am hoping that by after the weekend we can offer a simple perennial selection, if you are desperate, of maybe a trolley or possibly two, if you don't mind some repeats. If you can I would rather everyone holds off at least another week to allow some more growth at this end. There will definitely be very little colour or bud so please avoid making me more stressed by asking for a trolley of colourful perennials, that is going to be a little way off yet!

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries